January 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 13

in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood, was one of the many beneficiaries of this partnership. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)
installed large bioretention basins to
manage stormwater from the streets
surrounding the center, rebuilt basketball courts using porous pavement
and tore up a concrete playing field,
replacing it with a new, permeable
surface and providing valuable recreation space in a dense urban neighborhood. These interventions are occurring on park property throughout
the city, giving PWD access to the
open space it needs to meet green
infrastructure goals while rehabilitating open spaces for residents to enjoy.
Engaging and Supporting Partners
" What are the markings of collaboration? " DiBerardinis asked. " There
are significant features that are necessary for success. Your interests
must be aligned and you sometimes
must work to align them. You need
to change practices in order to succeed - you can't do things the way
you previously used to when you acted as single department. You must
have a joint decision-making model
that people think is fair and honest
and looks out for everyone's interests. You must share your resources
- you can't go in with your hand
on your wallet...come in with some
dough, share that resource, plan
those capital dollars, et cetera, and be
willing to give up a little bit. Finally,
you have to invest in and engage citizens as well. "
Having the support of city leaders
- in this case, Mayor Michael Nutter, who has been a steadfast advocate and instigator of Philadelphia's
cross-departmental
collaborations
- is critical to the success of any
large-scale plan. " It's important to

balance practical with forward thinking - we are most effective when we
look at what's the best way to provide
a service or program to our constituents, " Nutter said during the Innovation Lab. " That's where collaborative
public/private partnerships come
in. The government can only do so
much on its own. We have great expectations, but the reality is - and
we certainly learned this during the
recession - even government has
its limits. Sometimes we lack the
resources required to fully tackle
problems, so the government brings
together different parties with similar
interests, and once they're around the
table, the possibilities are limitless. "
Nutter and his staff are unusual in
that they're accustomed to taking the
long view - that is, they're happy to
develop programs that will extend well
into the future and past the next election cycle. They're putting the success
of their wide-reaching policy goals and
the good of their constituents ahead
of any expectation of reelection. Attributes like humility, honesty and
willingness to share in success have become hallmarks of how Philadelphia
approaches improving the civic commons. " [Thinking] long term to me
means 10, 20, 30 years down the road, "
Nutter continued. " It means we make
choices today that benefit generations
down the road. We can't continue to
kick the can down the road for someone else. We must take the political risk
to do what is right at the right time,
which is often right now. "
'Aspirational, Not Silly'
Cross-agency collaboration need not
be complicated, but a certain set of
circumstances should be in place to
encourage success. During a panel
discussion between Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor for economic

development and director of commerce for Philadelphia; Mark Focht,
first deputy commissioner of parks
and facilities; Katherine Gajewski, director of the mayor's Office
of Sustainability; and Mami Hara,
chief of staff for PWD, all identified
commonsense behaviors that make
collaboration easier. " No matter
what you think of a person or their
position, don't burn bridges because
they could be valuable at another
time - be respectful, " Allen advised. " Take the high road as much
as you can and accept the fact that
you're going to lose sometimes and
move on from there, " he continued,
with DiBerardinis adding, " Sometimes you're going to take two steps
back to take five forward. " Gajewski
encouraged building a " broad tent,
so everyone feels an ownership role;
and encourage transparency. "
As to fears of whether such ambitious plans would discourage
cross-agency collaboration, Focht reminded attendees that when a plan
is well-crafted and communication is
open and honest, big goals tend to inspire, rather than deter collaboration.
" The key is finding something that is
aspirational but not silly, " he said. " It
pushes you and it also pushes funding
because it's exciting, but people can't
think it's ridiculous or doesn't have real
value. Your plan cant' seem minimal,
and it can't be so far reaching that people don't take it seriously. The sweet
spot is when it's aspirational and people get excited about it. "
To view presentations from the
Philadelphia Innovation Lab, watch
video of the presenters and to learn
more about upcoming Labs, go to
www.nrpa.org/innovation-labs.
Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor
of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@
nrpa.org).

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