The IBM Center’s newly-released “Next Four Years” Resource Center updates its 2009 Presidential Transition materials for new political appointees. But it offers more in the way of other good government imperatives that will challenge leaders tomorrow. There are six “go to” topics in the IBM Center’s Resource Center for incoming new political appointees as wellRead… Read more »
Earlier this month, a forum co-hosted by the National Academy of Public Administration and the IBM Center for The Business of Government reflected on the evolution of a results-oriented federal performance management system over the past two decades and how it will evolve over the next few years. The forum participants comprised a range ofRead… Read more »
This holiday season, the Government Accountability Office is compiling a list and checking it twice – of all the government programs it deems as potentially duplicative or overlapping. Three years ago, GAO was required by law to annually publish a report detailing duplicative, overlapping, and fragmented federal programs. It will be issuing its third reportRead… Read more »
Is technology an operating cost to be cut or an investment that creates large-scale savings? The latter is the premise being posed in a report by tech industry specialists in a new report. A non-profit, educational organization, the American Council for Technology, in conjunction with the Industry Advisory Council, engaged over 100 volunteers in preparingRead… Read more »
What happens beyond the Fiscal Cliff? A blue-ribbon cast of distinguished former federal leaders – largely from the national security community – have endorsed a three-part blueprint for governing in the 21st century. Former Vice Presidential National Security Advisor Leon Fuerth, working with Evan Faber, has released a white paper that has been a decadeRead… Read more »
President Obama said in his first post-election press conference that he was going to ask Governor Romney’s advice on government reform. There has been a lot of advice developed in recent months! Here are some potential resources for them to draw upon. If President Obama meets with Governor Romney to discuss ways to reform theRead… Read more »
Chicken Little squawked about the sky falling. Pundits warn about the Fiscal Cliff. But federal agencies nearly every year hold up the sky while walking on the edge of a cliff. This is the world of Continuing Resolutions and Government Shutdowns. In only four cases since 1975 has Congress passed all appropriation bills before theRead… Read more »
Academics don’t always speak the same language as practitioners. But they oftentimes have useful ideas to convey. So how do we bridge the gap between research and practice? I’ve been asked to participate as a “practitioner” on a discussion panel at the upcoming conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) ItRead… Read more »
Law enforcement has it tough when it comes time to measure their performance. Their effectiveness can’t be just measured on what is reported. After all, the goal of most law violators is to not be caught! So how can we measure what we can’t observe? Cracking the challenge of measuring unobserved behaviors – drug smuggling,Read… Read more »
How do you organize a cross-agency collaborative effort to get results no single agency could accomplish on its own? The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has developed an inventory of “mechanisms that the federal government uses to lead and implement interagency collaboration,” along with a self-assessment checklist to consider when using them. GAO’s latest study onRead… Read more »