Insights from New Zealand's "Results" Programme

Submitted by on Fri, 12/22/2017 - 09:28

Nearly three decades ago, New Zealand pioneered government reforms to make individual single-purpose agencies – a “vertical” solution -- more accountable and effective.  While successful, it exacerbated another challenge facing government agencies -- addressing “horizontal” societal problems, i.e., those that span traditional agency boundaries.  So, New Zealand undertook a new round of reform in 2012 to address a handful of persistent societal and economic problems by creat

E-Rulemaking: Fix or Transform?

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:46

Yesterday I attended what I thought would be a yawner – a Brookings seminar on e-rulemaking.  But it turned out to be a carnival of different professional streams – administrative procedures lawyers, citizen engagement advocates, technology experts, transparency advocates, and regular civil servants trying to get their jobs done.  They even created a Tweet stream - #erulemaking!

Buying IT, Part 2: It’s the People

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:44

The IT Reform policies announced by OMB Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients and Federal CIO Vivek Kundra two weeks ago continue to have an impact on the IT community and beyond.  Their strategy drew in good measure from government and industry recommendations, one of the most prominent of which was a study by the TechAmerica Foundation, entitled “Government Technology Opportunity in the 21st Century” (www.techamericafoundation/gto21) (I served as an advisor to the Commission). 

Do-Gooders and Good Government

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:42

This election cycle saw record-shattering amounts of campaign spending, according to media reports.  Some, such as California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, spent their personal fortunes in their run for public office.  But there are others who are investing their personal fortunes in hopes that government can be better run, no matter who the elected officials might be.

Weekly Round-up: November 19, 2010

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:41

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

 

Re-Thinking the CFO Act

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:40

I originally had my doubts about the statutory provision in the stimulus bill that created something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.  I was concerned that it was going to be a huge “gotcha” machine.  But it looks like its chairman, Earl Devaney, has created the foundation for modernizing the CFO Act of 1990 in the way he created a website tracking Recovery Act spending, Recovery.gov.

Buying IT: Shorter is Better, But With the Right Checks

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:38

As previously blogged in this space, one of the most prominent of these studies came from the TechAmerica Foundation, entitled “Government Technology Opportunity in the 21st Century.”  A key commission recommendation is to expand the use of rapid, smaller steps to increase the agility in acquisition and program execution.  This helps make IT results earlier and more efficient.  It also helps identify and manage risk throughout the lifecycle of an IT project.  This can help make IT more effective.

Weekly Round-up: November 12, 2010

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:37

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Improving Customer Service

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:36

In the 1990s, the Clinton-Gore Reinventing Government effort thought the answer was “yes.”  President Clinton issued a customer service executive order in 1993 followed up in 1995 with a memo to institutionalize the initiative.

Weekly Round-up: November 5, 2010

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 16:34

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

 

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