On April 28^th, the Academy was honored to help facilitate the National Association of State Chief Administrators’ “Day in D.C.” at the Ronald Reagan Building as a part of their week-long conference in Annapolis, MD. Academy Fellows*, Partners, and the Academy President/CEO Terry Gerton contributed to four different panels throughout the day. 

• Dustin Brown* of OMB and Terry Gerton set the stage by discussing the Federal Government’s and the Academy’s perspectives on current priorities 
• Ed DeSeve* presented the concept of Agile Government and how states can adapt to a more iterative approach to good governance 
• Sharon Kershbaum* moderated a panel on workforce development where Scott Pattison*, Jim Cook, and Melissa Wojciak discussed workforce trends, advantages of a neurodiverse workforce, and the burdens that NASBO and NGA have noted from their members 
• Joe Mitchell moderated a discussion among grants experts Andrea Brandon (DOI), Andrea Sampanis (HHS-GQSMO), and Bob Farmer (EPA) 

Each panel provided key insights and some significant challenges they are experiencing or expect to see issues around at the state level. NASCA members offered comments and questions. Key points made during the discussion include: 

• Every state is handling the shift to modern workplace modalities differently, depending on their needs and ability to be flexible. 
• Many states face staffing shortages because they can’t match the salary and some benefits offered by larger localities and private companies. 
• States are trying to manage costlier infrastructure projects while they are experiencing staffing shortages.  
• States should expect gradual increases in communication, efficiency, and transparency as OMB and federal grants experts work on breaking down silos and increasing data sharing. 

The day’s discussions shed light on states’ and Federal agency resource priorities, allowing increased respect for both groups’ efforts and needs. The insights allowed NASCA members to leave with a greater understanding of resources available from the federal government and the Academy. The Academy plans to continue to build relationships with NASCA and similar associations to encourage the development of intergovernmental partnerships between the federal, state, and local levels of government. To learn more about how the Academy might be able to support an event or engage with our Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships, please reach out to Miles Murphy at mmurphy@napawash.org.  

Thank you to NASCA for enlisting the Academy to organize this event and providing notes from their “Day in D.C.,” which contributed to this post’s content. Summary by Miles Murphy, Senior Research Analyst for the Academy