The City of Chester would benefit tremendously from increasing communication between its internal departments and strengthening collaboration with outside organizations and non-profits. During my work, I've seen a lot of redundancy in different departments of the city. Toward the beginning of the semester, I was bounced around a couple different departments, yet I saw that they were working toward very similar objectives independently of the other. I also saw instances of departments having access to resources that would have benefited other departments without extensive knowledge of the others' work.
Beyond internal departments, the city could greatly benefit from building stronger partnerships with external organizations and non-profits. These groups provide valuable resources, expertise, and community connections that could work alongside the city’s initiatives. The city could strengthen these connections through greater community outreach, aimed at individual residents but also community leaders, who often have stronger connections to individual residents than the city. These organizations may also have more experience with handling the issues the city is attempting to work on and as such would provide valuable insight that the city could build on and support, creating better outcomes for Chester residents.