ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance Management
Memo to the President: Performance Accountability, Evidence and Improvement
Shelley H. Metzenbaum and Robert Shea, Government Executive
Bipartisan reflections and recommendations for the next administration.
The Tricky Psychology of Holding Government Accountable
Julie Beck, Government Executive
Accountability doesn’t always help people make better decisions. When it comes to elected officials, this gets extra challenging.
The Problem With Evidence-Based Government
Mark Funkhouser, Governing
There’s a big challenge that advocates need to recognize.

Collaboration
Civic Collaboration’s Essential Elements
Otis White, Governing
Governments are good at a lot of things, but innovation isn’t one of them. That’s where partners come in.
Let’s Make a Pact: States Increasingly Problem Solve Together
Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, Governing
They often fall under the radar, but compacts are becoming a top tool for managing interstate issues.

Customer Service
How the Trump Administration Could Advance Customer Service
Stephanie Thum, Government Executive
For those who have been working to make government services more citizen-centric, there’s a tremendous opportunity to advance the customer agenda within government and take it to a higher level.

Performance Management
Does Benchmarking Make a Difference?
John Kamensky, Business of Government
Publicly comparing similar activities can be a powerful driver for change.
Finding a Fix for Government Performance
Stewart Liff and Paul Gustavson, Government Executive
The incoming administration should look at time-tested management approaches.

Collaboration
Memo to the President: Collaboration Across Boundaries
Donald Kettl, Government Executive
No significant issue can be addressed solely by an individual government agency.
Memo to the President: Strengthening Partnerships with State and Local Governments
Barry Van Lare, Government Executive
The federal government needs to establish a new paradigm that substitutes collaboration and cooperation for command and control.

Efficiency/Reorganization
GAO analyzes how agencies are doing more with less
Tony Ware, Federal Times
A GAO review of three agencies has provided insight into approaches that can help manage and minimize the effects of shrinking federal resources on services to the public.
Government reform must start at White House
Ed DeSeve, Philadelphia Enquirer
According to the author, the new administration needs to scrutinize federal government programs and regulations to determine what is needed and how to provide service to the American public in the most effective, efficient way.

Innovation
Chief Innovation Officers: An Unclear Role in the Federal Government
Mohana Ravindranath, Nextgov
Today, federal chief innovation officers are significantly less common than the emerging role of chief data officer, and responsibilities associated with the title vary widely between agencies.
The Case Against Federal Chief Innovation Officers
Mohana Ravindranath, Nextgov
Assigning one person to handle all innovation-related programs could unintentionally restrict creative projects to one part of an agency, some analysts say.
White House Leaves Trump a Tech To-Do List
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
The Office of Science and Technology’s exit memo features many recommendations to keep the country’s tech edge.

Analytics/Evaluation
Report: Agencies Still Seek Data “Heroes”
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
Cybersecurity analytics, strategic decision-making and mission intelligence fared better in agencies with Chief Data Officers than non-CDO counterparts.
The Intelligence Data Problem Has Changed
Chris Trainor, Government Executive
The data problem faced by law enforcement and intelligence agency analysts is very different today from what it was in the past.
Cincinnati Uses Visual Dashboards to Demystify Government
Theo Douglas, Government Technology
CincyInsights, a new Cincinnati Web portal with 15 dashboards, uses city data in different ways to make city services more interactive and easy to understand.

Innovation
What will Trump’s innovation policy look like?
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Although specifics regarding innovation policy under a Trump administration remain unclear, Trump’s campaign promises to create manufacturing jobs for American workers, make better trade deals and increase military spending will likely play out in the technology sector.

Open Government
Obama Administration Urges Trump to Continue Progress on Crowdsourcing
Eric Katz, Government Executive
Citing research and recommendations by the Wilson Center, GSA highlighted work agencies have done with the public at large and said it should be expanded — and built more explicitly into agencies’ missions.
Open Government Act Clears Senate, Cheering Data Advocates
Charles Clark, Government Executive
The push for machine-readable data would empower chief information officers.
How Public Engagement is Evolving
Paul Taylor, Government Technology
The continuum of public engagement is bookended by social media and face-to-face consultations.

Presidential Transition
What the State Department Can Teach Agencies About Preparing New Appointees for the Job
Joseph Gurney, Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson, Government Executive
The State Department has long been a leader in providing a variety of onboarding activities for new ambassadors.
Trump’s Unorthodox Transition Leaves Government In Uncharted Territory
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Transition veterans and the array of good-government groups set up to provide guidance during the transition remain officially upbeat about the degree of consultation both before and after the election.
The Enduring Myth That Government Should Be Run Like a Business
Philip Joyce, Governing
The election of Donald Trump should remind us of the vast difference between managing a company and running a government.

Performance Management
Only Long-Term Planning Can Counter Short-Term Thinking
John Kamensky, Government Executive
Agency plans tend to be designed around the four-year election cycle, but the most important challenges require a much longer time horizon.
Program Management Bill Heads to Obama’s Desk
Charles Clark, Government Executive
Senate-passed bill would create new agency management positions.
Beth Cobert talks metrics, employee engagement
Carten Cordell, Federal Times
Acting Office of Personnel Director Beth Cobert has faced a few tall orders during her time in government.
This Is No Way to Run a Government
Stan Soloway, Government Executive
Addressing fiscal concerns doesn’t preclude improving the way agencies deliver on their missions.

Analytics/Evaluation
Agencies Continue to Struggle with DATA Act Implementation
Mohana Ravindranath, Nextgov
Some agencies are on track to miss DATA Act implementation timelines.
Implementation deadline ‘just the beginning’ for DATA Act
Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio
With six months until the deadline for full implementation of the DATA Act agency heads are taking a realistic — but confident — approach to their work as the deadline looms.
Are agencies ready for the Data Act?
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
With the financial reporting requirements of the Data Act set to take effect in May 2017, a key oversight panel voiced concerns over agencies’ progress.
A Robust Vision for Using Data in Government
Sarah Urahn, Governing
State and local decision-makers are learning to harness it as a strategic asset.
Making the Case for Evidence-Based Decision-Making
Jennifer Brooks, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Evidence-based practice has great potential to improve social outcomes, but only if we do a better job marketing and adapting it to address the specific problems at hand.
Measuring Outcomes to Improve Social Services
Connie Ballmer, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Funders can support positive change by backing proven, replicable interventions and new measurement tools that help draw the connection between services offered and results achieved.
U.S. Chief Data Scientist: ‘Time is Now’ For Technologists to Jump into Public Service
Frank Konkel, Nextgov
The data already exists, DJ Patil said, to solve some important crises—if only we could piece together the pieces.

Efficiency/Reorganization
A Gingrich Commission to Reorganize Government?
Tom Shoop, Government Executive
A proposal for a new role for the former House speaker.

Performance Management
How Donald Trump Can Make Government Work Again
David Paschane, Government Executive
Why we need a federal chief performance officer.
What Mid-Size Cities Can Teach Feds About Performance
Patrick Lester, Government Executive
Successful data efforts require focus, buy-in and capacity.
What Academia Could Be Doing for Government
Howard Risher, Governing
Public administration schools’ research doesn’t have to be irrelevant. Business schools provide a model.

Analytics/Evaluation
IG: Challenges remain in GSA’s DATA Act implementation
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
With about six months on the clock before the DATA Act implementation deadline, the General Services Administration still lacks the ability to reliably track spending and certify data submission.

Customer Service
Customer experience: A prescription for improving government performance
Greg Pellegrino and William D. Eggers, Federal News Radio
The authors provide examples of how agencies are improving citizen services.

Innovation
Structuring Innovation in the Next Administration
Hollie Russon Gilman and Jessica A. Gover, Stanford Social Innovation Review
How can policymakers, civic tech leaders, philanthropists, and social innovators reshape their approach to innovation, technology, and data so that the US government is more responsive and connected to the people?
Senators aim to codify Innovation Fellows ahead of Trump
Carten Cordell, Federal Times
Three senators are pushing a bipartisan bill to make an Obama-era innovation program law.

Presidential Transition
Donald Trump’s management agenda
Alan Balutis, Federal Computer Week
The president-elect has hinted at his management priorities.
Trump Names Transition Leaders for Government Management Agencies
Erik Katz, Government Executive
President-elect taps former Republican administration officials to head OMB, OPM and GSA “landing teams.”
Welcome to Washington. Are You Ready to Lead?
Dan Chenok, Government Executive
The new appointee’s guide to getting things done.
GSA to set up new training program to help appointees be better managers
Jason Miller, Federal News Radio
GSA releases a solicitation for a vendor to set up a political appointee orientation program. The National Academy of Public Administration says training is a big missing piece to the presidential transition.