Bob Stone, the head of Vice President Gore’s reinventing government initiative, focused his attention on what was going on at the front line. He said helping them understand and get their jobs done was the most important activity of a leader. That insight led to the creation of both Hammer Awards and Reinvention Labs asRead… Read more »
What if the President and Congress made spending decisions based on what they wanted to achieve rather than on individual agencies and programs? That’s the premise of portfolio budgeting. Has its time arrived or is it still . . . A Pipe Dream? Maybe, but it is actually being done by other countries, such asRead… Read more »
GAO revisited a report it did in 2004 on creating a comprehensive indicator system to track the progress of our nation’s economy, people’s health, social well-being, and the environment. GAO looks at 20 different system used by other countries and by states and localities and offers a road map on how to develop a nationalRead… Read more »
When I worked for Vice President Gore’s reinventing government initiative, he told us “don’t move the boxes, fix what’s inside the boxes.” He also talked expansively about creating “virtual agencies” organized around the needs of each individual citizen. We had no idea what he was talking about when he was describing the Virtual Department ofRead… Read more »
George Washington University professor Kathy Newcomer likened the Obama Administration’s performance agenda to a game of “Where is Waldo?” at a Brookings Institution forum last week on improving government performance. She says “you have to look carefully” to find it. She said there was no orchestrated campaign with a band leading the way. Newcomer’s insightRead… Read more »
Obama signed the GPRA Modernization Act in January. While OMB has yet to issue any formal guidance to agencies on what they should do, there has been a flurry of conferences, forums, and seminars that have focused on the new law’s meaning and intent. In the past month, I’ve participated in more than a halfRead… Read more »
Over the past two decades, Congress and the Executive Branch have created a series of “chief officer” positions in agencies, supported by cross-government councils. Council leaders are now changing the way they manage them to boost government efficiency and effectiveness in lean times. Agencies facing increasingly challenging fiscal environments are looking for ways to makeRead… Read more »
President Obama signed a memo to all agency heads yesterday with an unwieldy title: “Administrative Flexibility, Lower Costs, and Better Results for State, Local, and Tribal Governments.’ But it contains the seeds of a potential shift in how the federal government works, if implemented smartly. Over the years, presidents have directed agencies to streamline theirRead… Read more »
Attention to the FY 2012 budget’s performance and management initiatives have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the proposed budget cuts by both the President and the Congress, and the resolution of the pending FY 2011 continuing resolution. For the most part, the management section of the budget, reflects a continued commitment to initiatives initiallyRead… Read more »
If you ran a business and only 65 percent of your customers were satisfied, do you think you’d stay in business very long? That’s what a recent survey found from customers of many federal agencies, and their customers aren’t happy! In response, Cong. Henry Cuellar re-introduces his customer service enhancement bill. The annual federal customerRead… Read more »