Reports and Publications - Year in Review 2023

Reports and Publications  

Addressing Complex and Cross-Boundary Challenges in Government: The Value of Strategy Mapping by Professor John Bryson and contributors 

This report describes strategy management-at-scale, an approach to enable planning that addresses the major challenges facing governments at all levels. Integral to this approach is the use of collaborative strategy mapping—an invaluable leadership and management method to foster direction, alignment, and commitment. Strategy mapping helps leaders understand needed system changes, and to articulate needed interventions. Strategy mapping helps users visualize the cause-and-effect chains in a system and the actions that can be taken to introduce reforms—linking aspirations with capabilities. 

Leveraging Data for Racial Equity in Workforce Opportunity by Temilola Afolabi 

This report, done in collaboration with the Center for Open Data Enterprise, explores a number of current opportunities to strengthen longstanding data-driven tools to address workforce inequity. The report shows how the effects of workforce discrimination and other historic practices are still being felt today. At the same time, it outlines opportunities to apply data to increase equity in many areas related to the workforce gap, including disparities in health and wellbeing, socioeconomic status, and housing insecurity.

Mobilizing Cloud Computing for Public Service by Amanda Starling Gould 

Federal agencies are increasingly employing secure and scalable cloud solutions to transform how the government operates, and how it provides effective and equitable digital public services. For this report, done in collaboration with the Partnership for Public Service, we hosted series of events featuring federal IT leaders from the Census Bureau; the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Veterans Affairs; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Government Accountability Office; the National Institutes of Health; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Office of Personnel Management. This brief offers key cloud computing strategy insights from individuals at each organization.

Off to a Running State Capital Start: A Guide for New Governors and Their Teams by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene

In this special report, Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene adapt the analysis and findings from our presidential transition series to the context of a state government. The authors use this information to develop recommendations for the new gubernatorial regimes that have taken power following the 2022 election.

A Guide to Adaptive Government: Preparing for Disruption by Nicholas D. Evans 

This report illustrates the strategic significance of adaptability to government organizations today. The author offers new strategies, techniques, and tools to accelerate digital transformation, and better position government agencies to respond to the next wave of both opportunities and disruptive threats. Adaptability as a core competency can support both innovation and risk management, helping governments to optimize for ever-changing mission needs and ambient conditions Adaptability represents a powerful enabler for modern government and enterprise organizations.

Government Procurement and Acquisition: Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning by Justin B. Bullock and Mohammad Ahmadi 

This new report addresses using AI to transform public procurement, analyzing challenges and recommending ways to capitalize on opportunities. The report makes recommendations about how to use AI to transform public procurement, which can increase speed, efficiency, and effectiveness in acquiring goods and services that serve public needs by fostering facilitating intelligent automation across the federal acquisition system. This report builds on multiple Center reports focused on using AI and automation to improve procurement and other government systems. 

Issue Brief - Public Management in an Uncertain Environment: Lessons from Enterprise Risk Management by Thomas Stanton 

The present paper provides (1) an introduction to John Kotter’s dual operating system model, (2) an overview of Enterprise Risk Management as it operates in government organizations, (3) lessons from ERM about how to apply the dual operating system model to government organizations, and (4) opportunities for expanding the dual operating system model from ERM to operations of government organizations more broadly.

Pathways to Trusted Progress with Artificial Intelligence by Dr. Gregory S. Dawson and Kevin C. Desouza 

This report distills perspectives from an expert roundtable of leaders in Australia, discusses major questions to help inform government decision making and design principles. This report focuses on how governments need to develop and communicate a framework for the public to understand why AI is being used, what has been done to ensure that the AI is fair, transparent, and accurate, what experiments were done to ensure that the output is reliable, and how public value from AI is being measured and created. By addressing the growth and management of AI, and the governance of data aligned to AI strategies, government can take full advantage of the power of AI. 

Helping Governments Prepare for Future Crises by Karen Kunz and Scott Pattison 

This new report analyzes how a shock to the system of this magnitude has impacted governments’ ability to use emergency dollars for public services, and draws on this analysis to develop recommendations for how states can use future recovery funds to help deliver key services during critical times of need. The report brings a broad-scoped analysis together with examination of three state-based cases, to explore how the alignment and effectiveness of funded activities are measured, and to identify lessons to guide states in deploying resources to address future transformational events.

Strengthening the Future of the AUKUS Partnership by Chris Nott and Michael Cohen 

This new report addresses how best to collaborate across government and industry among the three AUKUS nations—Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—in order to implement this historically important security agreement effectively. New threats and domains for warfare continually emerge. These include cyber and space along with disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum. Dealing with these threats necessitates an enhanced partnership across governments and within industry.

Improving Performance with Intergovernmental Grants - Lessons from the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program by J. Woody Stanley, Jordy Coutin, Juliet Musso 

This report illuminates how to improve data sharing and performance management in intergovernmental programs. The authors share findings from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) program that inform an in-depth examination of the federal government’s largest discretionary grant program intended to reduce homelessness. The research identifies HUD’s multi-pronged strategies that combine performance measures and capacity building supports to focus grant recipients on achieving national goals.

Quantum Computing for Public Value: Insights from Australia by Dr. Samar Fatima and Kevin C. Desouza 

A recent roundtable discussion with leaders from the Australian government informed this new report, outlining themes and recommendations for governments as they embark on the journey to quantum. Participants discussed major questions to help inform government decision making and design principles, including: How are agencies planning for the adoption of quantum strategies? How can agencies be “quantum safe” and address related protocols to address emerging government and regulatory standards? What is the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) for quantum computing? What are best practice insights from other governments?

Building Public Trust in Scientific Decision Making through Expert Advisory Committees by Aaron S. Kesselheim and C. Joseph Ross Daval 

Leveraging data on the frequency, outcomes, and deliberative process of FDA advisory committees, this new report describes the impact of expert advisory committees on FDA decision making. The research discussed the roles that expert advisors play in this essential public health agency, and the report makes evidence-based recommendations that policymakers can implement to make advisory committees optimally useful for the FDA. The FDA case serves as a framework for recommendations about how other expert agencies can best engage with expert independent advisory committees.