Veteran Benefits Administration’s Best Year Ever?

Submitted by on Tue, 05/12/2020 - 14:48

But there’s also some pretty amazing stuff going on in federal agencies that are not directly on the pandemic response front lines – and are getting their core mission work done from home.

One of those agencies – the Veterans Benefits Administration – has even exceeded its performance targets set before the coronavirus pandemic!  And at the same time, agency head Undersecretary Paul Lawrence has accelerated his personal outreach efforts to veterans via state-by-state tele-town halls where he’s connecting with tens of thousands of veterans in each state.

Chester Elton

Submitted by on Mon, 05/11/2020 - 09:49

Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring, and always-entertaining speeches, the #1 bestselling leadership author provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational workforce. Elton’s work is supported by research with more than 1 million working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams.

Part 2: How Is the Private Sector Pivoting to “Distance Work?”

Submitted by on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 14:13

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the second in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works.]

Nowhere has this been truer than the workplace, where companies and employees have found remote operations far more feasible than expected.

Weekly Roundup: May 4-8, 2020

Submitted by on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 09:07

John Kamensky

Who Is the Economic Predictor? Federal Times reports: “with the U.S. economy having just experienced its worst financial quarter in a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic, senior government leaders are asking when it will recover. The Transportation Department’s statistical agency may be able to offer clues.”

How the Postal System Can Collaborate in New Ways to Weather COVID-19

Submitted by on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 15:57

Guest Blogger, Adam Houck, IBM Global Postal Practice Leader, Academy of Technology Leadership Team

COVID-19 has and will continue to have a devastating financial effect on the world’s postal services. At the same time, postal services have significant roles to play in the response and recovery effort. However, these efforts will not be enough to offset the financial impacts of COVID-19.

To respond to this global crisis, postal services must do three things:

Measuring the Quality of Management in Federal Agencies

Submitted by on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 10:00

How well are federal agencies managed?  Currently, no commonly accepted framework exists to assess the quality of agency management. In this special report, University of Illinois—Chicago authors James Thompson and Alejandra Medina take on this question.

Are Agencies Ready to Manage in a New World?

Submitted by on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 08:24

Government needs to think about effective management both in the current historical moment, and for the longer-term. Additionally, knowing how well different which agencies are managed would be a useful baseline for new agency leaders or in setting priorities for a new administration. Developing benchmarks to measure effective management would be useful for agencies to assess how they are doing over time, in comparison to other agencies, or what best practices exist for potential adoption.

Alejandra Medina

Submitted by on Tue, 05/05/2020 - 11:33

Alejandra Medina is currently a PhD student of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before joining the PhD program, she worked in the Federal Government of Mexico in areas related to international cooperation and law enforcement. Medina’s professional experience mostly rely in the design and implementation of public policies against corruption and financial crimes. Medina also has worked as an external consultant for international organizations like the International Monetary Fund.

James-Christian Blockwood

Submitted by on Tue, 05/05/2020 - 11:04

James-Christian Blockwood is the Managing Director of the Strategic Planning and External Liaison office. In this role he helps GAO strategically plan for the future, drive agency-wide innovation and transformation, and strengthen the capacity of its domestic and international accountability partners. He also helped establish and oversees both the GAO Center for Audit Excellence and the GAO Center for Strategic Foresight.

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