ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evaluation
Calculating the Social Cost of Policymaking
Liz Farmer, Governing
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley wants more states to adopt a new measurement tool called “net present value plus.”

Innovation
Urban Innovation for All, by All: A Mayor’s Perspective
Greg Fischer, Governing
Louisville is working to embed innovation practices in city government.
The Challenge of Making Sure Innovation ‘Sticks’
Ron Littlefield, Governing
Words of advice to help ensure the sustainability of an innovation project, initiative or change.

Leadership
The front line for a ‘culture of excellence’
Howard Risher, Federal Times
Each year the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey shows that day to day management of employee performance is the weakest human capital practice.

Open Government
OMB agrees to release government-wide data inventories
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
The “largest index of government data in the world” will soon be made public.

Risk Management
OMB’s A-123 rewrite to flip risk management on its head
Emily Kopp, Federal News Radio
The White House is putting enterprise risk management front and center in its update to a key policy on internal controls expected later this year.

Analytics/Evaluation
The New Data-Driven Government Equation
Kate Bender, Government Executive
Data scientists are integrating open, online public data with citizen surveys to produce a rich and innovative perspective on citizen satisfaction with city services.
Data Analytics Helps Indiana Change its Approach to Infant Mortality
Jessica Hughes, Government Technology
Indiana has been using data analytics to reduce the state’s historically dismal infant mortality rate.

Collaboration
OMB seeks approval for agencies to ante up $15M for cross-agency goals
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
The White House is asking Congress for permission to “pass-the-hat” to pay for cross-agency priority goals.
Cross-agency performance goals in the president’s budget
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Why this year’s emphasis on performance management could be different.

Customer Service
Customer Centricity and the Future of Human Services
William Eggers and Tiffany Dovey Fishman, Government Executive
Assessing individual needs improves results and cuts costs.

Efficiency/Reorganization
Obama Revives Agency Consolidation Proposal
Charles Clark, Government Executive
A previous version in 2012 foundered in a turf-conscious Congress.

Open Government
Obama budget pushes better decisions using open data
Aaron Boyd, Federal Times
The government produces petabytes of data every day and the administration is looking to strengthen the collection and analysis of that information and release more of it to the public.
GSA invites in the masses
Colby Hochmuth, Federal Computer Week
The General Services Administration has launched its online Public Participation Playbook, a resource of best practices and performance metrics for government managers to evaluate and build better services through citizen involvement.

Analytics/Evaluation
Data Innovation Day 2015: Methodologies Behind Analytics Success Stories
Jason Shueh, Government Technology
Experts from the public and private sectors provide tips on issues of data privacy, education, culture, hiring and the many obstacles impeding development.

Collaboration
How Will Government Adapt?: Sharing Across Stovepipes Is the New Normal
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Managing the cost of government will result in breaking down barriers within and between government agencies and levels of government to improve service delivery and reduce cost.

Customer Service
Satisfaction with fed customer service worst ever
Colby Hochmuth, Federal Computer Center
The American Customer Satisfaction Index blames the decline on budget and staff cuts.

Innovation
Public sector innovation teams around the world: An interview with Jo Casebourne, Director of Public and Social Innovation, NESTA
Andy Feldman, Gov Innovator Blog
How can city, regional or national governments use innovation initiatives – teams, units or funds – to catalyze innovation in the public sector?

Open Government
Bill requires agencies to provide detailed program data
Andy Medici, Federal Times
Agencies would have to provide detailed information and performance data for each of its programs, under legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of senators.

Performance Management
Delivery Units Around the World
John Kamensky, Business of Government
A new report from the Inter-American Development Bank examines the increased attention by Latin American and Caribbean countries on using tools and techniques, such as Delivery Units that report to the heads of government, are an effective way to strengthen the coordination and improve results.

Analytics/Evaluation
Big Data: It’s About Complexity, Not Size
Josh Helms, Business of Government
Organizations that do not necessarily have a large volume of data can benefit from a better understanding of the art of the possible with the new generation of analytic tools designed for big data.

Risk Management
Risk Management for Grants Administration
Dan Chenok, Business of Government
A new report examines the experience of the U.S. Department of Education in implementing risk management initiatives, with a focus on grants.

Performance Management
A new model for program management
Richard Spires and Thomas Ragland, Federal Computer Week
Creating governmentwide Program Management Centers of Excellence could save countless programs that are otherwise doomed to fail.

Analytics/Evaluation
Social Programs That Work
Ron Haskins, New York Times
The Obama administration has been pursuing an important initiative to use evidence to improve social programs.
How Will Government Adapt?: Finding and Funding What Works
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Summary of a panel discussion that explored efforts to increase government effectiveness through the use of rigorous evidence about what works.

Collaboration
Understanding the “New Power” Trend
John Kamensky, Business of Government
In the 1990s, a new model of governance emerged – Reinventing Government. This model was rooted in private sector entrepreneurial approaches and market-like incentives. A new model – dubbed “New Power” – has emerged in the 2010s.

Customer Service
Enhancing the Citizen Journey Is a Government Imperative
Thomas Romeo, Government Executive
Expectations have grown for the citizen journey—the experience a person has when seeking government assistance, from beginning to end—and it is imperative that agencies deliver.

Innovation
Empowering a New Wave of Government Innovation
Robert Shea, Government Executive
Lessons from the digital age of community, creativity and collaboration.

Leadership
Ten Secret Truths About Government
Donald Kettl, Washington Monthly
What we can learn from the management mistakes of Obama and Bush.