High-Performance Partnerships - National Academy of Public ...

Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the
elderly and economically disadvantaged. In
addition, it has extensive public education, information,
and referral responsibilities. CMS seeks
cutting edge models for cross-sector collaboration
to achieve its mission. A valuable participant
in the design labs, CMS was a major financial
contributor to the initiative.
America’s Promise, founded by Secretary of
State Colin Powell in 1997, seeks to “mobilize
people from every sector of American life to
build the character and competence of our
nation’s youth by fulfilling five promises: (1)
caring adults; (2) safe places; (3) healthy start;
(4) marketable skills; and (5) opportunities to
serve.” The organization does not deliver services
directly, but supports organizations that
do at the local, state, and national levels.
Partnering is fundamental to its operations.
An expert Panel of Academy Fellows guided
the partnerships project and produced this
report. The members, who possess a wealth of
experience in the public and nonprofit sectors,
gave valuable advice on project planning and
implementation. They were a sounding board
for the design lab results. The members were
Camille Cates-Barnett, Christine Becker, Peter
Goldberg, Sandra J. Hale, Sara E. Melendez, and
Michael Rogers. In addition, Academy Fellow
Gail Christopher provided extensive advice and
input for this effort. Ms. Christopher is
Executive Director of the Institute for
Government Innovation at Harvard University’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government.
I want to thank the Panel and Casey
Foundation for giving their ideas, time, and
resources to this important endeavor. Most
important, I want to thank the representatives
from the 10 design lab partnerships and the
extraordinary facilitators who guided their discussion.
The concepts and graphic illustrations
reflected in this work were borne of their
collective experiences and expertise. My special
appreciation goes to the City of
Richmond, Virginia, which contributed time
for the project director, Connie Bawcum, to
direct her talent and energies to this work.
This report is not a definitive map for every
community, but it provides a broad and
thoughtful framework for seeking innovative
and collaborative approaches to serious, compelling
issues.
Philip M. Burgess
President & Chief Executive
9 Powering the Future: High-Performance Partnerships