Performance Management
New Year’s Resolution: Use Goals and Measurement, But Wisely
Shelley Metzenbaum, Government Executive
One challenge in using goals is doing so in ways that inspire, rather than frustrate or discourage. A second is making sure pursuit of a goal does not lead to actions that create new problems.

Efficiency/Reorganization
Real Lean Is Not Just About Cutting Costs
Robert Behn, Government Executive
Government’s purpose is not to cut costs. Its real purpose is to produce results that citizens value. And when doing anything, public executives must “always start with purpose.”

Innovation
The Innovation the Grantmaking Process Needs
Beth Noveck and Andrew Young, Governing
The way governments give out money to solve problems is stuck in the past.
Civic Labs: Improving Public Services From the Bottom Up
Kendra Smith and Kevin Desouza, Governing
Innovation platforms are springing up all over, engaging citizens in the process. Government’s challenge is to manage and nurture them.
Government on the Go
John Kamensky and Susan Wedge, Business of Government
Apps are increasingly becoming an avenue for how citizens interact with their government. Government-created or –supported mobile apps offer “on-the-go” services such as finding and paying for parking spaces, reporting potholes and damaged streetlights, and checking restaurant health safety violations.

Presidential Transition
You can never start a transition too early
Zach Noble, Federal Computer Week
The wheels are in motion for the next handoff of presidential power in 2017, and while government has plenty to do, outside partnerships are forming a key part of the “let’s not mess this transition up” coalition.