Forthcoming Research Reports

Through these and all Center reports, we seek to advance practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published starting in late 2026.  Short summaries of each report follow:

Enhancing Career Path Permeability and Flexibility in the U.S. Federal Workforce by Loren Schulman, Federation of American Scientists

Leadership Lessons on Navigating Disruption: A Conversation with Terence Mauri and Prof. Scott D. Anthony

Join host Michael Keegan as he outlines critical insights on leadership, disruption, and transformation. He brings together two remarkable thought leaders who offer strategies on how to navigate uncertainty, embrace change, and drive transformation in an era where disruption is accelerating. From his interviews with Terence Mauri and Scott Anthony, he explores the mindsets, strategies, and courage required to lead in the unknown.
Broadcast Date: 
Monday, November 10, 2025 - 11:00

Rethinking Resilience: Empowering Communities for Crisis Preparedness

In an era marked by increasingly frequent and complex disasters—from fires and floods to infrastructure failures and humanitarian emergencies—governments around the world grapple with the limitations of traditional, centralized response models.

How AI Can Help States Improve Results

State governments across the country have made recent and significant progress in expanding artificial intelligence (AI) applications, specifically accelerating experimentation with generative AI (GenAI).  State government exploration of GenAI points to opportunities for streamlining operations, enhancing service delivery, and supporting policy innovation—while maintaining human judgment, transparency, and accountability.

Building community- based resilience

Governments, public sector leaders, and their communities face an increasing number of high-impact events. Severe storms, wildfires, flooding, power outages, and large-scale infrastructure disruptions are growing problems that test the readiness of institutions and the adaptability of communities.

Embedding Strategic Foresight into Strategic Planning: A Conversation with Professor Bert George

What exactly is strategic foresight? And how can it be effectively integrated into planning and management to help organizations think, act, and learn more strategically? Join host Michael J. Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Prof. Bert George, author of the IBM Center report Embedding Strategic Foresight into Strategic Planning and Management: International Recommendations - sharing global insights on building sustainable foresight practices that shape the future of government.
Broadcast Date: 
Monday, November 3, 2025 - 10:31

Authors of Case Study

Community Brigades

Living with recurring fire threat in California

Shirley Feldmann-Jensen DPPD, MPH

Lecturer and Program Coordinator, Emergency Services Administration MS Program, California State University, Long Beach

Steven Jensen, DPPD

Professor, Emergency Response Services, California State University, Long Beach

AI in State Government

State governments are increasingly exploring how GenAI can streamline operations, enhance service delivery, and support policy innovation—while safeguarding human judgment, transparency, and accountability that define public governance.

The Questioning Leader: Rethinking How We Learn, Listen, and Lead

In Question to Learn, Joe Lalley invites leaders to rediscover an often-overlooked skill—asking questions not to prove what they know, but to explore what they don’t. In my recent conversation on The Business of Government Hour, Lalley lays out how leaders can reclaim curiosity as a catalyst for learning, empathy, and innovation.

Reforming Readiness: A Defense Modernization Series

A series of posts from the former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Al Shaffer, looks at pathways to drive innovation and modernization for national defense.

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