Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The federal government’s chief performance officer, Jeff Zients, declared at a recent Senate hearing: “The test of a performance management system is whether it is used.” He thought federal agencies were failing the test. So what should agencies do? ...
Monday, December 21, 2009
OMB released a report today, “Acquisition and Contracting Improvement Plans and Pilots: Saving Money and Improving Government,” which follows up on its July 2009 directive that agencies trim 7 percent – about $40 billion -- from their contracting budgets
Friday, December 18, 2009
Recent years have seen a growing emphasis on the reporting of the outputs and outcomes of government programs. Yet there is limited information on what outputs and outcomes are actually reported on in practice. A new report by Richard Boyle, Head of...
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) was enacted in 1993 to bring about a greater focus on results in the federal government. GPRA's requirements have built a strong foundation for results-oriented performance planning, measurement, and...
by
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
President Obama’s Open Government Directive was released a week ago with lots of anticipation and a series of deadlines. Now agencies are moving quickly to develop their plans. A series of interesting resources are already popping up to help them: The..
Monday, December 14, 2009
According to the “Head Count” in today’s Washington Post, President Obama has filled 293 (56.9 percent) of his 515 Senate-confirmed positions. Curiously, one position the Washington Post does not track is the Comptroller General of the United States. The
Friday, December 11, 2009
Senator Mark Warner chaired another hearing of his Taskforce on Government Performance, on “Data-Driven Performance: Using Technology to Deliver Results.” The Obama Administration’s chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, testified. Here are some...
Friday, December 11, 2009
With more than 218 years of service to the nation, the U.S. Coast Guard is a military, multimission maritime organization that safeguards U.S. economic and security interests. We had the pleasure of speaking with Admiral Allen about the Coast Guard modern
Thursday, December 10, 2009
If a tree falls in a forest, did it make a sound? The November 15th release of federal department and agency annual performance and accountability reports went largely un-noticed. Not a mention in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or Washington...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The White House released its long-awaited implementation guidance for President Obama’s Open Government initiative, along with links to ongoing agency initiatives and a “Progress Report to the American People.” The guidance lays out actions and timetable

Pages