MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Collaboration Fostering collaboration will be a key component of your job. The need for improved and enhanced collaboration within and between agencies in the federal government, with state and local governments, as well as with nonprofits and businesses, is now clearly needed. The federal government’s ineffective collaboration with other government organizations was clearly apparent and widely criticized during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The survey asked questions regarding sustainability initiatives that have been undertaken by local governments. Over 2,000 local governments responded to the survey. The survey was developed by ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities, the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University, the Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, and the Alliance for Innovation.

In the corporate world, and throughout the federal government, information is a very valuable asset. Having timely access to this information, and using it to inform strategic decision making, have become critical in today’s competitive, networked, and interconnected world.  Information technology (IT) plays a  central role in making this happen.  We spoke with Dr. Robert D.

Jennifer Main(Jenni) is the Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Department of the Treasury.

Prior to that she was named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in October 2005, after serving as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for three years. Prior to joining SBA, she was a Senior Manager with KPMG Consulting's banking practice where she worked with private and public sector financial institutions. She is also a successful entrepreneur, having started a small business in 1998 that provided financial analysis to lenders nationwide. The company was sold to a venture capital firm in 2000.

In the corporate world, and throughout the federal government, information is a very valuable asset.

During the Cold War, the U.S. nuclear stockpile reached more than 30,000 nuclear weapons. Research and production of these weapons resulted in large volumes of nuclear waste—some of the most dangerous materials known to mankind—posing significant environmental risks and challenges. “The U.S. Department of Energy has under its purview the Environmental Management program, which is responsible for cleaning up the legacy of the Cold War,” says Dr. Inés Triay, assistant secretary, Environmental Management within the U.S. Department of Energy.

As the warfighters’ needs evolve to meet the changing demands of today, so too have the way these needs are met. Though formally established in 1961, the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) can trace its roots to World War II.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the second- largest criminal investigative agency in the United States, has a diverse and critical mission.

One of the aspects that makes the 2008-2009 transition sucha well thought out one is the groundwork laid by governmentactions taken to enhance national security. The Congress andthe president viewed a smooth transition a national securitynecessity and both branches took action on issues relatedto getting a new administration up and running as soon aspossible. The impetus for much of their preparatory workwas the events of September 11, 2001. The attacks on theUnited States that day had a substantial impact on the shape