Governing the States and the Nation: The Intergovernmental Policy ...

Association 1986; Cohen 1988), and economic development (National Governors Association 1994; 1995). These books generally serve as guidelines for governors who need assistance in developing strategies for their states, and they provide examples of successful programs and policies that have been adopted by other governments. There is no way to determine the extent to which governors rely on these documents, but their mere existence suggests that the NGA has been serious about being a force on the national scene.

Today, the NGA, like many other stable organizations, maintains a quality website that allows visitors to see exactly what they do and how they do it. This medium provides governors and other interested parties access to up-to-date policy priorities as well as the latest developments concerning the NGA. Communications with the federal government are posted on the website, along with many policy positions and resolutions adopted by the NGA. Information can also be found about each current governor and past NGA meetings. Perhaps the most extensive portion of the website can be found under the NGA’s Center for Best Practices section. The center produces a large number of publications for governors and other policy makers to use at their disposal. These publications contain information on policy successes and innovations that have taken place at the state level as well as suggestions on how other states and governors can adopt policies that will work in their states. Many of the “best practices” advocated by the NGA in this section can be thought of as the present-day equivalents to the books that the NGA produced in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Office of Management Consulting and Training is another branch of the NGA that assists the governors in the development of policy. In the words of the NGA, it “serves as a management consultant to governors and their offices and as