Several new studies demonstrate the difficulty of defining what constitutes the “atom” of a federal program, but a recent Washington Post article begins to uncover why it is so elusive, much like finding sub-atomic particles in physics. Defining Federal Programs Isn’t Simple There is more than one way to define what constitutes a federal “program,”Read… Read more »
The increasing chorus of calls for more accountability reaches beyond recent demands for firing officials at the IRS, VA, and GSA for various perceived misdeeds. Just what is accountability, and how can it be seen as a constructive, instead of a punitive, element of public management? Recent legislation imposes new accountability requirements in the formRead… Read more »
What ever became of the new statutory provision requiring agencies to “identify low-priority program activities?” The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 requires agencies to annually “identify low-priority program activities based on an analysis of their contribution to the mission and goals of the agency and include an evidence-based justification for designating a program activity asRead… Read more »
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “time is money.” But does government know how to implement this maxim seriously? Now there is a new study that shows how they can do it! Last week, President Obama signed a memo directing agencies to modernize their construction permitting and review processes in order to: “advance the goal ofRead… Read more »
What inspired me at the Excellence in Government Conference? I liked the emphasis on innovations underway in different places around the government. Sometimes we get caught up in buzzwords of the day: Total Quality Management, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, Business Process Reengineering, or Reinventing Government. But the bottom line in each of these types ofRead… Read more »
Public Service Recognition Week recognizes a lot of hidden talent across the government. But is that talent always available when the government needs it? Sometimes, it is. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was superb at handling big, complex challenges that reach across agency boundaries. He led the evacuation of lower Manhattan during 9/11. He tookRead… Read more »
When it rains, it pours! April saw a lot of action regarding the federal performance agenda. The big news for many was the announcement last week that Shelley Metzenbaum, who is the Office of Management and Budget official spearheading the Obama Administration’s performance management initiatives on a day-to-day basis, will be leaving to return homeRead… Read more »
Looking for an overview guide to understanding how the federal government goes about managing the performance of its many goals, missions, and programs? Here it is! The President’s fiscal year 2014 budget was released last week and emphasizes the creation of “a culture of performance improvement.” This is also the theme of a new IBMRead… Read more »
Does it make any sense for the government to think long term? One agency, NASA, developed a 200-year strategic plan, at one point. They engaged futurists and science fiction writers to help develop a plan for interplanetary exploration. Maybe it makes sense for NASA, but what about other agencies? Strategic foresight is not futurist forecasting,Read… Read more »
How an issue is framed can strongly influence how a person responds. This insight has led to whole new fields of economics and social science called “behavioral economics” or “behavioral interventions.” Government managers, however, can use these new approaches to dramatically improve the performance of their programs, if done right. I attended a forum aRead… Read more »