Keon S Chi

Dr. Keon S. Chi was the editor-in-chief of The Book of the States, a premier reference book on American state governments published annually by The Council of State Governments (CSG).  Dr. Chi passed away in a tragic automobile accident on January 9, 2008. At the time of his death, he was also serving as the director of the newly created National Center for State Governance Transformation. After joining CSG in 1981, Dr.

Center’s Guide for New Leaders Across Government Now Available

Four years ago, the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a book to guide new government executives, especially new political appointees. The goal of the book was to quickly acclimate new government executives to the world of public service as practiced in Washington, D.C.

Performance Budgeting: Lessons from the States

New research findings by a team led Dr. Daniel Mullins at American University examine recent state-level trends in the use of performance budgeting or “budgeting for results” approaches. This research, presented at the annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration, offers some insights for any future federal performance budgeting initiative.

Is Performance Budgeting Hopeless?

A recent academic symposium on performance-based budgeting suggests that trying to apply this noble idea across government may be hopeless.

Decades of research and efforts to implement performance budgeting across federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. seem to consistently come down to the conclusion that no matter how rational it sounds, politicians don’t want to use it to make decisions.

Transforming State Government Services Through Process Improvement: A Case Study of Louisiana

In the wake of the Katrina disaster, one Louisiana state agency leader used the “clean slate” provided as an opportunity to re-design the eligibility determination process for health care benefits provided to citizens in need. This report is a first-hand story of commonsense management, using basic process management techniques to re-design a vital element of service delivery. Author Vicki Grant describes step-by-step processes used by a front-line agency leader to make a huge difference for thousands of beneficiaries of Louisiana's public healthcare system.