Making Strategic Decisions

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 21:07

Dr. Rosenzweig says in his article this is not because executives don’t want to make good decisions, but rather the research has focused predominantly on one type of decision – and this type is not the one most challenging for leaders to make.

Weekly Round-up: November 22, 2013

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 21:05

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

This week I've been reading about data and innovation.

Trend 4: Mission

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 21:03

Twenty-five years ago, federal agencies typically did not have key executives leading mission support functions. These functions were largely seen as administrative transaction services. However, ineffective mission support operations can be quite costly. For example in 2010, there were $641 million in grievance settlements at the Postal Service because of poor management training and inadequate labor-management relations.

Further Twitter Best Practices for Government: Listening Edition

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 21:01

Twitter has published a "best practices" guide for government users.  Though there are a lot of good tips to be found, the list of activities is heavy on talking and light on listening.

That's a shame, because few media offer a better way to break so much noise into so much signal.  Here is a modest list of three additional ways to wring the most out of Twitter by using it to listen:

Trickle-Down Performance Management

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:59
In complex intergovernmental programs, can effective performance management systems be developed and work?

A recent case study of the federal-state-local Child Support Enforcement Program (CSE) suggests it can be done, but it takes time and collaboration

Trend 5: Efficiency

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:56

Fiscal austerity will be an enduring challenge for public managers for the foreseeable future, but it can also create an environment and incentives to rethink traditional approaches to mission support and service delivery. In this environment, identifying innovative ways to reduce costs across multiple catego­ries of government spending (e.g., appropriations, user fees) while maintaining and improving performance will be a critical catalyst. Pursuing efficiency as a way to drive change in government identifies opportunities for savings across agency budgets.

More than Money: Extra-economic Benefits of Technology for International Development

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:23

Mobile technology can act as an accelerator to help communities in developing countries raise their standards of living and offer their residents more opportunities to realize their potential.  It’s a message that’s been overlooked these past few years from the spirited debate on the roles for technology and innovation in international development.  Wide-spread use of mobile technologies will also have extensive economic benefit, but the focus of this investigation is their extra-econom

Weekly Round-up: December 06, 2013

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:21

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

This week, I've read a lot about comfort and discomfort.

Unpacking the "Black Box" of Incident Reporting

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:19
While data can be used externally for accountability, it can also be used internally to predict and prevent these kinds of incidents.

These days, more detailed, near real-time data can be collected because of improvements in technology and new reporting systems.  However, these more detailed data – if not well-explained and put in context -- can alarm the public and cause political problems, even while improving performance.  Recent examples include:

Trend Six: Leadership

Submitted by on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 20:17
The right kind of leadership approach and style can drive change in government

Governments today face serious, seemingly intractable public management issues that go to the core of effective governance and leadership -- testing the very form, structure, and capacity required to meet these problems head-on.

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