ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evidence
OMB Moving Ahead to Steer Agencies on Evidence-Based Policymaking
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Acting budget chief’s memo sets up three-year timeline, interagency council.
The new way data will be managed in federal agencies
Andrew Eversden, Federal Times
New Office of Management and Budget guidance directs a new data management structure within agencies.
Small Agencies Need Shared Services Providers to Step Up DATA Act Support
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Large departments are assisting smaller agencies in meeting their DATA Act requirements through shared services providers. But that help isn’t always so helpful.
OMB: How Can We Enhance Federal Data to Boost AI Research?
Brandi Vincent, Nextgov
Artificial intelligence runs best on strong datasets and the White House wants the public to weigh in to improve both.

Management
Why Government Needs to Invest in Workforce Metrics
Howard Risher, Government Executive
Agencies can’t fix problems they haven’t first clearly identified. Better data is essential.
Agencies seek betters ways to track past performance
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
Federal officials want new methods to get feedback on their vendors into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System.
Agencies encouraged to adopt ‘rigorous’ employee evaluations
Jessie Bur, Federal Times
OPM has encouraged agencies to create defined metrics for determining whether an employee fulfills, fails or meets the expectations for their positions.
Rebuilding Government’s Human Capital Should be a Priority
Howard Risher, Government Executive
Too often, the argument for reform is vague or the benefits unclear; on balance employees expect to lose.
High-Level Vacancies Are Weakening Agency Management and Oversight, Lawmaker Says
Courtney Buble, Government Executive
Rep. Gerry Connolly’s comments marked the release of a bipartisan report recommending ways agencies can deliver better on their missions.

Collaboration
Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Improve Federal-State-Local Coordination
Courtney Buble, Government Executive
Bipartisan bill would create an updated version of a former intergovernmental commission.

Innovation
Government Trends 2020
Deloitte Center for Government Insights
Major technological advances have prompted innovation in the private sector—how is government similarly adapting to this change? Nine trends illustrate the most sweeping transformation in governments worldwide.
Shifting culture is the best way to reignite public-sector innovation
Jim Whitehurst, Federal Computer Week
Agencies that embrace transparency, collaboration and meritocracy as foundational values will have more success adapting to a fast-moving and increasingly ambiguous future.

Analytics/Evidence
Evidence-based decision making: What DOE, USDA and others are learning
Wyatt Kash, FedScoop
Evidence-based decision making is gaining traction at agencies, a new report says, and there are some clear lessons about how to increase federal use of the practice.
How incoming chief data, evaluation officers can serve as ‘brokers’ between agencies’ data sets
Jory Heckman, Federal News Network
Agencies don’t lack for a whole host of metrics for their programs. But do those numbers show the whole picture?
Clock Starts on Naming Leaders, Beginning Work on Evidence Act
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Agencies now have official guidance on how to meet the first phase of requirements under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act.
OMB pushes evidence, CDOs and TBM in budget planning
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
In their annual budget planning document, the Office of Management and Budget issued early requirements for Evidence-Based Policymaking and told tech managers to adopt TBM.
White House asks agencies to show their work implementing new laws and policies
Eric White, Federal News Network
OMB has released its Circular A-11 update, tasking agencies with showing their progress in complying with new laws and management requirements.
White House hears from public on data strategy
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
More than 50 experts gathered at the Commerce Department to discuss the path forward to implement the recently released White House data strategy.
Experts Say Federal Data Strategy Needs Leaders and Funding to Succeed
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Stakeholders are pleased the government is poised to take action on the federal data strategy but had some management advice for OMB.
The Federal Data Strategy is a Trump Plan We Should All Support
Nick Hart, Nextgov
It’s stakeholder-driven, it’s bipartisan and it’s reasonable.

Innovation
How Behavioral Science Could Improve Federal Programs
John Kamensky, Government Executive
The private sector has been using psychological insight for years to promote certain outcomes.
Breakthrough Technologies Offer Enormous Opportunity for Federal Leaders—If They Seize It
Meroe Park and Dee Dee Helfenstein, Government Executive
What Silicon Valley calls “exponential technologies” could transform agency operations and boost national security.
The Reasons Your Change Initiative Will Fail
Scott Eblin, Government Executive
Most people focus too much on the results and not enough on the relationships that will yield the results.

Analytics/Evaluation
How to make the Federal Data Strategy succeed
Steven Spano, Federal Computer Week
A chief data officer can drive strategy and execution, but a vision where every employee is empowered by data requires an environment where the right processes and analytic tools become the centerpiece of decisions.
How federal agencies can use agile development to apply open data
Joel Gurin and Katarina Rebello, FedScoop
Over the past three years, a small, dedicated team of federal innovators has been steadily transforming the way government agencies apply open government data.
How Some Agencies Are Rethinking Transparency
Brandi Vincent, Nextgov
It’s not just about posting products for the public, it’s about sharing how an agency got there, federal officials said.

Collaboration
ODNI’s new innovation division wants to be a ‘super-connector’
Dave Nyczepir, FedScoop
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence wants to maximize the innovations that are happening within the intelligence community, through a new division.
How to Transition Social Solutions to Government
Bvudzai Magadzire, Melissa West, Emily Lawrence, Julia Guerette & Barbara Jones-Singer, Stanford Social Innovation Review
A framework for nonprofit and private-sector organizations working to transfer the implementation of their solutions to government agencies.

Innovation
Agencies ramp up use of challenge competitions
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
The White House and General Services Administration are tracking crowdsourcing along with technology challenges as paths to innovation.
Think Government Can’t Do Anything Quickly and Cheaply? Think Again.
Andrew Feldman, Government Executive
Looking to build a “test, learn and adapt” culture, federal agencies have conducted dozens of rapid, low-cost experiments over the last few years.
How a VC model can help government ‘spin in’ commercial innovation
William Eggers and Max Meyers, Federal Computer Week
Federal agencies should adapt external engagement models from corporate venture capital to take advantage of innovation in the commercial sector.

Analytics/Evaluation
OMB releases final data strategy, draft action plan
Troy Schneider, Federal Computer Week
Feedback on the 16-point implementation plan is due July 5.
OMB’s new strategy gives agencies operational, tactical guide to increasing the value of federal data
Jason Miller, Federal News Network
OMB has released its federal data strategy, giving agencies 40 goals to improve the accessibility, value and security of data.
16 Things OMB Wants Agencies to Accomplish in the Data Strategy’s First Year
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Agencies and other stakeholders have until July 5 to comment on the draft action plan, which includes hard deliverables for all of government.
6 ways for government CDOs to succeed
Alan Jacobson, Federal Computer Week
The government agency chief data officer role comes with nuances, and to ensure success, officials need to be mindful of far more than simply structuring datasets.

Innovation
The Downside of Social Impact Bonds
Nadine Pequeneza, Stanford Social Innovation Review
After more than three years researching social impact bonds, a filmmaker argues we need to consider the ways they might be doing more harm than good.

Leadership
Senior Executives Association Teams Up with Freelance Gig Exchange
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Collaboration aims to broaden opportunities for agency subject-matter experts.

Reorganization
OPM-GSA merger scuttled in House approps bill
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
The bill does not contain any of the funding requested by the White House to merge most of OPM into GSA, and includes language designed to stop work on planning for such a merger.

Management and Performance
‘Employee engagement’ and agency performance
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
The author digs into new research on management practices and employee perceptions.
TSA Announces Pass-Fail Performance Management System for Screeners
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
TSA announced it will overhaul its performance management system for airport screeners beginning next fiscal year, opting for a simpler evaluation method that will cut down on “burdensome reporting requirements.”
‘Where’s the disconnect?’ National commission grapples with agencies’ workforce woes
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Network
As agencies attempt to get creative to address skills gaps and other vacancies, the Commission on Military, National and Public Service heard stories from agency leaders who described how they repeatedly ran into the boundaries of their current personnel and human capital systems.
Commission issues early recommendations for better federal IT hiring
Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, FedScoop
A recent staff memo weighed in on things that the government could do to be more competitive.

Analytics/Evaluation
Data analytics holds keys to workforce management
Jon Lemon, Federal Times
Agencies must have the right people in the right jobs at the right time. Sometimes that can only come from insights buried in massive data stores.

Customer Service
How the Veterans Affairs Department is ‘Hardwiring’ Customer Service into Everything
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
VA is on a mission to improve the veteran experience across every service it provides.

Risk Management
Keep your agency’s risk management efforts focused on 3 goals
Nicole Puri, Federal News Network
Using technology, data analytics, and good governance to improve enterprise risk management.