ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evaluation
Why Your Agency Should Have an Evaluation Policy Now
Andrew Feldman, Government Executive
It’s necessary to comply with the Evidence Act, but it also provides a critical foundation for making the most out of the new law.

Performance Management
Creating a Critical Mass of Talent and Resources
John Kamensky, Government Executive
There are people at all levels of government experienced in using behavioral science to improve program effectiveness. Officials need to seek them out.
GEAR Challenge gives prize to train federal managers on data-driven decision-making
Federal News Network
A group led by the Volcker Alliance is proposing to try out specific curriculum to train a group of federal employees in the use of data and evidence.
MSPB: There’s a Better Way to do Performance Reviews
Courtney Buble, Government Executive
The Merit Systems Protection Board has some advice: spend more time discussing performance and less time haggling over the actual grades.
OPM Calls on Agencies to Streamline Federal Firing
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Agencies have until March 2020 to eliminate “unnecessary barriers to addressing poor performance,” and even stricter rules are likely on the way.
OPM tells agencies to review, streamline performance management, disciplinary policies
Nicole Ogrysko, Government Executive
Under the latest guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, agencies have new deadlines now to review and then streamline their existing performance management and disciplinary procedures for federal employees.

Customer Service
At 3 agencies, here’s what customer experience overhaul looks like
Jory Heckman, Federal News Network
More than two dozen public-facing program offices have released new data on their annual workloads and are looking at ways to transform their approach to customer service through long-term strategies.

Innovation
GAO Center to Educate Congress on the Big Picture of Future Tech
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
The Center for Strategic Foresight plans to give lawmakers a broad sense of what’s coming in the future.

Analytics/Evaluation
Army’s forthcoming data strategy comes with new standards, ‘ruthless’ enforcement
Jared Serbu, Federal News Network
Once the Army’s new data strategy is officially released, it will come with specific orders telling Army components to adhere to common data standards.

Customer Service
5 ways self-service improves government customer experience
Dan Davis, FedScoop
How agencies can improve citizen services by leveraging modern platforms.

Innovation
Testing Period
Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene, Governing
Pilot programs don’t always fly right.
6 Tips for Piloting New Programs
Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene, Governing
Small test-runs can help an entity avoid big mistakes, but there’s an art to getting meaningful results.
Nudge in the City: Using Science to Improve Public Services
John Kamensky, Government Executive
Cutting-edge technology is nice, but sometimes just changing the size of a mailing envelope can determine whether a program is successful.
How VA is disrupting tech delivery
Kelly O’Connor, Federal Computer Week
A former Digital Service specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs explains efforts to transition government from a legacy “project” approach to a more user-centered “product” method.
GSA’s TTS is being restructured into two ‘pillars’ of effort
Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, FedScoop
GSA’s Technology Transformation Service is reorganizing itself to be more “client-focused.”

Management
OPM policy changes may improve hiring, but only if agencies do not find ways to maintain the status quo
Jeff Neal, Federal News Network
The author breaks down why federal hiring practices are slow, confusing to nongovernment applicants, get tied up in regulations and often result in unqualified applicants getting the job.

Analytics/Evaluation
How a new federal strategy will help government fuel its mission
Andrew Eversden, Federal Times
The way government operates is changing in a world that is driven by data.

Management
Weichert: Agencies Should Include Experts in Hiring Process
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Guidance from the Office of Personnel Management encourages a renewed focus on competencies, rather than “minimum qualifications.”
Senate confirms Cabaniss as new permanent OPM director
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Network
The Senate confirmed Dale Cabaniss to be the permanent director of the Office of Personnel Management, following nearly a year of acting leadership from the Office of Management and Budget.

Collaboration
Filling the Gaps in Collective Impact
Jennifer Blatz, Meg Long, Justin Piff, and Bridget Jancarz, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Nine supporting activities that can help make “collective impact” approaches more nuanced and rigorous.

Customer Service
GSA Seeks to Simplify Citizen Survey Work for High-Impact Agencies
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
GSA will usher certain agencies through Paperwork Reduction Act regulations to meet the administration’s customer experience goals.

Innovation
GEAR Center’s First Projects Focus on Government’s Perennial Workforce Issues
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
The research center’s first challenge winners aim to fill government openings with alternative talent and beef up the workforce’s data skills.
Government steps out on ‘nudges’
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Years after OMB began pushing the idea of soft paternalism in federal programs, a GSA office is quietly leading cutting-edge efforts.
GAO Launches New Unit to Prepare Congress for the Future
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
The Center for Strategic Foresight held its first conference, focused on two problems closer to the present than the future: deep space and deepfakes.

Leadership
Why agencies are mapping out new and improved leadership development models
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Network
Both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management are building new leadership development models for a modern era.

Management
OMB’s CyberStat program is ‘evolving’
Derek Johnson, Federal Computer Week
Following an audit that found OMB could be making better use of the cybersecurity reviews, Federal CISO Grant Schneider said agency is looking at revamping the program ahead of next fiscal year.
How Satellite Technology is Helping the Government Make Data-Driven Decisions
Douglas Postman, Nextgov
Overhead space systems can capture and deliver visual data far more effectively than ever before.
Treasury Dept. to overhaul CFO role with focus on data-driven decision-making
Jory Heckman, Federal News Network
The President’s Management Agenda addressed the need for agencies to overhaul their approach to customer experience, but the Treasury Department has drafted a plan to put those ideas into practice.
Can the civil service be broken?
Jeff Neal, Federal News Network
The author says he didn’t used to think so, but the recent USDA situation makes him think the civil service might in fact be broken.

Analytics/Evaluation
Promoting Chief Data Officers in Data Strategy Will Lead to a Major Government Transformation
Jane Wiseman, Data Coalition
The author, CEO at the Institute for Excellence in Government, offers her perspective on the Fderal Data Strategy and recommendations for facilitating data literacy and data leadership in government.

Innovation
For DOD, Innovation Isn’t the Problem. So What Is?
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Three officials from varying military offices focused on innovation asserted that the department’s research and development game is strong, it’s the follow-through that causes problems.
The Trump Administration’s Plan to Usher in ‘Second Bold Era’ of Science and Technology
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
The administration’s lead budget and science policy shops released an outline of funding priorities to maintain America’s competitiveness through research and development of new technologies.
DHS, OMB prep bug bounty rollout
Derek Johnson, Federal Computer Week
The agencies are seeking public comment on how to structure information collection activities related to its new vulnerability disclosure program.

Management
People Don’t Always Behave Rationally—Agencies are Learning to Plan for That
John Kamensky, Government Executive
Officials are increasingly leveraging the power of behavioral science to enhance program performance.
After successful first cohort, CIO Council looking to expand, sustain cyber reskilling academy
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Network
The first cohort of the Cybersecurity Reskilling Academy has helped the administration identify some promising successes and some tough challenges, which federal CIO Suzette Kent said will inform future iterations of the program and other training initiatives.

Analytics/Evidence
4 Recommendations for a Strong Federal Data Strategy
Dan Tucker, Nextgov
We can expand upon the recommended actions to ensure federal agencies leverage data to advance their missions.

Collaboration
Defense Department Inaction Is Hurting Effort to Improve Pentagon Efficiency
Courtney Buble, Nextgov
Officials are nearly two years late in meeting some congressional requirements.

Customer Service
The Problem With One-Stop Government
Stephen Goldsmith, Governing
It was a big improvement for permitting and other forms of service delivery, but it’s already outdated. The new goal should be no-stop government.

Innovation
Agencies have a lot of options to find innovation, it’s a matter of using them
Jason Miller, Federal News Network
Officials coordinating the implementation of the Customer Experience Cross-Agency Priority Goal and OMB’s GEAR Center are spearheading different approaches to bringing new thinking into the government.
4 modernization best practices
David Egts, Federal Computer Week
To support long-term modernization initiatives, agencies must invest in skilled staff and open, automated and collaborative processes.