Accountability in Outsourced Public Service Delivery
Public Management Review (gated access)
This case study examines Australia’s aged care system to understand how the accountability architecture was shaped by outsourcing and explore the resulting implications for service outcomes. The study suggests the need for integrating outcome-based performance monitoring mechanisms of the state with those of outsourced service sites.
Digestible Financial Transparency
City of Ferris, TX
The City of Ferris is committed to providing clear and meaningful financial information not only by posting financial documents but also through summaries, visualizations, downloadable data and explanations of city processes. The city is participating in the State of Transparency Star program, recognizing governments for going above and beyond in transparency efforts.
NextGov
The Social Security Administration claims improvements in phone service response time as it relied on a new “average speed of answer” metric. But a report by the Office of Inspector General found this metric is dramatically lower than the amount of time it actually takes to get ahold of an SSA employee by waiting on hold or requesting a callback – a metric SSA no longer reports publicly.
Resource of the Week: San Diego Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Accountability
County of San Diego, CA
This office helps manage the county’s data portal and conducts research and evaluation projects such as the efficacy of guaranteed income as a prevention strategy in child welfare and the use of rent subsidies to prevent homelessness among older adults.
Stop Setting New Targets . . .
LinkedIn (Ayca Tumer Arikan)
As the new year approaches, many organizations rush into goal-setting mode. New targets, new initiatives, new priorities. Most planning is based on assumptions. But before deciding where to go next, we need to understand how performance actually behaves over time.
Independence of Efficiency Measures in Public Transit
State and Local Government Review (gated article)
Much of the public management literature focuses on public organizational efficiency as a singular construct, predominantly emphasizing cost minimization. But financial efficiency must be balanced with service quality and environmental sustainability. These three efficiency measures, however, do not necessarily correlate.
Resource of the Week: Evidence Act Hub
Data Foundation
This digital repository and resource hub designed to preserve and organize strategic plans, reports, and toolkits related to federal data and evaluation activities required under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act). This living archive serves as a central venue for the evidence community to access critical resources that support federal transparency and capacity-building.
New President’s Management Agenda Released
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
This agenda articulates key management reform objectives as priority goals, as established by presidential executive orders and directives encompassing three themes: (1) shrink the government and eliminate waste, (2) ensure accountability for Americans, and (3) deliver results, buy American.
Niskanen Center (Gabe Menchaca)
“It reads like two agendas stitched together: one technocratic, aimed at federal administrators, and one ideological, aimed at unofficial commissars and social media.”
Measuring Safety; Getting It Right
Barrett & Greene (Alex Trembley)
Crime rates shouldn’t be discarded as a measure of public safety, but they should be one indicator in a broader approach to measurement. Relying on crime statistics alone to judge safety is like judging a car’s performance only by engine failures.
Using AI in Program Evaluation
IBM Center for The Business of Government
This report by Daniel Fonner provides a timely and practical framework for integrating AI into an important function of government: program evaluation and performance auditing.
Performance Rankings Distract Readers from Paying Attention to Performance Info
Public Management Review
“Performance information is often presented in a ranked format. Rankings aggregate a multitude of performance dimensions into an overall score. Simultaneously, rankings may constrain cognitive processing of performance information because they distract users’ attention away from the information underlying the ranking calculation.”
Resource of the Week: How to Measure Anything, 3rd Edition
Douglas Hubbard (2014) Wiley Publishers
“The myth that certain things can’t be measured is a significant drain on our nation’s economy, public welfare, the environment, and even national security. In fact, the chances are good that some part of your life or your professional responsibilities is greatly harmed by a lack of measurement-by you, your firm, or even your government.”
WEBINAR: Maryland Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement: Turning Data into Better Government (Tues., Dec. 9, 1:00 p.m. Eastern)
ASPA Center for Accountability and Performance
States across the country have perennially sought to improve their operations, using different approaches. This webinar will be a conversation with the State of Maryland’s first Chief Performance Officer who will provide an overview of how the State uses performance measurement, data analytics and management techniques to improve performance, spark innovation and save money.
WEBINAR: Introducing the Evidence Act Hub (Wed., Dec. 10, 1:00 p.m. Eastern)
Data Foundation
This webinar will unveil the Evidence Act Hub—a new centralized platform for evidence-based policymaking resources. For the first time, federal agencies’ evidence plans, evaluation reports, and other vital U.S. data and evaluation resources will be accessible in a single, searchable location
Declining Foresight Capacity Is Alarming
Toffler Associates (Maria Bothwell)
We are living in a moment when the future refuses to stay “in the future.” On one front, major disruptions like geopolitical, technological, and environmental are cascading faster than our traditional planning cycles. On the other, the institutional capacity to “look ahead” is visibly contracting.
Resource of the Week: How to Choose the Right Evaluation Methods
Illuminate, LLC
Good evaluation methods shape how people understand their work, how organizations learn, and how decisions are made. Choosing the right methods is one of the most important strategic choices in any evaluation.
ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance 