As I closely follow developments in the current wave of acquisition reform, there certainly seems to be a focus on awarding more fixed price contracts, and the reduction of other contract types such as cost type and time and materials. What I find interesting in all this talk about commercial best practices and streamlining theRead… Read more »
In 2006, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) authorized the Performance and Accountability Reporting (PAR) Pilot Program, which permitted executive branch agencies to use an alternative approach to reporting financial and performance information. Eleven departments and agencies volunteered to participate in the FY 2007 PAR Pilot Program. Three initiatives were held to assess andRead… Read more »
I absolutely love this article and thought I would share it with the GovLoop Community. Government managers are often told that they should look to the private sector on how to run their organizations. While government can certainly learn from best practices in the private sector, I have included a piece below that talks aboutRead… Read more »
Big news from today’s Obama Weekly Address. Most importantly for gov’t folks: “Third, we’ll look for ideas from the bottom up. After all, Americans across the country know that the best ideas often come from workers – not just management. That’s why we’ll establish a process through which every government worker can submit their ideasRead… Read more »
Public managers in communities across the country are under increasing pressure by the public to report on the outcomes and results of their programs. With both internal and external demands for information, public managers not only need to provide an accounting of resources expended and services provided, but also report on performance and outcomes. TheRead… Read more »
Here’s a cool video, based on the fascinating book of the same title, that explains how organizations are starting to embrace Web 2.0 as a means of enhancing performance and delivering bottom-line returns. The battle is essentially one between horizontal networks and vertical institutions. Social networking is antithetical to traditional hierarchical power structures and thereRead… Read more »
I recently read the following, and thought I would share a little humor… Enjoy! ——————————————————————————– Quotes taken from actual (U.S.) Federal Employee Performance Evaluations ——————————————————————————– 1. “Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.” 2. “I would not allow this employee to breed.” 3. “This employee is notRead… Read more »
Shelley spoke yesterday to the government-wide Performance Improvement Council about her report and recommendations. The members, including OMB staff, were very receptive to her insights and many thought that they could begin acting on her ideas even before a Chief Performance Officer is appointed! Read the report here.
I wanted to share a letter with the GovLoop Community written by one of our partners and featured change agents, Ken Miller, author of We Don’t Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths that Keep Government from Radically Improving. The letter was published by Governing Magazine last month. I look forward to hearing your feedback on theRead… Read more »
We had a great performance management event last Friday, sponsored by the IDeA and the Local Authority Research Councils Initiative. There was a great line-up of speakers who covered everything from the academic theoretical side of performance management to the nuts and bolts of systems thinking to rubbish collection and disposal in Northern Ireland. ThisRead… Read more »