Government Reform over the Past 20 Years - Part 3, Using Data

In the IBM Center’s new book, Government For The Future:  Reflection and Vision for Tomorrow’ Leaders, we have identified six major trends that have driven government management reforms.  This is the third in a six-part series where we highlight each trend; part three summarizes the evolution of the use of data in U.S.

Government for the Future: Reflection and Vision for Tomorrow’s Leaders

At any given moment in time, governments in the United States and around the globe carry out key missions in service of their citizens, learn from and engage with partners in other sectors, and act as cost-effective stewards of public resources. The countless positive daily actions of government leaders go largely unrecognized amidst a constant focus on the highly visible but far smaller set of challenges and problems faced by the public sector.

Which Management Initiatives Had the Biggest Impact Over the Past 20 Years?

This blog is one in a series.  The IBM Center for The Business of Government turns 20 this year. To commemorate this milestone, we are undertaking a year-long effort to both look back over the last 20 years and to look ahead to envision what government might look like in the next 20 years.

Reflections on Reform: Implementing Management Reform

This blog is two in a series.  The IBM Center for The Business of Government turns 20 this year. To commemorate this milestone, we are undertaking a year-long effort to both look back over the last 20 years and to look ahead to envision what government might look like in the next 20 years.

Mark A. Abramson

Mark A. Abramson is a Consultant to the IBM Center for The Business of Government. He served as the Executive Director of the IBM Center from July 1998 to February 2007. Mr. Abramson is co-editor of the IBM Center for the Business of Government Book Series, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. He is also the author or editor of 13 books and has published more than 100 articles on public management. In 2005, he was appointed to the editorial board of the Public Administration Review.

Mark A. Abramson

Mark A. Abramson is a Consultant to the IBM Center for The Business of Government. He served as the Executive Director of the IBM Center from July 1998 to February 2007.

Getting It Done

Those new to government will find a world very different than their previous experience in other sectors. Those returning to government will find a far different government than the one they left. Both will find a large group of stakeholders, including members of the United States Congress, very interested in every action they take. In addition, you will face the challenge of managing large organizations. If cabinet departments were listed in the Fortune 500, they would occupy slots in the top 20.

Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives

Four years ago, the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a book to guide new government executives, especially new political appointees. The goal of the book was to quickly acclimate new government executives to the world of public service as practiced in Washington, D.C. The book, entitled Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives (this is the first version), contained a series of short strategic discussions about "the dos and don’ts" of Washington and presented useful insights about working with key stakeholders and constituencies.

The Guide: Helping the New Administration Succeed in Washington

The transition from campaign to governing requires that presidential policies be transformed from rhetoric into an actionable agenda and then into concrete results. Neither good policies nor sound investments are likely to work, let along succeed, if undermined by poor implementation. Too often, however, federal management issues are considered somewhere between “uninteresting” and “a waste of time.” The reason: Washington is a policy town. If you are focused on politics or policy, “management” is often ignored or simply left for someone else to figure out.

Seven Management Imperatives

 

Periodically the IBM Center staff steps back and reflects on the insights provided by its authors of more than 300 research reports and by some 300 senior government executives interviewed over the past 13 years.  Through our research and interviews, we identified several broad societal trends that we believe are changing the game for successful leadership at all levels of government.

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Mark A. Abramson is a Consultant to the IBM Center for The Business of Government. He served as the Executive Director of the IBM Center from July 1998 to February 2007. Mr. Abramson is co-editor of the IBM Center for the Business of Government Book Series, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. He is also the author or editor of 13 books and has published more than 100 articles on public management. In 2005, he was appointed to the editorial board of the Public Administration Review. He has also served as a Contributing Editor to Government Executive and as a member of the Board of Editors and Forum Editor for The Public Manager. Mr. Abramson has spoken to numerous groups of public servants and public management organizations across the nation, as well as testified before the United States Congress on several occasions. Prior to helping found the IBM Center for the Business of Government (originally the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for The Business of Government), he served as Chairman of Leadership Inc. from 1994 to 1998. Leadership Inc. provided executive seminars for senior government officials from numerous agencies across the federal government. Mr. Abramson is currently President of Leadership Inc.