Awards

Note: A recording of the 2023 Virtual CAP Awards Ceremony and the following Tribute to Harry Hatry is now available using the following link: https://vimeo.com/818373359.

The Center for Accountability and Performance (CAP) Annual Awards for 2023

THE HARRY HATRY DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AWARD

The Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Management Practice Award is presented to an individual whose outstanding teaching, education, training, and consultation in performance management has made a significant contribution to the practice of public administration.  The award winner must have spent the primary part of his/her career in public service.  This award recognizes a person who has made outstanding contributions on a sustained basis rather than a single accomplishment.

Selection Process – John Kamensky and Rakesh Mohan, the Hatry Award Co-Chairs, used a list of former nominees and a few additional names to create a robust pool of well-deserving individuals who have demonstrated their lifetime commitment to accountability and performance measurement in the public sector, and who met the additional above criteria.  They narrowed this list to the following five finalists (and their current affiliations):

Recommendation to the CAP Board – Among the five finalists, Cheryle Broom’s name clearly stood out.  Unquestionably she has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to promoting and working to improve government accountability and performance.  She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.  She was the first chair of CAP in 1996.  She also co-chaired CAP in 2000 during which time she published a highly demanded and well-thought-out guide for conducting performance management that was used at the federal, state, and local levels for at least two decades.

She has been very active in the field of public administration, specifically as a pioneer in performance auditing, performance measurement, and program evaluation at the state and local levels.  In addition, Cheryle Broom served the broader public administration community via several professional associations.

Highlights of her professional career

Interim Director

Office of Law Enforcement Oversight

King County, WA, 2015 – 2016

County Auditor

King County Auditor’s Office, 2001 – 2013

First Deputy Inspector General

NY State MTA Office of the Inspector General, 1998 – 2000

Legislative Auditor

WA State Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, 1986 – 1998

Earlier in her career, she also served as an evaluator at the U.S. General Accounting Office and a project coordinator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Highlights of her volunteer public service

Board Member

Pacific NW Intergovernmental Audit Forum, 2010 – 2013

Co-chair Community Indicators-Performance Measurement Grant Project

Community Indicators Consortium, 2008 – 2012

President

American Society for Public Administration, 2004 – 2005

She was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration in 2008, where she has served on several projects related to improving the operations of federal inspectors general in several agencies.

THE JOSEPH WHOLEY DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

The Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award (Annual) – This award is presented for outstanding scholarship on performance in public and nonprofit organizations.  The author(s) must provide a significant contribution to advancing knowledge in a scholarly journal or book about the development, implementation, use or impact of performance management.^[1]  Preference will be given to a scholarly work that is relevant to the broad public administration community and is of interest to both practitioners and academicians. (Updated August 5, 2021) 

Eligibility Criteria – Topic: performance management related to organizational performance management or other similar topics (performance measurement, strategic planning, program evaluation, strategic foresight, or the application of other evidence-based analytical tools); Language: only included studies reported in English; Year of publication: within the dates of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022; and Type of Article: peer-reviewed journal articles (viewpoint articles, editorials, book chapters, and articles that discussed cyclical individual performance reviews used in many human resources organizations were not included). 

Curation Strategy – First, a search was conducted within the John Jay database for peer-reviewed articles within each relevant public administration journal (Public Administration Review, PPMR, Public Management Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration, International Journal of Public Administration, Governance, Public Administration) using the keywords “performance management” OR “performance budget” OR “performance measurement”.  Second, a general database search was conducted within the John Jay database using the same search string in order to collect articles that fell outside those publications.  Third, a search was conducted on Google Scholar using the same search string to expand the search and ensure relevant articles were located across all search engines.  Articles were selected for inclusion based on a review of their titles and abstracts to determine if they fit the eligibility criteria. A total of 24 articles were reviewed. Books were not included due to time limit and cost consideration.  

Reading and Coding – Once articles were deemed relevant based on the eligibility criteria and search strategy, they were coded by their topics via an exploratory coding process.  A new category was added when an article in review did not fit any of the themes.  Topics were not mutually exclusive.   

Assessment Criteria – Potential award winners were selected based on the study filling a literature gap, showing clear empirical support of its main findings, demonstrating organization and ease of reading, and offering real, applicable solutions in public administration. 

Recommendation to the CAP Board – Based on their extensive literature review, Elaine Lu, the CAP Award Chair, and her Research Assistant, Claire Fleischer recommended the following article(s) and author(s) as the recipient of the 2023 Annual Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award:

George, B., Pandey, S.K., Steijn, B., Decramer, A. and Audenaert, M. (2021), Red Tape, Organizational Performance, and Employee Outcomes: Meta-analysis, Meta-regression, and Research Agenda. Public Admin Rev, 81: 638-651. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13327

This research is a meta-analysis of an important topic: red tape. While red tape “has been at the heart of public administration scholarship, as well as a key issue for practitioners worldwide” (p. 639), the authors fill the gap of research synthesis. The two key questions explored are “(1) What is the impact of red tape on organizational performance and employee outcomes, and (2) which conditions moderate this impact?” (p. 639)

From the outset, the paper builds a strong case for the study by laying out how red tape connects to Weberian bureaucracy and New Public Management movement and presenting the reality of multi-layer red tape. 

Through a systematic literature review process, the paper identifies 24 relevant PA articles with 83 effect sizes and conducts both meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis. 

Overall, the research finds “red tape has a significant, negative, and small-to-medium impact on both organizational performance and employee outcomes.” (p. 638) Perhaps more importantly, the research finds that the negative impact of red tape is similar across contexts and that red tape internally imposed by an organization itself is more harmful to outcomes than those imposed by an organization’s environment. The findings point to the importance of public managers in mitigating internal red tapes although, as authors noted, “reducing it might be challenging.” The authors call for future research that incorporates “concepts that bear a family resemblance (e.g., sludge, administrative burden) and also encourage analyses of differing discourses to identify common themes.”

In short, the contribution of this research lies in 1) providing a synthesis on a long-debated topic, 2) differentiating impacts of different types of red tapes, and 3) calling for actions explicitly targeting the mitigation of internal red tape. 

About the authors: Bert George is a professor of Public Management in the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University. Previously, he held a tenured position in the Department of Public Administration and Sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Bert’s research focuses on strategy, behavior, and performance in public organizations using experimental, observational, and metaanalytical research methods. He has won awards from major public management associations, including ASPA, IRPSM, EPGA, AOM, and EURAM. Email: bert.george@ugent.be and 

george@essb.eur.nl

Sanjay K. Pandey is a Shapiro professor of Public Policy and Public Administration at the Trachtenberg School, The George Washington University. He is a recipient of the NASPAA/ASPA Distinguished Research Award and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Email: skpandey@gwu.edu; sanjay.k.pandey@gmail.co

Bram Steijn is a professor of HRM in the public sector at the department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam. His main research areas are people management; leadership and motivation; and teamworking. Email: steijn@essb.eur.nl

Adelien Decramer is a professor in HRM and Organizational Behavior at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and head of the research group HRM and Organizational Behavior at Ghent University. Her main research areas are performance management and people management. Email: adelien.decramer@ugent.be

Mieke Audenaert is a professor of People Management, involving the interrelation of HRM and leadership, at Ghent University in Belgium. Her main research areas are the employment relationship, people management, and performance management. She studies these topics in the specific context of the public sector. Email: mieke.audenaert@ugent.be

THE CAP ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

The CAP Organizational Leadership Award, presented to an organization, recognizes outstanding applications of a systems approach to performance measurement that has resulted in a culture change, sustained improvements, and demonstrated positive effects on government performance and accountability.  The award recognizes an organization, rather than a person that has yielded outstanding results on a sustained basis.  The organization may be selected from all levels of public service organizations, including local, state, or federal government, as well as from international and public service nonprofit organizations. Preference will be given to an organization whose results have been measured and whose impact has been documented in the literature or at conferences.

CAP is proud to present the 2023 Organizational Leadership Award to the City of Alexandria, Virginia.

The City of Alexandria, Virginia has a very stable, active, and nationally recognized performance management system which earned the ICMA Certificate of Excellence in Performance Management in 2021. It also has been in the top ten of the Center for Digital Government’s digital cities award over multiple years and was listed as number two digital city in 2022. The City of Alexandria, Virginia was suggested by David Ammons who noted that Alexandria was a “great” and “fairly obvious choice.” 

• Leadership commitment: The Mayor, City Council, and City Manager are highly committed to Alexandria’s citywide analytics efforts, which is exemplified by their support of a lead department, the Office of Performance Analytics (OPA), that reports directly to the City Manager’s Office. The Department was established in 2012 and has served three City Managers.
• Strategic, priority focused organization: The City is focused on achieving the City Council’s six, measurable, priorities that provide a cohesive direction and focus for City decision making that are viewed through a lens of equity, environmental justice, civility, transparency, respect, and service.
• Public transparency through data: Alexandria is committed to public transparency through data, by providing interactive dashboards on priority topics, like COVID-19, eviction prevention, and City services. 
• Internal business intelligence and citywide data access: Using self-service software, training, and coaching, OPA and departments build, publish, manage, and share data and interactive business intelligence dashboards throughout the organization, including on overtime and 311 (resident service requests). 
• Analysis and program evaluation: Alexandria prides itself on understanding and solving problems through data analysis and program evaluation; a recent example of which is the evaluation of the City’s joint behavioral health and policing initiative. Highlights of other publicly available analysis reports are available here.
• Scientific surveys: The City is committed to understanding, listening to, and sharing the results of residents’ perspective on city services through our regular resident survey.
• Cross-department collaboration: While the City’s analytics initiative is led by OPA, all City departments participate in the initiative including collecting and reporting data as well as collaborating on analysis with OPA. Additionally, the IT Department and Equity Office are major contributors to the success of the City’s analytics efforts. 
• Regional collaboration: The City is a Co-Founder and Co-Director of Mid-Atlantic StatNet, a regional local government analytics consortium, and an Advisory Panel member of the UVA Social Impact Data Commons. 

Additional information available: 

• Website: Alexandriava.gov/Performance 
• YouTube overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfr1uZP9iW4
• Email: performance@alexandriava.gov. 

THE CAP EMERGING LEADERS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS

In 2016, based on the leadership of Michael Jacobson (King County, WA), and the lack at the time of a formal recognition award for emerging leaders in the field of performance management, CAP created a new CAP Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence for up to five early- to mid-career professionals in the field of performance management at the federal, state, or local levels.  Since then, 25 of these awards have been granted, usually being presented at the CAP board meeting associated with the annual ASPA meeting.  This year’s Emerging Leaders Awards will result in 29 recipients of this important award after 7 years from the Award’s inception.

CAP has a history of promoting the adoption of accountability and performance management systems in government.  Traditionally, CAP accomplished its goals through educational materials and awards for scholarship, organizational improvement, and individual leaders/contributors.  As performance management has spread, but remains a developing field of practice, CAP sees an opportunity to recognize and encourage a new generation of practitioners through a CAP Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence program. 

Through recognition by CAP, an Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence will provide an early or mid- career boost to individuals who are actively implementing performance management systems, innovating new practices, and promoting the importance of performance and accountability within their governments and communities. 

As part of the recognition, Emerging Leader award recipients will be invited to (but not be required to) develop a case study or panel presentation about their organization’s performance management practices to present at the annual ASPA Conference.  These CAP-sponsored panels at the annual ASPA meeting would focus on highlighting best and alternative practices from the field and help build the empirical base for additional analyses. Each recipient will also receive a formal Award of Excellence plaque of recognition. 

Emerging Leaders can be self-nominated or be nominated by others and will be chosen by a subcommittee of current CAP Board members.  There will be no more than five awardees per year, they should represent a variety of governments (local, state, and federal), and help promote racial and geographic diversity in the field.  Nominees should have approximately 5-10 years of experience within a government organization and shown leadership, innovation, and/or accomplishment.

The following individuals are recipients of the CAP 2023 Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence:

Rafael Baptista, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Strategy & Innovation Department, Buncombe County (Asheville), 200 College Street, Asheville, NC 28801

Rafael Baptista serves as Buncombe County (Asheville), North Carolina’s Director of Strategy and Innovation.  In this capacity, Rafael leads a standalone department of 11 professionals.  He has spearheaded the County’s first-ever Stat program. He has operationalized the City’s Strategic Plan in a way that has fostered collaboration with a productive focus on measurable progress.  

While in Raleigh, NC, Rafael played a key role in elevating the City’s Strategy and Performance Academy which focused on providing training to employees in the areas of process improvement, performance management, data visualization, and strategic planning.  Rafael also played a leadership role in developing and implementing Raleigh’s citywide LEAN training which included a partnership with North Carolina State University.  He is a very active member of ELGL – often writing articles and steadfastly promoting the benefits of strategy, performance management, and process improvement. 

His social media presence: LinkedIN, Twitter  

Here is an ELGL podcast episode in which you can learn more about Rafael’s work at Buncombe County – “Podcast: Building a Culture of Strategy and Innovation with Rafael Baptista, Buncombe County, NC”  link

Nominated by Monica Croskey Chaparro, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office, Virginia Beach, VA 

Leah Tivoli, Director, Innovation & Performance, City of Seattle

206-775-9780, leah.tivoli@seattle.gov, seattle.gov/innovation-performance

Leah currently serves as the Director of the City of Seattle’s Innovation & Performance team.  Her vision for Innovation and Performance (IP) is to bring effective, equitable, and responsive government services centered on the people we serve. As a multi-disciplinary team, IP partners with departments and community to inspire and incubate new ideas, iterate, and deliver results for the people of Seattle. 

The Innovation and Performance team is currently focused on evaluating the $300M of federal funding packaged as the Seattle Rescue Plan, leveraging citywide data and service design to support leadership manage high priority topics such as homelessness, and developing an open-source application called CiviForm to significantly reduce the time and effort for low-income residents to apply to benefit programs.

Leah has been with the city for 15 years working initially as a Mayors Office Fellow in the City Budget Office before joining Seattle Parks and Recreation where she had increasing complex roles and responsibilities.  In 2016, she became the Deputy Director of Innovation and Performance and was promoted to Director in 2022. 

In May 2020, Leah was responsible for launching a Covid-19 testing system in 2 weeks in partnership with Seattle Fire Department, University of Washington, and Solv (a partner sourced by US Digital Response).  The model quickly scaled to 6 sites in Seattle and Leah was hired to launch another 7 sites in South King County with a host of medical providers and laboratories.  Overall, Seattle and South King County provided over 1 million tests as well as coordination around data that enabled community surveillance statistics.  The team applied human centered design and had empathy at the core of everything they did. 

Using lessons learned from covid-19 testing, Leah’s team designed the system behind the largest civilian run vaccination site at Lumen Field and launched several equity-focused mobile clinics, pop-ups and community hubs.  With strong partnership of Community Based Organizations, the equity-focused sites positive impacts with hard-to-reach populations making an observable difference in vaccination rates. 

Her previous recognitions include:

• USDR Speed of Need Award (2021)
• Engaging Local Government Leaders Traeger Local Influencer Award (2020)
• What Works Cities Certification: Smart, data-driven local government- Gold (2020)
• Seattle Management Association Planning and Project Management Award (2020)
• Bloomberg Innovator of the Week x3

Nominated by Michael Jacobson

Dual-nomination for Thomas Tippett and Sarah Dickinson, both are CountyStat Analysts (or technically “Performance Management and Data Analysts”) in Montgomery County, Maryland Government.

(240) 777-2628, Tom.Tippett@montgomerycountymd.gov; (240) 777-2629, Sarah.Dickinson@montgomerycountymd.gov

Dave Gottesman, the Deputy City Manager of Rockville, MD, who nominated Mr. Tippett and Ms. Dickinson for this award, stated that the reasons he believes that Thomas and Sarah should be considered for this award are that they are two of the most professional, generous-with-their-time-and-knowledge, and technically skilled analysts with whom he has had the pleasure to work with in his 15 years in the field.  They continue to drive innovative and instructive ways of leveraging administrative and public data through interactive dashboards, maps, other data visualizations, and related tools to illuminate issues and challenges facing the County and our residents and other stakeholders.  

On topics and issues ranging from human resources to public safety to Covid recovery to outcomes-based budgeting, these two dedicated and exceptional public service professionals continuously exceed expectations and delight our customers – a group that includes County leadership, colleagues across the organization at all levels, and external partners as well.  Of special note is the role Thomas has played throughout the pandemic to design, build, and manage our public facing Covid dashboard and a variety of internal dashboards and datasets to help manage through the public health emergency; and Sarah’s dedication to creating and leading a variety of learning opportunities to help government employees better understand and use Census data and other datasets to support their work.  Thomas and Sarah are two of the brightest stars in Montgomery County Government, and their work has had a cascading effect that benefits many, from close colleagues all the way out to the public at large.

Nominated by Dave Gottesman, Deputy City Manager, Rockville MD (former Montgomery CountyStat Manager)

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^[1] The field of performance management includes performance measurement, strategic planning, program evaluation, strategic foresight, or the application of other evidence-based analytical tools.  It includes primarily organizational performance management and individual performance management to the extent that it contributes to organizational performance management.  For the purposes of this definition, it is not intended to include the cyclical individual performance reviews that are used in many human resources organizations.