Since our country was founded, the relationships among federal, state, and local governments have preoccupied politicians, scholars, lawyers, and citizens. Today, the roles of the three levels of government are being reexamined with renewed energy. Budgetary pressures and rapid changes in human services, education, training, economic development, communications, and criminal justice are causing each level of government to reexamine its roles and relationships with each other. A new form of governance is emerging. As relationships between each level of government change, so do the public's expectations.
Citizens expect to receive higher levels of service and reductions in the cost of government.
Many citizens view the three levels of government as a single entity. Their primary experiences are with state and local governments, not the federal government. For example, following a major snowstorm, citizens don't care if the federal highways are opened quickly if the state and local access roads are not plowed for several more days. Homeowners want and expect federal, state, and local responses in a coordinated manner. At the same time that intergovernmental relationships, ideas, and methods for providing services are changing, information technology is creating important opportunities and new methods for governments to work together to improve citizen services.