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National Partnership for Reinventing Government

Hassle-Free Community Champion

Characteristics of hassle free champions...

Champions are energetic and committed to public service. Specifically:

• Reinvention experience needs to be in their heart and soul.
• Can start a complex project.
• Have connections in the community arena; e.g.: Federal Executive Board, local and/or regional government organizations, community associations, elected officials...
• Can give speeches/interviews without "foot in mouth."
• Can represent senior leaders, including elected officials.
• Understand the sensitivity of the project and the position without being managed daily.
• Know enough and have experience to know when they need help and where to find it.
• Can put teams together without being on all of them.
• Can produce miracles, and last but not least,

• Can walk on water.

Getting to bottom line results...

Champions bring about internal and cross-governmental changes in agencies' culture and practices by creating collaboration across organizational boundaries. They help agencies build shared accountability with local flexibility, shared goals, and a shared focus on results. To get amazing results for our customers, champions:

• Work directly with mayors, county executives, governors and tribal government officials, when appropriate, to form partnerships across levels of government for seamless service to customers.
• Meet with local federal agency directors to enlist their support. Secure commitments from agency directors to assign agency employees to work on teams to create new ways to improve and deliver services and achieve results citizens care about.
• Create teams of government employees (city, state, federal, tribal) around customer groups -- e.g.: beneficiaries; business; law enforcement and public safety; natural resource management; education, research and academic; travelers, tourists and recreation; employment; veterans...).
• Expand partnerships to include community based organizations, business, schools and universities, and community members to work on projects.
• Coordinate the work of the customer teams in creating new, innovative ways of HOW customers receive services, WHERE services are received and WHEN services are offered. For example, a mobile hassle-free vehicle can take services to veterans hospitals, college campuses, senior centers, shopping malls and other appropriate places. An on-line computer can be installed in the hassle-free vehicle; for example, students can apply for financial aid on-line, right on their campus, or seniors can get local transit passes on the spot at their senior center.
• Work with project leaders to facilitate customer surveys and focus groups around community issues and services; share the results with teams and the public.
• Implement a kick-off event to announce the community as a hassle-free community. After a kick-off event, continue to build teams and provide leadership in expanding hassle-free services in the community until the concept becomes institutionalized.
• Serve as spokesperson for the Hassle-Free Community working with the with the press offices to get the message out.