Analytics/Evaluation
DATA Act: Agile’s First Governmentwide Win
Heather Kuldell, Nextgov
Governmentwide projects are particularly complicated, but here’s one that ends on time and under budget.
What’s coming in Data.gov’s next revamp
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Contracting documents indicate more automation, geocoding and open source are in store for the federal online repository Data.gov.
Do Tiered Evidence Grants Work?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Tiered evidence grants represent a new approach to base funding decisions on evidence of outcomes. But do they work?
9 Ways to Make Federal Legislation Evidence-Based
Results for America
A 9-point plan of ways Congress can “harness the power of data and evidence to solve our nation’s greatest challenges.”
Optimization aids in quest for government efficiency
Steve Bennett, Federal Computer Week
How agencies can use their data to make better decisions.
Harnessing the Power of Evidence
Anne Kazimirski, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Better use of evidence and developments in evaluation practice can shift the power dynamic between funders, service-delivering organizations, and service users.

Customer Service
Doing less with more: How to improve customer experience on a shrinking budget
David Thornton, Federal News Radio
How does an agency improve customer experience while simultaneously dealing with a shrinking budget, a smaller workforce and maybe even a hiring freeze?
Panel: Government-citizen interactions are in desperate need of modernization
Rachael Kalinyak, Federal Times
The federal government lags behind the private sector in delivering an efficient customer experience, and several factors must be addressed to enhance agencies’ citizen-centered services.

Innovation
Crowdsourcing Government: Lessons from Multiple Disciplines
Helen Liu, Public Administration Review
Lessons for meeting the practical challenges of crowdsourcing in the public sector.
To innovate, Trump tech office must prioritize users
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Many administrations have tried to make government more efficient and innovative, but success requires flexibility and focus on the customer.
Could ‘microconsulting’ disrupt government contracting?
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Kelman suggests that short engagements priced under the micropurchase threshold could be just the sort of disruptive innovation agencies need.
Why Innovation Programs Should Target Middle-Aged Bureaucrats
Stan Soloway, Government Executive
Data show that the average age of the most successful innovators is somewhere in the mid-40s.
Design Thinking as a Turnaround Tool
Kriss Deiglmeier, Nadia Roumani, and Amanda Greco, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Changing an organization’s vision and culture takes a long time and tremendous commitment, but design thinking can help lead the way.

Reorganization
OMB details exactly what should — and shouldn’t — be in agency budget plans
Rachael Kalinyak, Federal Times
The Office of Management and Budget has detailed the necessary information agencies should submit with their fiscal 2019 budget submissions.