Interagency partnerships have become embedded in procedure, policy, and organizational structure. Many interagency partnerships have become mandatory either formally as in law, or informally, as through executive decisions within agencies. Mandating interagency partnerships seems restrictive, but does present major advantages including the establishment of concrete protocols used for information sharing and communication. Rather than rely on tacit, ambiguous, or circumstantial partnerships, mandatory relationships enable the division of tasks and responsibilities in ways that promotes role clarity and overall effectiveness. Policymakers do need to ensure that the interagency partnerships are operable and feasible, and that there are systems in place for managing those relationships and mandating accountability. The most notable example of mandatory interagency partnerships is in the realm of homeland security. Prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, interagency partnerships existed but tended to be loose and often ineffective (Hagen, 2006). The Department of Homeland Security created a new model of interagency partnership that enhanced the effectiveness and scope of the homeland security enterprise, taking into account multiple disparate stakeholders (Marcella, 2004). Interagency partnerships also flourish in law enforcement and criminal justice, as with the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (United States Department of Justice, 2017). Rescue,...

Problems include unnecessary redundancy, inefficiency, and potential security breaches. The risks with mandatory interagency collaboration can be managed and mitigated through effective leadership and management. Failures in interagency partnerships have highlighted the primary areas of concern, which include role clarity and control over programs and services (Byles, 1985). Poor communication, lack of genuine collaboration, and power struggles emerge when the interagency partnerships are poorly designed, or when there are no clear guidelines for project and task management (Byles, 1985). Learning from mistakes in past interagency partnership failures has helped policymakers and leaders to construct more effective means of designing and maintaining these relationships.
Interagency partnerships do benefit from being ensconced in law because of the ways formal guidelines and oversight ensure compliance, regulation, and standardization. Mandatory compliance implies the means by which to conduct regular assessments and to…