ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Performance Management
Pay for Performance Could Be Coming to Federal Agencies
Howard Risher, Government Executive
Vice president-elect Mike Pence was governor of a state with a strong commitment to rewarding good performance.
When Performance Measures Go Horribly Wrong
Russ Linden, Governing
They have a powerful influence. But unrealistic, unreachable goals can produce unethical behavior.

Analytics/Evaluation
The Future of Evidence-Based Policy Hangs on the Trump-Ryan Relationship
Patrick Lester, Government Executive
Like nearly every other aspect of the federal political landscape, prospects for evidence-based policymaking were upended by the stunning results of the 2016 elections.

Innovation
What’s next for government innovation groups?
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Supporters are pressing for continuation of 18F and USDS, amid the uncertainty of tech policy in the coming Trump administration.

Presidential Transition
Putting Out the Welcome Mat
John Kamensky, Business of Government
The media is focusing on the pending Presidential Transition, speculating on who will be on the winner’s transition team. But inside the government, the transition officially began six months ago.
Getting it Done: Helping New Government Leaders Succeed
Dan Chenok, Business of Government
A new book aims to help new government executives acclimate quickly to the world of public service as practiced in Washington, D.C., and it contains a series of short strategic discussions about “dos and don’ts,” along with insights about working with key stakeholders from experienced political executives.
Donald Trump’s management agenda?
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Steve Kelman looks for clues (and raises concerns) about how the next administration might run.
Surprises in store for political appointees
Adam Mazmanian, Federal Computer Week
Political appointees from the private sector face a steep learning curve when joining the federal government.

Analytics/Evaluation
Why open data needs a mission
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
According to the Obama administration’s top data scientist, open data has the power to help reveal and remediate social problems, but the data doesn’t mean much without a mission behind it.
Cool Cities Rely on Technology; Smart Cities Rely on Data and Partnerships
Ryan McCauley, Government Technology
Kansas City, Mo., serves as a model for how municipalities can encourage innovation and reap the long-term benefits.
OMB’s latest DATA Act guidance highlights PII, financial assistance
Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio
Personally identifiable information and data “validity” are the focus of the Office of Management and Budget’s latest DATA Act guidance.

Innovation
Innovation in government starts with being intentional
Dan Helfrich, Federal Computer Week
An industry leader argues that it’s good to keep the “dinosaurs” on their toes.

Open Government
Federal Advisory Committees’ Rosters and Costs Rise, Says CRS
Charles Clark, Government Executive
The next president, on top of making 4,000 political appointments to agencies in his first year, will also help name hundreds of specialized experts to more than 1,000 federal advisory committees.

Presidential Transition
Transition moves into high gear
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has 73 days to get ready to take over the federal government.

Performance Management
What Plumbers Can Teach Public Managers
Feather O’Connor Houstoun, Governing
When a program is dysfunctional, the problem is often in the pipes and valves it flows through.

Analytics/Evaluation
Actionable Measurement: Getting from “Prove” to “Improve”
Matthew Forti and Kim Siegal, Stanford Social Innovation Review
There’s a set of common questions every direct-service nonprofit should answer to maximize learning, action, and impact.

Customer Service
3 Cities Where User Experience Design Helped Make Services Better
Ben Miller, Government Technology
There are often easier ways to do the things that government does.

Innovation
DOD to create chief innovation officer position
Sean Carberry, Federal Computer Week
Defense Secretary Ash Carter is implementing some of the initial recommendations of the Defense Innovation Board, including the creation of a new position to drive innovation efforts.
Innovation Labs: 10 Defining Features
Lidia Gryszkiewicz, Tuukka Toivonen, and Ioanna Lykourentzou, Stanford Social Innovation Review
A closer look at what characterizes an innovation lab can help practitioners, funders, and scholars better understand what labs’ potential and limits might be, as well as better assess the social impact that comes out of the them.

Leadership
White House Announces 15 New Leadership Development Fellows From Top Career Ranks
Kellie Lunney, Government Executive
Defense, GSA, and NASA each earned two slots among second class of emerging leaders.

Open Government
Why government open-data practices are low-tech
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
The open-data movement is still in its infancy. In a new report, the Data Foundation charts how it can grow up.
Report: Open data’s positives are still in their infancy
Carten Cordell, Federal Times
The promise of open data holds a lot of positives for agency leaders, but a new report finds that the road to that promise is still a long one.

Presidential Transition
Get Ready: Presidential Transitions Are Full of Surprises
Alan Balutis, Government Executive
The complicated shift to a new administration began months ago, but for some, the hard part is just beginning.

Performance Management
A bipartisan proposal for performance management in the next administration
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Without performance measurement, “government and its partners [carry] out activities they hope will work without knowing whether they, in fact, do. Moreover, it lacks the means to inform and encourage continual improvement once effective practices are identified.”

Analytics/Evaluation
Evidence-Based Policy Proponents Face Cost, Privacy, Political Hurdles
Patrick Lester, Government Executive
Bipartisan commission explores how to make federal data more widely available to program evaluators.
Accelerating “What Works”
Michele Jolin, Stanford Social Innovation Review
There is an urgent need to expand the infrastructure for results-based policymaking at all levels of the US government.
Analysis paralysis in government?
Steve Kelman, Federal Computer Week
Finding a balance between studying a problem to death and taking swift action can be tricky, but there are signs that federal managers are trying to address the challenge.
Commerce taps big-data development partners
Mark Rockwell, Federal Computer Week
The Commerce Department’s National Technical Information Service has chosen 35 companies and academic organizations to capitalize on the federal government’s vast data assets.
Data policy for a new administration
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Experts have some advice for the next administration on tackling open-data initiatives early in its term to improve government operations and service.

Customer Service
What Will Customer Service Look Like in a Clinton or Trump Administration?
Rick Johnson, Government Executive
The key is knowing what drives satisfaction.
Government needs digital transformation to reverse sliding satisfaction
Chase Gunter, Federal Computer Week
Agencies must embrace a digital transformation to reverse declining public satisfaction with government service, save money and build for the future, according to a new report.

Innovation
GAO to Congress: Federal Agencies Are Making a Difference Through Open Innovation
Eric Beidel, DigitalGov.gov
Federal agencies confront tough problems every day. In searching for solutions, agencies will want to attract different perspectives, test new products, build capacity and communities, and increase public awareness. How do they do it?
The Future of Government Digital Services – Part II
Darcie Piechowski, Business of Government
It is impossible to have a meaningful digital experience without design.

Analytics/Evaluation
EPA using data science to save environment, support agencies
Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio
EPA is using predictive technology and positive word-of-mouth to promote its big data projects — in the hope of encouraging other agencies to do the same.
IARPA seeks to predict the unpredictable
Chase Gunter ,Federal Computer Week
IARPA is hosting forecasting tournaments, crowdsourcing intelligence and combining human research with automation in order to accurately forecast – and prevent – catastrophic events before they take place.

Customer Service
The Customer-Experience Prescription for Government
William Eggers and Greg Pellegrino, Governing
America’s most successful companies have learned a lot about keeping their customers happy. The public sector can join that revolution.

Leadership
It’s Time to Reform OMB, Experts Say
Charles Clark, Government Executive
The White House Office of Management and Budget needs to pay more attention to management.

Open Government
Data.gov’s current and future usefulness
Samantha Ehlinger, FedScoop
The site was an important step toward transparency, experts say, but more work is needed to make the site useful to the public and federal agencies.
Meet the U.S. Data Federation: A new hub for standardized, coordinated open data
Samantha Ehlinger, FedScoop
The new hub promotes standardized, coordinated government open data efforts where Data.gov doesn’t.

Presidential Transition
Presidential transition offers management, budget challenges for OMB
Jory Heckman, Federal News Radio
The next president’s administration will rely heavily on the Office of Management and Budget’s expertise in crafting a governmentwide management agenda, but only after it gets a handle on the protracted budget process.
Meet the Duo Responsible for a Smooth Presidential Transition
Charles Clark, Government Executive
President Obama vowed to meet or exceed the effective hand off his team was given by the George W. Bush staff in 2008.
People behind new president’s mgmt. agenda need a morale boost, coalition says
Nicole Ogyrysko, Federal News Radio
The success of the next president’s management agenda will largely depend on having the right senior executives to serve as champions for the administration’s goals, as well as the right performance plans to hold them accountable and drive noticeable outcomes.