posted 4/17/2013

Non-profits and governments can reduce their own costs, improve services provided to constituents, and return greater value to taxpayers by creating government-non-profit task forces to develop and implement recommendations to reform contracting practices and procedures. That is the key finding of Partnering for Impact: Government-Nonprofit Contracting Task Forces Produce Results for Taxpayers, a new report of the National Council of Nonprofits, which conducted an extensive analysis of joint task forces in nine states charged with rooting out waste while maintaining and even enhancing accountability.  New Jersey, which has a working group of non-profits (including the Center for Non-Profits) and the Lieutenant Governor’s red tape review commission, is one of the states profiled in the report.

The report provides a first ever how-to guide for non-profits, working with their State Associations, wanting to streamline the government-nonprofit contracting process. It also provides practical guides for building collaborative relationships with government officials and offers details on the most frequently cited solutions that task forces recommend to improve the contracting process.

For more on the report and on the Council of Nonprofits’ government-nonprofit contracting reform initiative, go to www.govtcontracting.org.  For the contract reform and red tape recommendations submitted by the New Jersey non-profit working group consisting of the Center for Non-Profits and other advocates, visit www.njnonprofits.org/RedTapeInputSought.html .

Feel free to contact the Center with your comments or suggestions.