ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Analytics/Evaluation
DATA Act: Agile’s First Governmentwide Win
Heather Kuldell, Nextgov
Governmentwide projects are particularly complicated, but here’s one that ends on time and under budget.
What’s coming in Data.gov’s next revamp
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Contracting documents indicate more automation, geocoding and open source are in store for the federal online repository Data.gov.
Do Tiered Evidence Grants Work?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Tiered evidence grants represent a new approach to base funding decisions on evidence of outcomes. But do they work?
9 Ways to Make Federal Legislation Evidence-Based
Results for America
A 9-point plan of ways Congress can “harness the power of data and evidence to solve our nation’s greatest challenges.”
Optimization aids in quest for government efficiency
Steve Bennett, Federal Computer Week
How agencies can use their data to make better decisions.
Harnessing the Power of Evidence
Anne Kazimirski, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Better use of evidence and developments in evaluation practice can shift the power dynamic between funders, service-delivering organizations, and service users.

Customer Service
Doing less with more: How to improve customer experience on a shrinking budget
David Thornton, Federal News Radio
How does an agency improve customer experience while simultaneously dealing with a shrinking budget, a smaller workforce and maybe even a hiring freeze?
Panel: Government-citizen interactions are in desperate need of modernization
Rachael Kalinyak, Federal Times
The federal government lags behind the private sector in delivering an efficient customer experience, and several factors must be addressed to enhance agencies’ citizen-centered services.

Innovation
Crowdsourcing Government: Lessons from Multiple Disciplines
Helen Liu, Public Administration Review
Lessons for meeting the practical challenges of crowdsourcing in the public sector.
To innovate, Trump tech office must prioritize users
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Many administrations have tried to make government more efficient and innovative, but success requires flexibility and focus on the customer.
Could ‘microconsulting’ disrupt government contracting?
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Kelman suggests that short engagements priced under the micropurchase threshold could be just the sort of disruptive innovation agencies need.
Why Innovation Programs Should Target Middle-Aged Bureaucrats
Stan Soloway, Government Executive
Data show that the average age of the most successful innovators is somewhere in the mid-40s.
Design Thinking as a Turnaround Tool
Kriss Deiglmeier, Nadia Roumani, and Amanda Greco, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Changing an organization’s vision and culture takes a long time and tremendous commitment, but design thinking can help lead the way.

Reorganization
OMB details exactly what should — and shouldn’t — be in agency budget plans
Rachael Kalinyak, Federal Times
The Office of Management and Budget has detailed the necessary information agencies should submit with their fiscal 2019 budget submissions.

Performance Management
Agencies Could Learn a Lot From Tennessee’s Shift to Pay for Performance
Howard Risher, Government Executive
The state’s civil service reform efforts offer many lessons for the federal government.

Analytics/Evaluation
Is the Data Act proving out?
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
Key sponsors of the Data Act from both parties have good things to say about the financial information being released under the law.
What’s next for spending data?
Mark Rockwell and Ben Berliner, Federal Computer Week
Officials are continuing to iterate on Data Act reporting, and more granular, standardized government info could be in the offing.
DATA Act neither a sprint nor marathon, but a ‘relay race’
Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio
Two months after the DATA Act implementation, it is proving to not only be a source of financial accountability, but a beacon, platform, and self-help tool for managing government.
Four fundamental principles of evidence-based policy and practice, drawing from U.S. and European experience: An interview with Howard White, Executive Director, Campbell Collaboration
Andy Feldman, Federal Computer Week
What principles can help guide public leaders—whether policymakers or public managers—in their use of evidence-based policy to improve results?

Innovation
White House Office of American Innovation Lays Out Priorities
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
The collection of White House talent has been described as a “SWAT team of internal consultants” and a liaison between federal bureaucracies and Silicon Valley innovation.
6 Traits of Productive Hackathons
Stephen Goldsmith, Government Technology
Civic tech competitions require much more than putting a bunch of developers in a room and letting them go to work.

Reorganization
Memo to agencies: Here’s how to address President Trump’s ‘lean government’ plan
Sean Osborne, Federal News Radio
Four ways agencies can boost efficiencies, eliminate duplicative and non-essential functions and improve information-sharing.

Reorganization
Senators: Reorg plans must balance workforce cuts against mission success
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Agencies expect to hit the first deadline set by the White House’s plan to restructure government and reduce the size of the workforce, but lawmakers want to make sure their efforts don’t come at the expense of effective operations.
The opportunities and pitfalls of government reorganization: An interview with Bob Behn, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
Andy Feldman, Gov Innovator Podcast
The Trump administration’s focus on reorganization raises the question of when is reorganization useful and what pitfalls need be avoided.
What the U.S. Can Learn From India’s Government Reform Efforts
John Kamensky, Government Executive
Public progress reports are key, and naming and shaming laggards doesn’t hurt either.
Can Employees Embrace Government Restructuring?
Howard Risher, Government Executive
The success (or failure) of the Trump administration’s plans depends on the answer.

Analytics/Evaluation
Ten Success Factors in Implementing Large Initiatives
John Kamensky, Business of Government
What lessons were learned from the implementation of the DATA Act that could be applied to other large-scale, government-wide initiatives in the future?
What to look for in leadership and organizational performance
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Better data is producing a mini-revolution in scholarship about public-sector management.

Leadership
How COOs are indispensable to management agendas
David Thornton, Federal News Radio
These COOs frequently occupy deputy secretary positions that require Senate confirmation, many of which are vacant in the current administration. But it’s the people occupying these offices that are best positioned to make real changes in the way agencies perform their missions.

Reorganization
Agencies Promise Efficiencies, but Not Workforce Cuts in Reorganization Plans
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Leaders say they are gatherings thousands of reform proposals from the rank and file.
White House Denies that Trump Vacancies Impair Agency Reforms
Charles Clark, Government Executive
A key White House management adviser says that a “good dialogue” is taking place between agency career staff and budget officials as the June 30 deadline for agency reorganization proposals nears.
Here’s how agencies are getting ready for the June 30 reorganization deadline
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Radio
Agency career leaders from these agencies briefed Congress on the initial steps they’ve taken to develop plans for reorganizing government and restructuring the federal workforce.

Collaboration
Trump tech office reaches out to feds
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Weekly meetings are being used to forge and foster collaboration across siloed tech groups.

Customer Service
Five Ways to Reform Government With a Focus on the Customer
Eric Keller and Kathy Conrad, Government Executive
Agencies have a chance to reexamine how they deliver services to the public, ensure intuitive online interactions, cut red tape that frustrates citizens, simplify burdens on federal employees, and use customer feedback more effectively.

Innovation
OMB, Office of American Innovation on a 90-day sprint to develop new hiring, cloud policy ideas
Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Radio
The Office of Management and Budget is working with the White House’s Office of American Innovation on a 90-day sprint to develop a series of new work streams that cover everything from hiring new people and talent to developing citizen services.

Leadership
Survey: Trump Should Empower Politically Appointed Agency No. 2s
Charles Clark, Government Executive
The government’s chief operating officers are key to enactment of President Trump’s management agenda, according to a survey of experienced federal employees.
COOs can make government work better — if they’re hired
Mark Rockwell and Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Agency chief operating officers can take the lead in improving government efficiency, according to a new report.

Open Government
How Policy Could Advance Open Data in Government
Mohana Ravindranath, Nextgov
Citizens could soon get access to more federal data if new legislation is passed.

Analytics/Evaluation
Experts urge agencies to remove emotion and fear from data analytics, focus on value of information
Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio
When it comes to data analytics at federal agencies, other areas for improvement include access and ownership, and avoiding the habit of sticking to the status quo.
An overview of Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth, with lessons for other areas of social policy: An interview with Thaddeus Ferber, Vice President, Forum for Youth Investment
Andy Feldman, Gov Innovator Podcast
Performance Partnership Pilots allow jurisdictions to have additional flexibility in using discretionary funds across multiple Federal programs, in exchange for a commitment to achieve significant improvements for disconnected youth.

Collaboration
Creative vs. Transactional Collaboration
Asha Curran, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Collaboration that builds organizational capacity, moves people to take part, and propels the sector forward involves true co-creation and uses the unique strengths of each partner as building blocks.

Innovation
Executive Branch Developed Resources to Support Implementation, but Guidance Could Better Reflect Leading Practices
Government Accountability Office
Agencies have developed guidance, staff positions, and websites to support the use of open innovation, but guidance for the implementation of open innovation initiatives does not fully reflect leading practices.
Most Feds Say Agencies Aren’t Interested in Their Ideas
Tom Shoop, Government Executive
Earlier this year, Trump administration officials said they would seek out the input of federal employees as they craft plans for reforming and reorganizing government.
Report looks at cause and effect of digital service teams in government
Tony Ware, Federal Times
The rise of “IT start-ups” within government has helped attract talent to address federal IT implementation challenges.
The Agility That Governments Need for a Disruptive Age
Russ Linden, Governing
Public-sector organizations aren’t designed for it, but some are finding ways to make it part of their culture.

Open Government
Visualization Takes Open Data to the Next Level
David Raths, Government Technology
An in-depth look at five interactive websites that offer fresh views of data.

Reorganization
You Can’t Run Government Like ‘a Great American Company’
John Low, Government Executive
With the right approach, the Trump administration does have a real opportunity to transform it.
Executive Branch Vacancies Jeopardize Trump’s Planned Reforms
Charles Clark, Government Executive
The administration is attempting to develop a comprehensive plan for reorganizing the federal government—a proven challenge under any circumstances—when hundreds of top agency jobs remain vacant or are occupied by officials serving in an acting capacity.