Moderator Trey Hodgkins (far left) and panelists from left to right: Richard Beutel, Kevin Cummins, Aaron Wasserman and Angela Styles. “Taxpayers deserve a government that harnesses technology to better serve the people.” I would be surprised if anyone disagreed with this profound statement from former Missouri governor Matt Blunt. Citizens expect their government to spendRead… Read more »
However hard you try to represent people, the chances of their feeling well represented remain small. That’s not a reason to despair. It is a reason to remember that there is a gap between those who consult and those who are consulted, between those who provide and those who are provided for, which is likelyRead… Read more »
This morning I attended the breakfast launch of the Open for Business: How Open Data Can Help Achieve the G20 Growth Target report. The report was written by Nicholas Gruen (former chair of the Gov 2.0 Taskforce) and his team from Lateral Economics, with support from Victoria University and commissioned by the Omidyar Network (theRead… Read more »
Governments today face serious, seemingly intractable public management issues that go to the core of effective governance and leadership. Government leaders are presented with difficult choices, but also unprecedented opportunities. The right kind of leadership approach and style can drive change in government. From budget reductions to a struggling economy, disasters to pandemics, the seeminglyRead… Read more »
The Obama Administration has done wonders in terms of young, fresh talent entering the public sector. The Pathways Program Initiative was initiated in 2012 to improve the federal sector by hiring more recent graduates, streamlining the federal hiring process and hiring veterans. Essentially, the program has three main facets: hiring process, internship program and theRead… Read more »
At every level of government, citizens are working to learn more and connect, share their ideas, effect change, and improve services. And despite this growing trend of moving all conversations online, there are many government entities that are hesitant to formally endorse or launch this kind of dialogue. Common questions include: “what if the dialogueRead… Read more »
How do we know if states (or my state) are acting efficiently with tax dollars and if programs or initiatives are working? Surprising, we know little from the states themselves. “Of course, our programs are working,” say the elected politicians! “Our programs are more effective than ever!” say the myriad of special interest groups clamoringRead… Read more »
In advance of the Afghan Presidential election run-off scheduled for June 14, Larry Sampler, assistant to the USAID Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan join me on The Business of Government to explore how USAID has sought to promote stability and order in Afghanistan and what is USAID’s three-fold transition strategy. The following is an excerptRead… Read more »
Which comes first, open data or open government? This question was posed at the Sunlight Foundation’s recent TransparencyCamp. The two-day event featured various outbreak sessions and thought-provoking messages from industry professionals. You can view additional coverage of the event here, “ICYMI: TransparencyCamp Event” and here, “Improving Data.gov: Insights from Sunlight Foundation’s Transparency Camp“. One ofRead… Read more »
Does greater transparency in government translate into greater citizen legitimacy and trust for government action? It depends, concludes a new study by a Swedish scholar. The Open Government movement has captured the imagination of many around the world as a way of increasing transparency, participation, and accountability. In the US, many of the federal, state,Read… Read more »