ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evaluation
The Importance of Celebrating Data Wins
Zack Quintance, Government Technology
Former and current gov tech leaders say talking about successful projects is key to advancing innovation work.

Leadership
New Federal Senior Executives Are Being Left in the Dark As They Start Their Jobs
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Survey finds only half of incoming SESers are satisfied with the onboarding process.

Management
How to improve organizational performance in your agency’s unit
Nahal Amouzadeh, Federal News Radio
The National Academy of Public Administration has released a paper offering a new data-driven management improvement approach that could transform federal agencies unit-by-unit.
Performance Management is Not a Contest
Howard Risher, Government Executive
The author argues the administration is sending the wrong message with its fund for targeted pay incentives.
How Agencies Can Improve Grant Management
Jeff Myers, Jenata Spencer, and Shelly Slebrch, Government Executive
Better information sharing and coordination should be top priorities.

Analytics/Evaluation
Evidence Provisions in the Trump Budget
Patrick Lester, Social Innovation Research Center
Highlights for some of the most prominent evidence-related programs.
Pay for Success Legislation Becomes Law
Patrick Lester, Social Innovation Research Center
Legislation will create a new $100 million program to fund pay-for-success projects.
Wins for data and evidence-based policy in the bipartisan budget deal: An interview with Nick Hart, Bipartisan Policy Center
Andy Feldman, GovInnovator Podcast
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 contains several noteworthy bright spots in the use of data and evidence-based policy.

Innovation
3 Tips for Managing Innovation
Corner Alliance
It’s more about implementation and execution than it is about inspiration.
The rise and fall of 18F
Daniel Castro, Fedscoop
Employment numbers have dropped steadily at 18F over the past year. This means that virtually the entire staff, who are hired for two-year terms with an option to extend for a second term, will be gone before Trump’s first term is over.

Management
White House’s management agenda to help with ‘deep-seated transformation’ effort
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
With the goal of taking on “deep-seated transformation” across the federal government, President Donald Trump is outlining six broad areas in his inaugural management agenda.
Senate Confirms Trump’s Top Management Nominee
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Margaret Weichert has promised strategic approach to workforce reduction and hiring reforms.
Pay for Performance is Needed
Howard Risher, Government Executive
The highest hurdle promises to be creating performance processes that generate credible and defensible ratings.

Reorganization
Transferring Responsibilities and Consolidating Offices Highlight Trump Reorganization Plan
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Long-awaited agency reform plans offer light details, promises of future reforms proposals.

Analytics/Evaluation
The Big Deal About Big Data
Donald Kettl, Government Executive
Ten reasons why big data is more than just the next step in the ongoing evolution in government performance.
Justice taps big data in investigations
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
Advanced analytics are playing an increasingly important role in the Department of Justice’s financial fraud and drug trafficking investigations.
Why evaluation policies are useful to results-focused federal agencies: An interview with Naomi Goldstein, HHS, and Molly Irwin, DOL
Andy Feldman, Gov Innovator Podcast
A small but growing number of federal departments and agencies have created evaluation policies that describe the principles that those agencies seek to promote when they conduct program evaluations.
Threats to Government Data Are Threats to Democracy
Andre Perry and Katherine Guyot, Government Executive
Researchers highlight the many ways federally-collected data shape Americans’ lives.

Customer Service
Understaffing, lack of training at agencies hampering agency services to public, personnel agency says
Eric Yoder, Washington Post
Shortages of employees — a common feature of troubled government programs — are hampering a range of services to the public.

Innovation
Geeks Come to the Government’s Rescue
Tod Newcombe, Governing
The organization some refer to as “the Peace Corps for geeks” has launched a major effort to improve the way people apply for benefits.
Not All Innovation Projects Are Born Equal
Alan Pentz, Government Executive
Government innovators can provide minimal proof of concept funding and gate further investment based on a few key milestones.

Performance Management
Next Steps in Improving Government Performance
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Have government reformers put the chicken before the egg? For years, their attention has been on improving performance by focusing on program results.
Reflections on Reform: Implementing Management Reform
John Kamensky and Mark Abramson, Business of Government
What are the lessons for successfully implementing management reforms?

Analytics/Evaluation
Congress looks to make grant info DATA Act friendly
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
New legislation fills in financial reporting gaps in the the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act.
Trump Team’s Evidence-Based Policy Efforts Lauded by Nonprofit Partner
Charles Clark, Government Executive
OMB’s guidance on foreign aid cited as model for agency implementation.
Does Congress Need an Evidence Office?
Patrick Lester, Social Innovation Research Center
Does Congress need an office to help it sort through the ever-growing body of research and analysis so that it can make its decisions more evidence-based?
The Gold (and Silver) Standard for Data-Driven Governance
Stephen Goldsmith, Governing
The cities that achieved the top grades in a new certification program have important things in common.

Collaboration
Government-Focused Information Exchange Goes Live
Theo Douglas, Government Technology
A new information network is putting the collective wisdom of public sector IT agencies within reach of their colleagues and trying to solve some of the big problems that vex government.

Customer Service
Citizen satisfaction with government services on the rise
Jessie Bur, Federal Times
American citizens are generally satisfied with the services the government provides them, according to a recent American Customer Satisfaction Index report.

Innovation
Can DHS purchase innovation?
Derek Johnson, Federal Computer Week
At a reverse industry day, representatives from DHS and industry discussed what’s keeping government from innovating.

Performance Management
Which Management Initiatives Had the Biggest Impact Over the Past 20 Years?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
A new survey identifies four sets of management initiatives that have had the greatest impact on government management efforts over the past twenty years.

Analytics/Evaluation
Data Is Valuable Only If Managers and Policymakers Will Use It
Adam Neufeld, Government Executive
There’s plenty of evidence about how well programs work, people just tend to ignore it.
Our Opportunity for More Data-Driven Nonprofit Program Evaluation
Tracey Gyateng & Beth Simone Novek, Stanford Social Innovation Review
To accelerate the ethical use of sensitive data, governments and universities are setting up new systems to give secure access to their researchers. However, if they want to be able to evaluate the full range of social service programs, they also need to make this data is useful to nonprofits.

Open Government
We Need A Plan for Federal Communications
Danielle Blumenthal, Government Executive
Trust in government is at an all-time low. Poor communication is one reason.

Reorganization
How Agency Leaders Can Seize the Opportunity to Reorganize Government
Tina Sung and Dee Dee Helfenstein, Government Executive
The Office of Management and Budget soon will begin tracking progress on President Trump’s executive order to reorganize the executive branch.

Strategic Planning
Strategic Foresight and Leadership
Michael Keegan, Business of Government
Strategic foresight is a key skill needed for leaders to be effective in meeting the challenges and demands of today and tomorrow.