ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance Management
Agencies highlight accomplishments, prepare for new performance goals
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
The White House will issue new performance goals for agencies as part of its fiscal 2015 budget request.
OMB Cites Progress On Agency Performance Goals
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Agencies are making significant progress meeting established priority goals, OMB has reported.
New performance goals in the offing
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
The Obama administration’s performance goals will be refreshed as part of the fiscal 2015 budget plan, and the Performance.gov website where progress on goals is recorded will get a refresh.
HUD’s Danzig heading to OMB to lead performance office
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
Danzig is coming to OMB from the Department of Housing and Urban Development where she was the director of strategic planning and management since 2012.

Analytics/Evaluation
Implementing Big Data Projects: Lessons Learned and Recommendations
Dan Chenok, Business of Government
A new report provides an introduction to the concept of big data.

Innovation
Shark Tank: HHS Edition
Gadi Ben-Yehuda, Business of Government
13 teams of government entrepreneurs made pitches in a “shark tank” environment to continue funding for their innovation programs through a new initiative at HHS called HHS Ignite.
Using prize competitions to spur innovation in government: An interview with Jenn Gustetic, Prizes and Challenges Program Executive, NASA
Andy Feldman, GovInnovator Blog
To date, nearly 300 prize competitions have been implemented by 45 agencies through the website Challenge.gov. One of the leaders in conducing prize competitions has been NASA.

Performance Management
OMB’s New Annual Strategic Reviews
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Federal agencies this year will be subject to a new statutory requirement. A new law requires the Office of Management and Budget to annually determine if agency programs meet goals set out in their annual performance plans. To do this, OMB has created a new review process.
The Case Against Performance Reviews
Derek Thompson, Government Executive
Does the performance evaluation process, itself, deserve a similarly rigorous performance review?

Performance Budgeting
Which Comes First, Resources or Results?
Robert Behn, Government Executive
Producing better results requires resources, yet who will provide resources to an agency that cannot demonstrate the ability to produce better results?

Analytics/Evaluation
Are You Ready for Analytics 3.0?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Analytics guru Thomas Davenport says that the field of strategic analytics has been upped a notch to “3.0” with the recent trend of shifting the use of analytic methods from improving internal operational efficiency to improving the operation of products and services.

Innovation
Philly Schools Officials with New Innovation Academy
Jason Shueh, Government Technology
Philadelphia officials invent a city Innovation Academy to put structure and longevity behind innovative government.
Achieving Success with Agile Delivery
Dan Chenok, Business of Government
A new report is designed to help program leaders understand how best to leverage IT in a way that minimizes time and cost and maximizes mission and operational effectiveness.

Open Government 
U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel on the risks and potential of open data and digital government
Alex Howard, E Pluribus Unum
An interview with the Federal CIO on the administration’s open data executive order.
Report: White House seeks to defang transparency bill
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
According to a leaked draft of proposed revisions to the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, the Office of Management and Budget is seeking to remove the open-government legislation’s dedicated funding stream and edit language calling for standardized governmentwide data elements for reporting federal spending.
Open Gov Defined – More Than A Noun, A Verb Of Gov Transformation
DorobekInsider
Defining open government, e-government and government 2.0 is the first step to optimizing these technology solutions.

Efficiency/Reorganization
Initiative aims to find and fix federal inefficiencies
Frank Konkel, Federal Computer Week
The Government Transformation Initiative, a coalition of corporations and nonprofits seeking to improve government operations, is pushing legislation that would create a federal board with the authority not only to assess operational practices within agencies, but provide actionable solutions to Congress and the president.
Watchdog: Pentagon’s Efficiency Effort Lacks Proper Metrics
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Budget cuts and lax metrics have slowed a three-year-old push by the Defense Department to track its efficiency initiatives, the Government Accountability Office reported.

Innovation
Challenge.gov claims innovation honor
Federal Computer Week
The General Services Administration’s Challenge.gov, which uses contests to engage with the public and spark new ideas, is the winner of the Innovations in American Government Award.

Open Government
Agencies ‘open the door’ to innovative uses of social media
Shefali Kapadia, Federal News Radio
More than 60 social media apps are now available to agencies, allowing them to select the best method to meet their missions.

Analytics/Evaluation
Getting in the big-data game
Frank Konkel, Federal Computer Week
The rapid growth of available information presents opportunities for the U.S. government — the largest holder of information in the world — but getting into the big-data game poses serious challenges for individual agencies.
Rigorous program evaluation on a budget: An interview with Jon Baron, President, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy
Andy Feldman, GovInnovator Blog
How can public leaders and program managers gain rigorous, useful insights into program effectiveness at a modest cost? A report by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, “Rigorous Program Evaluations on a Budget,” offers suggestions.

Innovation
Pay for success not services
Emily Jarvis, DorobekInsider
Pay for success builds on pay for performance but alters it slightly. Instead of paying for delivery of services, for output, government only pays when providers delivers outcomes.
Innovation in the City of Austin
Innovategov
Many local governments are embracing innovation initiatives that have become commonplace in the private sector. Budget pressures and constituent expectations are pushing government leaders to act. From interactive citizen smartphone apps to appointed officials responsible for driving innovation, the changes in government are encouraging.

Open Government
GAO: Agencies need to improve IT Dashboard data
Frank Konkel, Federal Computer Week
A new GAO report suggests a need for more accurate and timely data flowing to the federal IT Dashboard if the Office of Management and Budget is to properly manage IT investment risk.
Key Transparency Fund Survives in Spending Bill
Gavin Baker, Center for Effective Government
The Electronic Government Fund (E-Gov Fund) will receive a slight boost in funding from recent years, while still falling short of the administration’s funding request.
Government Can’t Do It All, But the Public Can Help
Debra Decker, Government Executive
Government cannot tackle all of the nation’s problems, and it recognizes the need for more help. More agencies should consider an appeal to the public — an approach that leverages citizen problem-solvers. It’s a promising innovative practice that some in government are just starting to embrace.

Performance Management
Measurement, Management, and Leadership
Bob Behn Performance Leadership Report
Performance measurement is not the same as performance management. And neither is the same as performance leadership. For the operational questions about measurement, management, and leadership that public executives must answer are quite different.
When Government Pays for Success, Not Services
John Grossman, Government Executive
Since the world’s first pay for success project launched in the United Kingdom three years ago, the idea of governments “paying for success” using innovative public-private partnerships has sparked the development of pilot projects around the world.

Analytics/Evaluation
Four things to watch in big data
Frank Konkel, Federal Computer Week
Big data is growing in usefulness. What then can we expect in 2014?

Efficiency/Reorganization
OMB Directs Agencies to Embrace ‘Value Engineering’
Charles Clark, Government Executive
In its first such update in two decades, the Office of Management and Budget has revised long-standing guidance instructing agency managers to adopt the private-sector discipline known as “value engineering” to boost innovation and achieve savings.

Innovation
Report: Administration mulls new federal IT unit
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Fallout from the botched rollout of the HealthCare.gov website could include major changes to the way the federal government hires IT personnel and manages large scale IT projects.

Open Government
Four Roles for Citizen Co-Creators
Gadi Ben-Yehuda, Business of Government
A new IBM Center report explores how citizens are participating in co-creation of government services and how public sector leaders can develop programs that make use of their time and talents.
What Is the Public’s Role in Government?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
The Clinton Administration promoted customer service. The Bush Administration expressed sympathy for taxpayers. The Obama Administration has advocated citizen engagement.