Kansas Collaborative

The Kansas Collaborative is transforming the way government gets things done in Kansas – from administrative functions to service delivery – by formalizing collaboration between local and state government. The Kansas Collaborative launches cross-government Breakthrough Teams that solve problems, save money and network leaders. The Kansas Collaborative is a joint effort between the State of Kansas, the Kansas Association of Counties and the League of Kansas Municipalities. The Collaborative was founded by and is managed by TeamTech, Inc., a Kansas-based consulting firm. The Kansas Collaborative’s Health Care Cost Breakthrough Team’s efforts received national recognition through receipt of the 2006 Innovations Award presented by the Council of State Governments.

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Health Care Cost Breakthrough Team: This team’s initial success in saving over $7 million for state and local governments in prescription drug costs for inmate populations was the catalyst for creating The Kansas Collaborative. This team has broadened its focus beyond reducing health care costs for incarcerated populations (with savings to date of over $16 million) to looking for any health care cost reduction opportunities that span units of government. They are currently looking at options for lowering medical supplies purchasing costs for local health departments, county jails, ambulance services and other governmental entities.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Breakthrough Team: The team produced the Guidebook for County GIS Implementation to link together efforts at the state and local level with the short-term goal of “critical data layers statewide that are backed up in multiple locations.” The long-term vision for these efforts is “full implementation of GIS statewide with policymakers and leadership utilizing GIS information to improve decision-making and policy-making as well as citizen’s access to government.”

Transportation Purchasing Coordination Breakthrough Team: This team is documenting and communicating savings in three collaborative arenas:

The use of state contracts either to purchase products and services or as information in negotiating contracts locally;
The use by local governments of the Kansas Department of Transportation's 1R project information to coordinate and budget for county road and city street work or to purchase hot mix or other materials from the state’s contractor;
The creation of the Local Road Engineer position within the Kansas Association of Counties to work with local government.

Community Capacity Building Breakthrough Team: This effort facilitated the Council of Governments in Harvey County through a county-wide comprehensive planning process for health and human services needs. The goal was to create a comprehensive planning and implementation process for health and human services needs that matched what is done locally for county road and bridge needs. The progress and results will now be documented.

View the most recent overview of KS Collaborative efforts here. [pdf]

For more information on The Kansas Collaborative, please visit www.kansascollaborative.com

Last Updated November 21, 2008