ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance and Management

Ten Years On, How Has the Federal Performance System Performed?

Donald Moynihan, Government Executive

An early skeptic finds there’s evidence for optimism, and much the Biden administration can build on.

Current crises call for effective management. Here’s how agencies can cultivate that

Federal News Network

The Biden Administration took office amid a compounding series of crises, and only effective emergency management is going to help successfully navigate them. One guiding way to think about prioritization is the “punctuated equilibrium theory.”

Open Data and Analytics

Why Biden’s Embrace of Evidence in Policymaking Is Just What We Need Right Now

Andrew Feldman and Jed Herrmann, Government Executive

A new presidential memo signals commitment from the very top to the use of data and science at a time when the country is confronted by major crises, two experts say.

Open source: An efficient way to handle data

John Gilroy, Federal TechTalk, Federal News Network

Data is in constant change. Given this fact, how does a federal professional assure that real-time information is provided for key decision-makers?

When Data-Driven Decision-Making is a Mandate

Kevn McCaney, GovLoop

Agencies have shown enthusiasm for achieving the Evidence Act’s goals, though mixed with some uncertainty.

Performance and Management

Biden’s Opportunity to Make Performance Reporting Work a Lot Better

Andrew Feldman and Kathy Stack, Government Executive

The White House should go beyond simply reversing what the previous administration did and use data to improve outcomes through true results-driven governance.

It’s ‘Back to the Future’ to Improve Agency Management Practices

John Kamensky, Government Executive

Given the shift in workplace dynamics driven by the pandemic, creating a new bottom-up initiative with a focus on quality management may be what’s needed now.

OMB memo lays out agency performance metric challenges for Biden administration

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

A last-minute memo from the Trump administration created some uncertainty about performance information in the budget process when OMB removed key guidance from its A-11 Circular. In the final week of the Trump administration, however, OMB issued a second memo, clarifying that agencies should still measure and track program performance data as required by GPRA.

Open Data and Analytics

Treasury’s fiscal data site growing by leaps and bounds

Dave Nyczepir, FedScoop

The Treasury’s one-stop shop for data about federal finances has added six datasets since its launch last summer, with plans for a couple more additions in the next few months.

The Role AI Plays in Safeguarding Government Data

Seth Cutler, NextGov

Government agencies need to pivot to better filter and monitor incoming threats and data with velocity, efficiency and optimization.

Can better data improve federal hiring?

Natalie Alms, FCW

Alternative hiring assessments show promise for improving the yield of successful applicants from federal job postings.

Why Federal Information Governance Is a Team Sport

Lynsey Jensen, Nextgov

The federal government needs to ensure that trust in federal data stewardship is always maintained.

Customer Service

Can government fix vaccine distribution screwup?

Tom Temin, Federal News Network

The hope produced by success of the vaccine tests quickly turned sour as millions scramble to actually obtain shots. You might say the vaccine rollout has been the ultimate customer experience failure.

Performance & Management

Restore Program Performance Data to the President’s Budget

Jed Herrmann and Shelley Metzenbaum, Government Executive

The Trump Administration’s guidance to remove the data from the president’s budget is counterproductive—federal agencies should be increasing their use of performance information to improve results.

Open Data and Analytics

What Is a Margin of Error? This Statistical Tool Can Help You Understand Vaccine Trials and Political Polling

Ofer Harel, Government Executive

Whether you are predicting the outcome of an election or studying how effective a new drug is, there will always be some uncertainty. A margin of error is how statisticians measure that uncertainty.

Data scientist hiring campaign maxes out applications in less than 2 days

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

Ten agencies put out the call to hire program analysts at the GS-13 and 14 levels with at least a year’s worth of prior experience.

Open data: A critical tool for police reform and racial equity

Temilola Afolabi and Paul Kuhne, FedScoop

As the incoming Biden administration tackles police reform, open and transparent data can be one of its most important tools for progress.

Three critical steps to fast-track agency digital transformation, data management

Michael Coene, Federal News Network

Tomorrow’s data architecture needs to support the range of locations wherever work happens and data flows – the edge, the data center core and the cloud. It involves a three-pronged approach.

Intelligence community is calling on AI to ease work on analysts

Scott Maucione, Federal News Network

The intelligence community awarded four contracts to build out a program that will allow artificial intelligence to tag and track satellite images.

Innovation & Open Government

Innovation among feds is alive and well

Steve Kelman, FCW

Steve Kelman shares some survey data on how career executives see innovation in their agencies.

Performance & Management

‘Uncertainty’ in budget process after OMB ends call for agency performance metrics

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

The Trump administration, in an 11th-hour memo, has suspended a requirement for agencies to set strategic planning goals and to share progress made with Congress and the public as part of the annual budget process.

How the Biden Administration Can Supercharge Results by Using Evidence

Andrew Feldman and Jed Herrman, Government Executive

Believe it or not, there has been progress over the last four years in the use of evidence and data to inform decision-making. The new administration can build on those gains.

America Needs a Strategic Plan

Andrew Kleine, Government Executive

A divided, directionless nation yearns for its next moonshot.

Rebuilding Government as a Purpose-Driven Organization

Howard Risher, Government Executive

An agency’s purpose should be the foundation for workforce management.

Management-Related Bills among First Priorities of House

FEDweek

The House has passed, as among its first priorities in the new Congress, several federal agency management-related bills that had made some progress but that fell short of enactment in the prior Congress.

Open Data and Analytics

Looking Beyond the Federal Data Strategy

John Kamensky, Government Executive

A new report on the critical need for intergovernmental data sharing by Harvard’s Jane Wiseman says we need to extend it to become a national data strategy that embraces states and local governments as well.

Better data management requires more education, communication across enterprise, experts say

David Thornton, Federal News Network

There are certain communities across the federal government that excel at data management, like intelligence or acquisition. Outside of those communities, however, a widening consensus on the value of data has outpaced education on how to use it.

GSA data skills catalog promotes ‘learning culture’ of Federal Data Strategy

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

As part of the strategy’s 2020 Action Plan, the General Services Administration has developed a Curated Data Skills Catalog and a Data Ethics Framework to help agencies develop competencies when acquiring, managing, and using data to support their agency’s mission.

NSF develops predictive model to flag improper payments in grants

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

The NSF’s Payments and Analytics Branch has created an open-source predictive model to flag potential improper payments, and is looking to share its work with other grant-giving agencies.

Innovation & Open Government

HHS looking for innovative ways to care for the elderly

Tom Temin, Federal Drive

HHS is asking a wide range of health care providers, academics and startups for information and ideas to address equitable care for the eldery. With more on the effort, the Chief Medical Officer in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Leith States, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Customer Service

Why technology alone can’t solve the government’s customer experience problem

Mike Kapetanovic, Federal News Network

Forward-thinking agencies have realized that the expectations Americans have as consumers also frame their interactions with the government, and the President’s Management Agenda has made improving those interactions a top priority. So why are federal agencies still struggling to catch up to airlines, insurance companies, and other private sector organizations when it comes to CX delivery?

Open Data and Analytics

Federal Data Strategy Year 2 action plan will continue ‘foundational’ actions

Dave Nyczepir, FedScoop

The Federal Data Strategy 2021 Action Plan isn’t yet complete, but it will include a sustained focus on foundational actions around data governance, infrastructure and the workforce.

Three lessons Biden administration should take from DoD’s data strategy

Hodan Omaar, Federal News Network

As President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team prepares to take office, it will be important to ensure all agencies have a strategy in place on how to effectively leverage data as a strategic asset.

Innovation & Open Government

Mapping out a transparent approach for the Biden administration

Tom Temin, Federal News Network

Every new administration promises transparency and accountability. What might be the Biden administration’s approach? The Project on Government Oversight policy analyst Tim Stretton has a few clues which he shared on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

5 Rules to Keep Breaking Barriers in Government

Julie McPherson, Nextgov

The pandemic disrupted how agencies conducted business but federal leaders can harness that momentum. 

Pandemic Response and Oversight

COVID-19 reshaped how federal employees work — but will it last?

Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

Nine months after standing up long-term telework, agency officials are looking at which lessons learned will stick around after the pandemic, when mandatory telework no longer applies to large swathes of the federal workforce.

Racism at the County Level Associated with Increased COVID-19 Cases and Deaths

Geroge B. Cunningham and Lisa T. Wigfall, Government Executive

Blacks are at greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than whites. A study that examined racism at the county level had surprising results.