ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how many routine, interjurisdictional issues are handled in the intergovernmental system. Program cost and operational data are exchanged, then the group proceeds to agreement that the problem needs a solution other than approval or denial. Interorganizational problem-solving, in contrast, brings together organizational representatives in circumstances dominated by issues of which common interests are perceived as more important than conflicting interests. Intergovernmental bodies (IGBs) have developed an ability through routine problem solving to manage their way through the changing intergovernmental system. The longer IGB elected officials, administrators, and private sector representatives worked together on problems, the easier subsequent problem-solving (PS) became. The IGB study demonstrates how PS focuses on the daily execution of tasks within a "fixed" federal structure. That is, it is not a means of changing the system, but a means of living with it "as is" on a daily basis.
