ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Rakesh Retires

Idaho Capital Sun

CAP Board Member Rakesh Mohan retired this past week. His 21 years as the director of Idaho’s Office of Performance Evaluations was praised by Gov. Brad Little: “Rakesh and his team have set a high standard for providing impartial analysis of complex issues and evidence-based recommendations. Rakesh’s efforts have prompted major improvements to state services and meaningfully impacted Idahoans.”

Crime Data Lags, Thwarting Accountability & Decisionmaking

Washington Post

When the FBI next releases nationwide crime data this fall, the numbers will be up to 18 months old. That’s a problem for policymakers and for the American public. “As a democratic society,” said John Roman, director of the Center on Public Safety and Justice, NORC at the University of Chicago, “we need to know what the facts are, so elected leaders can solve the problem as it exists, not as it’s messaged.”

The Federal Chief Data Officers Council Awaits Guidance

FedScoop

Five years into its existence, the federal organization charged with helping agencies establish best practices for the use, protection and dissemination of data is a year away from sunsetting and still waiting on the release of White House guidance critical to its advisory mission. 

Harnessing State-Local Evaluations Post-ARPA

RouteFifty

The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act provided $350 billion to state and local governments to pilot new interventions to tackle the country’s most critical issues and collect evidence on how well their solutions perform. . . . Governments have until the end of this year to decide how remaining ARPA funds will be spent (and until 2026 to spend the funds). Now is the time for local governments to use this funding to set up evaluations of key programs and policies made possible by ARPA.

Mission Critical: Statecraft for the 21^st Century

University College London

Just as missions call for new accountability metrics, they also invite a break from top-down approaches that have sometimes characterized major government undertakings, including those from local governments. Instead, report author Mariana Mazzucato sees government’s role here as that of an orchestrator taking a light-touch approach that creates space for actors to come together under a unified purpose. 

What Motivates Localities to Use Performance Management?

Barrett & Greene

In a guest column, Bloomberg Center chief of staff Rudy de Leon Dinglas writes: “my research found that transparency is generally closely linked to the motivations found in engaging in performance management practices. . . This alignment between transparency and performance management practices is seen as an enhancement to the legitimacy and credibility of government operations.”

Federal Lead for Customer Experience Has Exit Interview

Government Executive

Departing OMB executive Amira Boland says: “We have to get better about having the accountability system be oriented toward the ends of: ‘What are the outcomes of our programs? Are our programs delivering on the mission that they were statutorily created to do?’”

Resource of the Week: Do We Really Know What Works?

David E.K. Hunter (238 pp.)

This final book by program evaluation pioneer David Hunteris intended for social program practitioners, evaluators, funders, consultants, and advocates.  It contrasts two major evaluation approaches: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and realist evaluations. It offers a series of concrete proposals for improving the quality of program evaluations and refining how to use program evaluation to help improve the lives and prospects of social programs’ intended beneficiaries.

Dustin Brown’s Impact at OMB Over the Past Two Decades: Episode 63

GovNavigators Show (Podcast – 30 min.)

Former OMB Executive Dustin Brown joins the GovNavigators Show to talk about his over two decades at OMB, serving for four different presidents (and developing the Fedeal Performance Framework), and why he left to help improve one of the most important federal agencies in the government – the Social Security Administration.

O’Malley’s Sprint to Use SecurityStat Save Social Security

Government Executive

SecurityStat takes issues at the heart of the agency’s customer service crisis; including call center performance, benefits processing, disability processing and appeals, and over- and underpayments; and requires agency officials to brief O’Malley—and one another—on their progress every two weeks.

Conquering Improper Payments

Government Executive

The solution, according to Doug Criscetello, lies in more precisely defining the various types of such payments and prioritizing those demanding immediate attention. Policy makers should rethink the entire improper payments challenge by dividing the topic into manageable components of 1) fraud; and 2) everything else.

A Toolset for Identifying and Managing Emerging Risk

Partnership for Public Service

Enterprise Risk Management and strategic foresight proactively identify emerging risks and elevate them to the necessary stakeholders for risk-informed strategic decision making. A panel of experts identified three key takeaways.

Nine Cities Recognized for Exceptional Use of Data

Results for America/Bloomberg Philanthropies– What Works Cities

Nine cities – 4 in the US and 5 in Latin America – were recognized by the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification community for using data to make a difference in their communities. For example, the City of Dallas’ use of data includes disaggregated data to inform budget decisions that address inequities based on race and income, resulting in all 42 city departments contributing to the allocation of $40 million of equity investments and establishing 220 metrics that are tracked publicly.  

Resource of the Week: Public Management and Governance Review

Vienna University

This is a new peer-reviewed, open-source academic journal – Vol. 1, No. 1! It distinguishes itself by focusing on concrete management and policy challenges with an emphasis on solutions that lead to more accurate decision-making.

Give Congress the Data It Needs

The Hill

 Soon, the Supreme Court will decide a case that could severely limit the discretion Congress can give the executive branch in the policymaking process.The fallout from this decision could have a lasting impact on the administrative state and how Congress approaches policymaking. It also raises questions about the ability of Congress — which would be required to adopt a more comprehensive approach to its lawmaking process — to assess the performance of federal programs it is responsible for overseeing when our separation of powers keeps much of the relevant information about these programs within the executive branch.

Resource of the Week: The Sludge Daily

GovNavigators (aka Robert Shea)

A fun one-stop website of news and resources to satisfy the urges of even the most federally-focused government geek. . . . It’s not quite living up to its Daily name, but it is worth periodic visits for updates.

How the DATA Act Came About

Governing

What made it possible to pass the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014? What made it effective? How can we replicate its success in a rapidly changing data landscape? One of its advocates, Amy Edwards Holmes, recounts the story.

A Field Guide for Financing Integrated Data Systems & Evaluation

National Academy of Public Administration

NAPA has launched an effort to produce a plain-language field guide that is widely accepted and understood by agencies across all levels of government, providing an easy-to-use roadmap for financing integrated data systems and evaluation projects that can sustain an audit.

How Nashville Learned to Share Data Across Agencies

Governing

Too often, an agency’s transactional software results in users not having visibility into enterprisewide data that would help them fashion more effective solutions. Enterprise technology, when well utilized, provides a platform for problem solving, coordination and communication, which helps officials and residents alike access and visualize intersecting issues.

OMB Has Taken Action to Implement Cross-Agency Priority Goals for Customer Experience

U.S. Government Accountability Office

GAO reviewed OMB and selected federal agencies’ efforts to improve federal customer experience. This report addresses (1) actions taken by OMB and selected High Impact Service Providers to implement federal customer experience improvements; (2) how well OMB facilitated interagency collaboration related to the five customer life experiences; and (3) the extent to which OMB has overseen and assessed progress on Cross-Agency Priority goals to improve federal customer experience.

Produce Results or Lose Funding

RouteFifty
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s message to a room full of homelessness advocates, providers and policymakers: Utah’s homeless system is in for some changes — changes to make sure homeless service providers are producing results toward the state’s goal of reducing homelessness. And if they don’t? They could lose public funding. 

Driving Performance at Brazil’s National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

The organizational culture, behavior, actions and governance demonstrated by a regulatory agency for pubic utilities affect how they oversee and perform. OECD’s Performance Assessment Framework was used to assess Brazil’s National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation and offers recommendations for improvement.

Resource of the Week: Strategic Foresight for US Grand Strategy

Aerospace Corporation

This pilot study demonstrates that structured foresight approaches can strengthen the nation’s ability to develop U.S. National Grand Strategy, which will allow it to better shape and navigate toward its aspirational futures.

Crime, Potholes, Homelessness: Jackson Turns to Data for Answers

Mississippi Today

Jackson is laying the groundwork to use data across city departments and use it to address, initially, youth crime, homelessness and infrastructure needs. 

Navy Looks to Army for More Data Analytics Capability

NextGov/FCW

The Navy wants to piggyback on the Army’s data analytics efforts through a new policy that encourages secure information sharing, the Navy’s chief information officer said.

Performance Management That Puts People First

McKinsey & Co.

Performance management systems for individuals in large organizations help people continuously develop—but most companies fall short of best practices. A set of defined design choices can help guide leaders forward.

The Strategy Room

Alex Brueckmann’s Blog

Brueckmann is an independent consultant specializing in various aspects of Strategy, including strategic foresight and executive leadership. He provides free newsletters and blog posts where he shares useful insights, mainly in the private sector world.

Equitable Data Playbook

U.S. Department of Commerce

This playbook shares best practices and innovations related to data and analytical approaches for improving grant outcomes. Equitable data practices improve the effectiveness and efficiency of federal program dollars through better resource allocation and more informed decision-making.

Resource of the Week: Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis, Pew Charitable Trusts

On May 22, experts from The Pew Charitable Trusts launched an online overview of a major update to Fiscal 50, an interactive platform launched in 2013 that provides timely data on and analysis of state fiscal conditions. The new Fiscal 50 allows readers to view, sort, and analyze data on key trends shaping states’ fiscal health now and over the long term.