ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance Management
Government-wide Actions Needed to Improve Agencies’ Use of Performance Information in Decision Making
Government Accountability Office
Information about whether and how well agencies are reaching their goals is essential to making the federal government more effective. This only works, however, when federal managers use that data to make decisions.
GAO: Data-driven management is stuck in neutral
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
The Government Accountability Office says agencies haven’t really improved on data-driven decision-making since 2013.
MSPB Highlights Best Practices in Performance Management
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Timely feedback, employee autonomy and a sense of purpose all contribute to better performance, morale.
Who is Accountable for Agency Performance?
Howard Risher, Government Executive
The steps to improve performance are best seen as a puzzle; no single action is likely to have much impact.  The pieces are well known—research has highlighted what’s needed—but government has trouble putting them together.

Analytics/Evaluation
Who In Government Is Asking ‘What Works?’
Robert Shea, Government Executive
There is no single individual at agencies who is tasked with speaking up when what agencies are doing isn’t working.

Analytics/Evaluation
OMB putting a twist on applied research to solve federal management challenges
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
What is different about OMB’s plan to create the Government Effectiveness Advanced Research (GEAR) Center is the focus on internal federal challenges such as workforce modernization and the use of data.

Innovation
Project management vs. product management
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
The author argues that government innovation needs more of the latter.
The Fast-Follower Strategy for Technology in Government
Stephen Goldsmith, Governing
The public sector shouldn’t be on the bleeding edge of innovation. It should focus on integrating proven tools.

Management
Why modernizing human capital systems is so hard
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Treasury, DOD and others are working to modernize talent management, but budgetary, cultural and political challenges complicate their progress.

Open Government
Key open gov deadline nears with no public action
Alex Howard, Federal Computer Week
The author asks whether stakeholders and activists take the White House at its word that it is interested in advancing open data and open government policy?

Reorganization
White House Instructs Agencies to Stop Performing ‘Low Value’ Work
Charles Clark, Government Executive
New OMB guidance aims to cut the burden on agencies, in part by rescinding previous presidents’ reporting requirements.
It’s Dismantlers v. Rebuilders on the Government Reform Front
Paul Light, Government Executive
A new study shows momentum among reform advocates pushing for bigger government.
How business process reengineering can support performance improvement
Emad Elias and Bob Etris, Federal Computer Week
Modern use of BPR can create cost savings by focusing on problem definition and clarity of roles and responsibilities vs. people’s individual performance.

Performance Management
Observations on facilitating effective use of government performance information
Richard Beck, PIC.gov
There’s a difference between providing performance information and having it considered and used in decision-making.

Reorganization
When Interagency Conflict Is a Good Thing
John Kamensky, Government Executive
Sometimes, seemingly duplicative programs can create needed checks and balances.

Analytics/Evaluation
Workforce, data likely to be first priorities of WH research center
Jessie Bur, Federal Times
The Government Effectiveness Advanced Research Center is expected to focus on retraining the workforce and finding better ways to leverage government data.
Treasury’s Data Lab makes federal spending numbers more accessible, engaging
Amelia Brust, Federal Newss Radio
Every quarter, roughly 100 agencies submit trillions of dollars’ worth of federal spending data to the Data Lab on USASpending.gov. Organizing that data, and helping researchers and the general public alike make sense of it is its mission.

Innovation
One City’s Path to Smart City Leadership
Stephen Goldsmith, Governing
As San Jose has shown, it’s as much about having the right people and organizational structures in place as it is about technology.

Open Government
Are federal agencies doing enough with social media?
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Despite a $1.5 billion price tag for federal agencies’ social media use, many employees believe their organizations aren’t doing enough.

Risk Management
DHS launching ‘risk radar’ for agency leaders to see big picture on cyber threats
Jory Heckman, Federal News Radio
The Department of Homeland Security plans to launch a “risk radar” next fiscal year aimed at helping agency leaders better understand their cybersecurity strategies.

Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Adrian Evans-Burke, PIC.gov
This article provides an overview of best practices and lessons learned related to developing strategic plans.

Reorganization
Three Critical Priorities In the President’s Reform Plan
Matt Erskine, Government Executive
As federal leaders navigate the challenging terrain ahead they should focus on these high return components.

Management
Smart Use of Incentives Would Support Government Reform
Howard Risher, Government Executive
There is extensive evidence that incentives—if they are well designed—produce better results. But there are many examples of poorly-designed incentives pushing people to act in ways detrimental to their organization.
Cautionary Tales from Past Attempts at Pay-for-Performance
Erich Wagner, Government Executive
Merit board warns of pitfalls in changing compensation structures.
Program Management Is Much More Complex Than Many Leaders Understand
John Kamensky, Government Executive
There isn’t a single optimal approach. Different types of programs demand different skill sets.
Employee empowerment and improved performance: The missing link
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
It has long been assumed that empowering employees can boost an organization’s performance, but new research delivers data that supports this.

Analytics and Evaluation
EPA embracing data analytics from daily operations to chemical investigations
Amelia Brust, Federal News Radio
EPA’s Chief Data Scientist is hoping to create a decentralized data science team that will let different program offices know what data science can do for them.

Innovation
Why Proven Solutions Struggle to Scale Up
Kriss Deiglmeier and Amanda Greco, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Many social innovations fail because they are unable to bridge the “stagnation chasm.” Here is a look at the resources, ecosystems, and skills needed to overcome it.

Performance Management
5 Ways Agencies Can Link Program Cost, Performance and Impact
Robert Shea and Tim Gribben, Government Executive
The financial management, performance and evidence communities too often fail to work together effectively.
On Gaining Acceptance for Performance Pay in Government
Howard Risher, Government Executive
Effective incentives strengthen engagement by rewarding employee contributions.

Analytics/Evaluation
What Government’s Broken Strategic Planning Needs: Evidence
Andrew Feldman, Government Executive
Instead of trying to create the perfect strategic plan, agencies should aim to get better at learning what works.

Customer Service
Designers Are Driving Culture Change in City Hall
Zack Quaintance, Government Technology
The philosophies often used by designers to create human-centered products are generating a culture change within local government.