b'ViewpointsIdentify instances of agile government around the world.world. It will require a new mindset in government and This will be a continuing process and cases will be madenew organizational models to be successful. It may be that available for use by governments and researchers. not every activity of government can adopt agile principles. Collaborate with governments around the world whoHowever, the same unstoppable revolution that Denning wish to use agile in their projects, programs overalldescribes may be headed toward the public sector. organizational design, and assist them in implementation.At a Round Table on September 3, 2019, convened by NAPA and the IBM Center for The Business of Government, a diverse group of individuals with expertise in government management met to comment on draft Agile Government Principles. A revised copy of the principles is shown on Mission should be extremely clear, and the your right. These principles will be used to obtain organizational unit/team should be laser focused further comments. on achieving it. Metrics for success should be widely agreed upon, The need for a movement toward agile government growsevidence-based, and easily tracked. from the lack of public trust in government around the world.Customer-driven behavior, including frequent Better management is one of the factors that can improvecollaboration with direct and indirect program trust in government. Agile government shares characteristicsbeneficiaries, should be ingrained in the culture. with agile software development and project management.Speed should be encouraged and facilitated, Agile government is mission centric, customer focused,including by using physical co-location of teams communication and collaboration enabled, and continuallywhere possible.demonstrates success to customers and the public.Empowered, highly-skilled, cross-functional teams Agile government recognizes the values of putting theengaging in continual face-to-face communication customerboth the direct and indirect beneficiariesandshould replace siloed bureaucratic systems.the public as a whole at the center of governmental actions.Innovation, within the overall framework Leaders serve as coordinators of the actions of small teamsof existing rules and regulations, should be that include customer participation. Leaders empower theserewardedand changes in rules and regulations teams to take rapid action to deliver timely, transparentshould be proposed where necessary. results that customerswho are actively included in thePersistence should be promoted through processcare about. continuous experimentation, evaluation, and The purpose of the Agile Government Center is to developimprovement in order to learn from both success Principles for Agile Government, to document cases whereand failure. it is currently being practiced for use as reference, and toEvidence-based solutions should be the gold create a supportive network of users of agile government thatstandard for creating program options.can share their experiences.Organizational leaders should eliminate roadblocks, aggregate and assume risk, and If successful, the work of the Center will be adopted byempower teams to make decisions.governments around the world and lead to greater Diversity of thought should bepublic trust. encouraged in crafting solutions tocomplex problems.ConclusionIn his book Tides of Reform, author Paul Light identified reform efforts from 1945 to 1995 that sought to improve how government operated. I believe that agile government can be a new tide that lifts governmental ships around the WINTER 2019 / 2020 IBM Center for The Business of Government 85'