The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations: Building Consensus Through Collaboration

• Author: Cliff Lippard
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221142308
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Perspective Essay

https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221142308

State and Local Government Review

2023, Vol. 55(1) 6 –10

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221142308

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Perspective Essay

Now more than ever, finding consensus solu-

tions to public policy problems is something

decisionmakers should consider when dealing

with the challenging and controversial prob-

lems our governments face. The Tennessee

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental

Relations (TACIR) is a model for those looking

to craft enduring policy solutions reached

through collaboration among state and local

officials and various other stakeholders in a

neutral forum. It is a model for bringing policy-

makers together, for defining problems clearly,

for softening the sharp elbows of political

debate to acknowledge and account for a poli-

cy’s effect on disparate groups, and for reaching

agreement on pathways forward. It is, in short, a

model whose time has come again.

A Forum for Discussing

Intergovernmental Problems

TACIR was built for collaboration. Created by

the state’s legislature, the Tennessee General

Assembly, in 1978 to monitor the relationship

between the federal government, state govern-

ment, and local governments in Tennessee and

make recommendations for their improvement,

TACIR is the principal state agency committed

to the study and deliberation of state and local

government issues. Modeled on the long-

defunct US ACIR, TACIR is a permanent bipar-

tisan body comprised of 25 members,

representing the executive and legislative

branches of the state, county governments, and

municipal governments, the commission pro-

vides the only formal venue in the state where

all players in the state-local intergovernmental

arena can meet in a neutral setting. The mem-

bers also include two private citizens (Figure 1).

By serving as a neutral forum informed by

thorough research, the commission has been able

to foster collaboration among state and local offi-

cials and has been instrumental in achieving

agreement for several government reforms. In

1142308SLGXXX10.1177/0160323X221142308State and Local Government ReviewLippard

research-article2022

1Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental

Relations, State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN, USA

Corresponding Author:

Cliff Lippard, Tennessee Advisory Commission on

Intergovernmental Relations, State of Tennessee, 226

Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard, Suite 508, Nashville, TN

37219-1826, USA.

Email: cliff.lippard@tn.gov

The Tennessee Advisory

Commission on

Intergovernmental Relations:

Building Consensus Through

Collaboration

Cliff Lippard1

Abstract

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations serves as a model for

bringing policymakers and stakeholders together, more clearly defining public policy problems, and

reaching consensus on how to address those problems.

Keywords

intergovernmental relations, consensus building, collaboration, public policy problems, TACIR