ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

How Useful is New York City’s “Report Card?”

Barrett & Greene

New York City’s annual Mayor’s Management Report Roundtable on the so-called “input” and “output” measures – the fiscal and manpower resources — of what it was putting into its agencies. An effort proposed in 2012 to focus somewhat more on the results of what the city was doing, and less so on inputs and outputs. Little came out of that effort. Instead, it has expanded with hundreds of new indicators and 20 new goals.

New Target: Tripling Dollars Kept from Fraudsters

Federal News Network

The Treasury Department kept and recovered billions of dollars from fraudsters this year, and is setting more ambitious goals to prevent improper payment in the coming years. Treasury avoided $4 billion in fraud and improper payments in fiscal 2024. Using data analytics, it expects to prevent $12 billion in improper payments annually by 2029.

Guide for Cultivating Healthy High-Performing Agencies

National Academy for Public Administration

The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration asked the Academy to identify effective strategies for strengthening organizational health and performance in the current world of work. This report is a how-to guide for federal managers on ways and resources to improve organizational health and performance.

Resource of the Week: A Reader’s Guide to Government Performance Management

Barrett & Greene

Here’s the beginning of a reading list for people who are either new in this discipline or who are old-timers and want to know still more. Please add your favorites!!

Finishing the Federal Program Inventory

Government Executive

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office in a recent report, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget has until January 2025 to complete an inventory of federal programs. But the agency hasn’t provided a timeline to meet such a target.

Is Your Government Better Performing Than a Year Ago?

Barrett & Greene

Sheila Montney, a city council member for the city of Bloomington, IL, writes about the city’s performance management efforts.  Her advice: “Just start. Anywhere. Focus on work process – not work product. That’s a critical distinction – this is about respecting people, not judging them. Go see work being done, engage people to find ways to make their work easier, and magic can happen.”

How Legislators Define Research Evidence

Evidence & Policy Journal

Understanding how policymakers define research and differentiate it from other sources of data is critical for scientists to improve how they conduct and communicate research to policy audiences. Yet, few studies have explicitly asked policymakers – particularly state legislators in the USA – how they define research evidence. The authors attempt to fill this gap with interviews with 168 policymakers in two Midwestern states.

WEBINAR: Two Cities’ Use of Performance Management

Center for Accountability & Performance (Wed., Oct. 9, 1 p.m., Eastern; Free)

This webinar will provide a look at the experiences, lessons and hope for sustained accountability and performance in two communities: Chattanooga, TN and Dallas, TX. In particular, we’ll explore the journeys of the Office of Open Data and Performance Management in Chattanooga and the Office of Budget and Management Services in Dallas.