A recent academic symposium on performance-based budgeting suggests that trying to apply this noble idea across government may be hopeless. Decades of research and efforts to implement performance budgeting across federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. seem to consistently come down to the conclusion that no matter how rational it sounds, politicians don’tRead… Read more »
The word “accountability” ranks right up there with “freedom,” “justice,” and “democracy” – words commonly used and thought to be understood by all. But that is wrong. It is a term that is complex and misunderstood, and subject to abuse in political discourse. But more importantly, because there is a lack of clarity, there areRead… Read more »
Adam Grant writes in the June 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review that research shows that customers themselves are “surprisingly effective in motivating people to work harder, smarter, and more productively.” I’ve seen this phenomenon at work in government, as well as in private industry. I remember the story of a Virginia state trooper whoRead… Read more »
OMB released customer service guidance to agencies earlier this week but it was lost in the hoopla over the announcement of Obama’s new Campaign to Cut Waste, starting with cuts in the number of federal websites. Six weeks ago, President Obama signed an executive order, “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service,” directing agencies toRead… Read more »
I’ve long admired Gary Locke for his commitment to results-oriented government. He pioneered new approaches in Washington State both as the chief executive of King County and as governor. But I’d never met him until last week at a Partnership for Public Service event where he summed up his tenure as Commerce Secretary, before departingRead… Read more »
Earlier this year, the Obama Administration launched a regulatory reform effort. President Obama committed to a “look back” at existing regulations and asked agencies to identify “outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome” rules on the books. Here’s one example of what the review found: Since the 1970s, milk has been defined as an “oil” andRead… Read more »
When Donald Rumsfield was in the Pentagon, his staff talked about his incessant memos asking for information or direction action as “snowflakes.” Well, there’s a blizzard of memos and guidance coming from the White House on a range of management improvement and cost-cutting initiatives. Is this an opportunity to connect the dots? It is notRead… Read more »
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) chaired a joint hearing on the implementation of the GPRA Modernization Act and he seemed to enjoy himself. In fact, after the hearing he lingered a long time talking with hearing participants, almost being the last to leave the room! What sparked his imagination? Here’s a link to the hearing record.Read… Read more »
I always consider a conference a success if I come away inspired by one big idea. That happened to me at the recent annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration. I’ve been mulling over a series of presentations given at that conference that coincidentally helped me think more clearly about “complexity theory” andRead… Read more »
It’s not always good news when OMB releases guidance to agencies late on a Friday afternoon. But in this case, it was certainly welcome news! On schedule, OMB issued a memo to agencies providing FAQs and a template on how to comply with President Obama’s February directive to agencies to loosen up a bit. PresidentRead… Read more »