ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evaluation
OMB Wants To Strengthen a Learning Culture in Government
Andrew Feldman and Nick Hart, Government Executive
Learning agendas help agencies set priorities for studies that government needs for future decisions.

Customer Service
Top OMB official: Agencies need to untangle ‘morass of data’ to improve customer service
Jory Heckman, Federal News Radio
The deputy director for management at OMB says better customer service means more than just modernizing IT.
Let’s Flip the Script on Customer Experience
RJ Krawiec, Route Fifty
Customer experience is about more than customer satisfaction.

Innovation
All Agencies Can Now Buy Innovative Tech at Shark-Tank Speed
Anne Laurent, Government Executive
Thanks to a new GSA program, every agency can benefit from authority formerly limited to Defense and Homeland Security.
Is ‘Innovocracy’ Hurting the Public Sector?
Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, Governing
Massachusetts’ comptroller thinks so.
Living Labs: Implementing Open Innovation in the Public Sector
Mila Gascó, Government Information Quarterly
This article explores how public value can be created by communities built around collaboration.
How Adaptive Strategy Is Adapting
Dana O’Donovan, Gabriel Kasper, and Nicole L. Dubbs, Stanford Social Innovation Review
New developments from the disciplines of innovation, data science, and implementation management show that good strategy isn’t just about setting your destination and path, it’s also about how you execute and adjust over time.
What’s New in Civic Tech: Bloomberg Announces $42 Million Addition to What Works Cities Initiative
Zack Quaintance, Government Technology
Michael Bloomberg has announced an additional $42 million investment in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program.

Management
OPM: Agencies Should Provide Better Training for Supervisors
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
The Office of Personnel Management told agencies that the results of a governmentwide survey show they must do a better job of training managers and supervisors throughout their careers.
5 recommendations for how to improve federal managers
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
To help improve the training of new and existing managers, OPM is making five recommendations to help improve accessibility, adequacy and effectiveness of supervisory training.

Customer Service
Better Government Websites Build Trust with Citizens, Silicon Valley Lawmaker Says
Jack Corrigan, Nextgov
Rep. Ro Khanna’s customer-experience focused bill would require agencies to go all digital by 2020.

Innovation
Data Is Improving Government Services, But at What Cost to Citizens’ Privacy?
J.B. Wogan and Zach Patton, Government Technology
Data now informs almost everything the public sector does, and it also informs on us.
House Committee Forwards State Department Bug Bounty Bill
Joseph Marks, Nextgov
The ethical hacking competition is modeled on the Hack the Pentagon program.
Measuring the Hard-to-Measure
Andrew Siwo, Stanford Social Innovation Review
A new methodology for assessing mission-related investment strategies.
Addressing Grand Challenges in Public Administration
Terry Gerton, Government Executive
We must prepare a new generation of innovators to confront the most important questions of our times.

Management
OPM, OMB officials push major workforce changes
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Just after proposing a series of changes to the federal workforce retirement system, administration personnel directors are looking at more changes to improve recruitment and hiring.

Reorganization
Reorganizing government: Lessons for rightsizing and downsizing
Alan Balutis, Federal Computer Week
With agency reorganization plans due this month, the author offers nine reminders for executives who will shape the change.
State Department Clashed With USAID Over Redesign
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Watchdog’s postmortem suggests a lack of transparency and iffy data on program savings.

Performance Management
How to Improve your Organization’s Performance
Stewart Liff, Government Executive
Problems are generally caused by a multitude of issues, which are invariably connected.

Analytics/Evaluation
Data-driven policy bill stalls in the Senate
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
A bill to drive evidence-based policymaking and require chief data officers at agencies has the support of the House Speaker, but remains stuck in the Senate.
How a ‘culture shift’ at SBA got program offices to embrace evaluations
David Thornton, Federal News Radio
Agencies are inundated with data. So what comes next?
Cities, CDOs and the Power of Networking
Stephen Goldsmith, Governing
Chief data officers are not only working to solve their own cities’ problems. They’re working together to share their approaches among their peers.
Steve Ballmer on Using Data to Tell Government’s Story
J.B. Wogan, Governing
The former Microsoft CEO wants Americans to have a clear picture of how government collects and spends their money – and what they get in return.

Customer Service
Starting with IT, EPA driving toward a new customer experience
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
EPA following the data to where it can improve its customers’ experience.

Innovation
Innovation at scale: What has the White House Office of American Innovation accomplished?
Jessie Bur, Federal Times
Since its creation, the Office of American Innovation has focused on two primary initiatives: publication of an IT Modernization Report and the creation of a Centers of Excellence program.

Management
OPM Director: Expect ‘Full Court Press’ for Civil Service Changes
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Jeff Pon says he plans to ramp up use of his administrative authority in the coming months.

Open Government
White House Produces No Evidence It Considered Public Input on Reorganizing Government
Eric Katz, Government Executive
The White House has no records relating to its categorization or analysis of public input on how it should reorganize government, according to the results of a lawsuit filed by a watchdog group.

Performance Management
White House to Meet With Federal Agencies to Ensure Enactment of Trump’s Agenda
Eric Katz, Government Executive
The White House will soon meet with all federal agencies to review their strategic plans and evaluate whether they are meeting key performance goals.
FAA ties supervisor bonuses to employee engagement improvements
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
FAA senior leaders’ performance plans and bonuses are tied, in part, to how they approach and improve their employees’ morale, mission results and their overall leadership.
Management Chief: Trump Administration Will Renew Push for Performance Pay Fund
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
OMB Deputy Director for Management Margaret Weichert said the Trump administration would push for civil service reform legislation.

Analytics/Evaluation
How Data Geeks Can Move Their Findings Up the Ladder
Jack Corrigan, Nextgov
Tips for making sure decision-makers don’t ignore analyses.

Efficiency/Reorganization
Watchdog: Agencies Could Save $178 Billion if They Stopped Duplicating Efforts
Charles Clark, Government Executive
From programs to counteract identity theft to inspections of imported seafood to storage of military clothing, federal agencies continue to duplicate one another’s efforts and miss out on potential efficiencies.

Innovation
USDS in action
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Steve Kelman digs into the actual mechanics of a U.S. Digital Service team’s partnership with a particular agency.
What Is Human-Centric Design?
Zack Quaintance, Government Technology
A philosophy regarding the creation of websites, forms and services seeks to simplify and improve constituent interactions with government.
Why is a House panel trying to get rid of one of DoD’s most successful offices?
Scott Maucione, Federal News Radio
Congress has been happy to oblige in DoD’s hunt for innovation, but this year one subcommittee wants to shutter one of the Pentagon’s innovation hubs.

Leadership
OPM chief looks to elevate CHCOs
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon wants to make sure agency human capital chiefs have a seat at the top table.

Performance Management
Officials Highlight Pay for Performance, Streamlined Firing in New Management Document
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Inaugural quarterly management agenda report encourages more training and support for managers, as well as efforts to improve employee engagement.
Is pay for performance coming?
Jeff Neal, Federal News Radio
The most recent report on the administration’s “Workforce for the 21st Century” Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal includes a milestone to “examine best practices of federal demonstration projects and alternative personnel systems.”

Collaboration
The Gatekeepers of the Government’s Other Transaction Deals
Aaron Boyd, Nextgov
Agencies don’t always know which companies have the bleeding-edge technology they seek. That’s where consortia come in.

Innovation
USDS: Successful IT modernization projects depend on testing early & often
Steff Thomas, Federal News Radio
Modernizing a federal agency’s technology requires input from many voices in different fields. The U.S. Digital Service is working to recruit top tech talent to improve how the government operates in the digital era.
Why Agencies Should Be Tech Agnostic When Solving Problems
Jack Corrigan, Nextgov
Don’t miss the forest for the trees, General Services Administration’s emerging tech official said.
Senate passes DHS bug bounty bill
Derek Johnson, Federal Computer Week
The bill would compel the federal government’s top civilian cyber agency to pay those who find security vulnerabilities in the agency’s IT operations.