Most local governments resist setting and evaluating performance goals. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to their credit requires local governments that receive HUD funds to submit a Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The CAPER explains how a local government is carrying out its housing and community development strategies, projects,Read… Read more »
I was reading Deb Green’s post, Preventing the Miserable Workplace — that was miraculously trending on the GovLoop homepage this morning, four months after its original publish date — and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a fed employee friend who is unequivocally unhappy with his workplace. Deb’s post is about howRead… Read more »
A perennial lament by advocates of the use of performance measures is that Congress seems to rarely use them in making decisions. Here’s a guide prepared by GAO, along with three examples of how congressional committees have used performance information to make decisions. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) works for Congress and is a bigRead… Read more »
Which risks can be managed using a compliance model vs. which risks need other approaches? Robert Kaplan and Anette Mikes provide a framework in a great Harvard Business Review article. In their HBR article, “Managing Risks: A New Framework,” Kaplan and Mikes say: “risk management is too often treated as a compliance issue that canRead… Read more »
IBM Center for the Business of Government recently issued a report that provides some very interesting social media insights for federal agencies: which agencies have the highest Klout rankings. If you are not familiar with Klout, it essentially measures your overall social media influence. For example, when you create content or engage through social networks,Read… Read more »
BIM Construction Cost Estimating – Top Ten List First and foremost BIM is the life-cycle management of the built environment supported by digital technology. While the industry is currently fixated upon 3D visualization tools, aka Revit, Archicad, Bentely… they only represent optional components of a BIM solution. Construction cost estimating, and robust, proven project deliveryRead… Read more »
Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from the FedConnects blog. We hope you’ve had a restful weekend and are ready to be the smartest and most efficient government or contractor professional possible. Here’s all the actionable news you need to achieve these goals. Happy Monday! Department of Energy Offers Online Training toRead… Read more »
Will feds soon be asking their customers if they are satisfied with the service they’ve received? Following the customer service initiatives launched by Gore’s reinventing government team in the 1990s, the federal government has waxed and waned on the importance of customer service in the course of serving the public. With citizen satisfaction with governmentRead… Read more »
We often forget that the essence of an organization is its people. Public sector organizations are notorious for this oversight. If we expect them to be successful, innovative, and improve the organization, we need to focus on how we produce leaders and what we expect from the process. That being said, we should ask ourselvesRead… Read more »
Are there legislative options beyond (or in addition to) presidential reorganization authority that could encourage collaboration and not just move boxes? Typically, the cultural, administrative, and legal barriers to working together collaboratively inside the federal government are too high and they discourage efforts to collaborate (more on this in a future post). The Obama AdministrationRead… Read more »