How the Oklahoma Template Will Energize Small Business Growth by Unlocking Public Private Collaboration in the States
Executive Summary
The Oklahoma Template is a historic opportunity to improve efficiency in state spending and grow the small business economy. By using advanced AI technology, Oklahoma identified more than $2 billion in unused and unallocated funds across over 100 different agencies. This discovery provides a model for other states, where many hundreds of billions more lie dormant. Redeploying these funds allows state governments to reduce waste, cut reliance on federal spending, and foster public-private collaboration.
For small businesses, the benefits are clear. Improved efficiency and redeployed funds create opportunities for local entrepreneurs to partner with government agencies, deliver innovative services, and strengthen community economies. Below is an outline of how the Oklahoma Template works, why it matters, and how small businesses can thrive in a system where state governments collaborate with the private sector to deliver lower costs, more efficiency, and better service to taxpayers.
Introduction
The Oklahoma Template is a new way to consider efficiency in state spending. We started in Oklahoma because it’s one of the smallest and poorest states in the country. Oklahoma depends on federal support for state services as much or more than any other state in the union.
So when we discovered more than $2B sitting idly in state accounts, we saw a historic opportunity to put that money to work for Oklahoma businesses and taxpayers.
Now, we’re working with like-minded governors and legislatures in other states to apply the same approach. Once unallocated funds are identified, we can redeploy those funds to realign the way state and local governments work, to create public-private collaborations, and to reduce state dependence on federal spending.
All of this helps small business because it improves government efficiency, promotes private market forces, and provides new ways small business can profit from public-private collaborations in providing government services.
The Hidden Opportunity in State Budgets
Across the nation, billions of dollars sit unused, overlooked in layers of bureaucracy. The Oklahoma Template uses AI-driven audits to uncover these funds, bringing transparency to government operations.
A national reset is coming. Today, the federal government transfers more than $1 trillion to the states to carry out various programs. But with billions in federal deficits, that transfer is going to change jeopardizing the ability of states to provide everything from school lunches to new fire engines.
The excess funds sitting in agency accounts can be used to provide a rolling account that promotes ways small businesses in local communities can help provide the services taxpayers need while reduce costs, and replenishing state accounts.
The Oklahoma Template provides new ways government and small business can access new capital that can be redirected into opportunity, contracts, and local communities.
Re-Aligning Government with Market Forces
Heavy reliance on federal funding leaves states reliant on federal funding while federal regulations contain their ability to innovate. But unlocking state dollars no one knew existed provides the chance to create a fund that gives policy makers and businesses the freedom to form new relationships and develop new approaches. Small businesses can bring speed, flexibility, and innovation to areas where government has proven it cannot. The possibilities are virtually limitless. From technology and construction, to food service and education; the chance to involve small business opens a host of new opportunity for lower cost, more responsive government service.
Public-Private Collaboration as a Growth Engine
Public-private collaboration has traditionally favored large corporations. The Oklahoma Template changes that. Small business knows their local communities better than federal and state bureaucrats. They can offer better value at lower cost to more people, without being a net drag on state spending. That’s because the fund created by unused and unallocated state funds can be established as a trust offering grants or a capital reserve that provides low interest loans. Best of all, when money is spent locally, it circulates within communities, supporting jobs and strengthening economic ecosystems, something government is not very good at doing.
Reducing State Dependence on Federal Spending
Right now the federal government sends more than $1 trillion each year to the states to fund mandated programs. But with nearly $3 trillion in annual deficits and $37 trillion in debt, the federal government can’t sustain state funding indefinitely. States that recognize the opportunity to realign spending will benefit. States that combine that realignment with a new public-private approach to providing services will not only become more efficient, they will expand economic growth in their own small business economies, and provide new life to local commnities.
Case Example: Workforce Development
Workforce training illustrates how the Oklahoma Template can transform outcomes. Federal training dollars often come with rigid guidelines. By redeploying unused state funds, governments can create targeted collaborations with chambers of commerce, trade schools, and small employers. Local contractors can provide specialized training, while businesses co-design apprenticeship programs. This strengthens talent pipelines, reduces unemployment, and equips communities with skills that match real economic demand.
Building a National Network of Reform
What we’ve done in Oklahoma can be replicated with even greater success in larger states. By working with governors and legislatures nationwide, we can enter a new era of improved public trust, more efficient government service, and greater prosperity. As more states adopt the model, we’ll see less dependency on federal funding, more resilience in local communities, and governments that are more effective and a lot more responsive.
Conclusion: A New Era of Small Business Opportunity
The Oklahoma Template represents an important breakthrough in how the federal government aligns with state and local governments … and how small business can benefit. Using the Oklahoma Template, states can identify unused funds, redeploy those funds strategically to foster innovation and reduce costs, and create a new era of public-private collaboration. For small businesses, it is an invitation to benefit from smarter government, as well as shape new methodologies and approaches that strengthen our communities and our local economies.