ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance Management
Performance Budgeting, Texas-Style
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Back in June, Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar spoke at a conference where he declared that he wanted to embed performance measures in each agency’s appropriation bill. What could this look like?
Performance Metrics – Are they the missing link in government procurement?
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
The metrics around procurement are murky at best. But the National Association of State Chief Information Officers is trying to clear up some of the confusion.

Analytics/Evaluation
What not to do with your data
Troy Schneider, Federal Computer Week
Two new books help map out the danger zones of data visualization, and of the datasets themselves.

Collaboration
Collaborating to Make a Difference
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Recent reports suggest that VA is reducing its backlog. One factor: greater collaboration with veterans service organizations.

Efficiency/Reorganization
The Case for Lightweight Government
William Eggers and Paul MacMillan, Governing
In the information age, getting better results needn’t always mean massive spending and heavy infrastructure. There are innovative ways to get the same results at a fraction of the cost, or even at no cost.

Innovation
Government of the Future – How Competitions Create Innovation
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
Each year Governing Magazine hosts a competition for university students looking to change the way government works. It’s called thePublic Policy Challenge and it’s goal is to think through the entire process of an idea, from concept to budget to implementation.

Open Government
Agencies can learn from stimulus’ data transparency
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
GAO recommends other agencies adopt the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board practices of using single government-wide identifiers, and of standardizing data reporting requirements.
Telling Citizens What Exactly Government Does Would Cost $100 Million
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Proposed legislation to meticulously track every federal program and contract would cost $100 million over five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
White House asks for feedback on second National Action Plan for Open Government
Alex Howard, E Pluribus Unum
As the annual Open Government Partnership conference draws near, the White House would like the people to weigh in on building a more open government.

Performance Management
Obama Nominates Consulting Executive to Fill Management Chief Void
Charles Clark and Amelia Gruber, Government Executive
President picks McKinsey & Co. official as deputy director for management.
Analysis: Cobert must avoid second term pitfalls
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
Experts say Beth Cobert, President Obama’s nominee for deputy director of management, must bring energy and new ways of thinking to old problems.
4 easy steps to re-boot performance management
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
Interview with Tom Fox, Vice President for Leadership and Innovation at the Partnership for Public Service.

Innovation
Revamped innovation agenda focuses on people power
Jack Moore, Federal News Radio
The architects of President Barack Obama’s second-term management agenda say changing the culture of the federal workforce — not just technology — is driving the administration’s efforts to make government more innovative.
The Process of Innovation
Innovategov
You can foster innovation in your organization by implementing some basic processes to help generate, solidify and evaluate innovative concepts for products, services or internal improvements.

Open Government
Push for more federal data transparency gaining momentum on Capitol Hill
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
House lawmakers will take another crack at improving federal data transparency laws in the next few months.

Performance Management
Rethinking the Accountability Culture – Partnership Matters
Dr. Paul Eder, InnovateGov
Often when an organization is focused on “accountability” – this becomes the end goal, instead of the actual achievement of results. The culture and requirements of the federal space transform accountability into compliance; with more emphasis placed on checking boxes than on making sure the boxes that are checked are actually yielding results.

Analytics/Evaluation
Results First: Moving States Forward
Pew Results First Initiative
Webinar on the Results First Initiative, which is working to help states implement a cost-benefit analysis approach to help identify the best, most cost-effective policy options.

Collaboration
How to Boost Your Team’s Brainpower
Kimberly Samuelson, Government Executive
Communities of practice tap existing knowledge to drive innovation.

Innovation
Civic-minded hackers code well for the future
Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times
The nonprofit Code for America, whose tech wizards call themselves the Peace Corps for Geeks, uses technology to make government work better.

Open Government
What’s the Future of Crowdsourcing, Civic Engagement in Government?
Sarah Rich, Government Technology
Governments can better connect business processes for more efficient civic engagement.

Performance Management
Fed Confession: I Have No Idea How to Measure Performance
Jackson Nickerson, Government Executive
Why finding the right performance metrics can be so tricky.

Analytics/Evaluation
The Emerging Role and Merits for Chief Data Officers
Gadi Ben-Yehuda, Business of Government
What should a Chief Data Officer (CDO) do? And how should the success of a CDO be measured?

Analytics for Smarter Communities
Wayne Hanson, Government Technology
For local governments drowning in data, analytics offers a way to make sense of it all.

Efficiency/Reorganization
Back to the future with BPM
John Moore, Federal Computer Week
Business process management, a concept with roots that plunge more than 20 years into the past, is finding new roles in helping agencies through tough budget times.
Why a transformation commission is good for feds
Steve Goodrich, Federal Computer Week
Legislation before Congress could provide vital support for agencies that are struggling to save money while serving the public.
Ex-Air Force Chief to Lead Effort to Slash Defense Headquarters Operations
Tom Shoop, Government Executive
Former Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley will lead a review of the organizational structure of the Office of the Secretary of Defense aimed at slashing its budget and cutting the number of people who report directly to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Innovation

Service To America Medal Finalists Exemplify Management Excellence
Lara Shane, Government Executive
On Oct. 3, the Partnership for Public Service will present the Service to America Medal for Management Excellence to one of four finalists.
Harnessing Silicon Valley funding approaches to drive breakthrough solutions in the public sector: An interview with Jeffrey Brown, Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) Program at USAID
Andy Feldman, GovInnovator Blog
The Development Innovation Ventures Program (DIV) at USAID launched in 2010 with a mission to find, test, and scale ideas that could radically improve global prosperity.

Leadership
Tri-Sector Leadership Skills
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Why are some public sector leaders — like John Koskinen, Ed DeSeve, and Michael Bloomberg – so successful at what they do?
How to build the leadership bench
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
Interview on a new report on SES leadership, which found that agencies need to develop a strategic and comprehensive approach to leadership development.

Performance Management
Performance Review 101 – How to get real results
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
Interview with Tom Fox, Vice President for Leadership and Innovation at the Partnership for Public Service, on best practices for employee performance reviews.

Innovation
The silent killer of innovation
Frank Konkel, Federal Computer Week
The government has access to all manner of exciting and useful technologies, but is not always able to take full advantage of them.

Open Government
Four Approaches to Crowdsourcing
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Is this a Golden Age for citizen involvement in government? As dismayed as some may be with the political process, there are growing opportunities for meaningful engagement in many areas, thanks to growing social media tools and a willingness to participate by many ordinary people.
Leveraging the power of the crowd
Emily Jarvis, GovLoop
Opening up a problem to a large community can yield brand new perspectives.
Administration releases more guidance to open up agency data
Andy Medici, Federal Times
The administration has released additional guidance to push agencies to make government data more transparent.