1.) Productivity is defined as the ratio of resources used to results achieved¹. Improving in this area means achieving more and better program outcomes from a given level of resources or using fewer resources to maintain or improve a certain level of outcomes. The federal government has a critical interest in improving the productivity of state and local governments for two primary reasons: (1) the national economy is strengthened as a result of improvements in the productivity and fiscal outlook of this key sector; and (2) the effectiveness and efficiency of the multitude of federal grant and regulatory programs that state and local governments use to implement federal policies are directly related to the management capacity of those governments². Productivity in state and local governments is lower than it could be, resulting in higher costs and/or lower levels of public services. State and local government operations do not have the profit incentive to improve productivity that exists in the private sector. However, substantial fiscal and performance benefits have been achieved by innovative state and local governments that have initiated productivity improvement programs. Productivity improvement has been used as a strategy to alleviate the growing fiscal pressures faced by state and local governments, but most state and local governments lack significant and comprehensive productivity improvement programs. Major barriers that impede or limit state and local improvement programs include internal resistance, the large initial investment required to start a program, and the limited capacity of organizational systems. The federal government's most important impact on state and local government productivity... at the heart of the paper... at the CitedFlorida Develop.Works Center for Public Management. (2006, September). Is productivity more than a slogan in your organization? www.fcpm.fsu.edu.2 Statts, Elmer. (1978). Improving the Productivity of State and Local Governments: What is the Federal Role? GGD-78-104. Washington. http://archive.gao.gov/f0902c/107983.pdf.3 Milakovich, Michael E. and George J. Gordon. “Performance Management in the Public Sector.” Public Administration in America. Tenth ed. Boston: Clark Baxter, 2009. 468-469. Print.4 Stevenson, Richard W.. "The Nation; Separating is Hard. Combining is Harder.." New York Times June 23, 2002: 1. Week in review. Network. November 18, 2011.5 Landay, Johnathan S., and Shannon McCaffrey. “Chertoff Delayed Federal Response, Memo Shows.” Common dreams. Np, 14 September 2005. Web. 18 November. 2011. .