John Kamensky

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

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:

Many agencies have been quietly posting their draft strategic plans on-line for public comments, such as the draft plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs.  But the full set of finalized agency plans will soon be available, along with their FY 2015 annual performance plans. These should be a treasure-trove of useful information if you are interested in understanding federal priorities and how cross-agency collaboration could be improved in coming years.

So, who are we?  Customers?  Taxpayers? Citizens?  Or something else?  And how should government managers respond, given the differences implied by these various roles?  A recent academic article by Georgia State University professor John Clayton Thomas provides some useful context, as well as practical guidelines for public managers. He starts by saying it is not an “either/or” distinction, but rather “all of the above,” depending on context.

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Slow reading, deep thinking.

I'm sharing only two links today.  The first is to a trend piece from Fast CoDesign on trends for 2014.  Some of the more salient ones:

Collaboration is key to effective organizations.  But how can leaders encourage helping behaviors among employees?  A recent Harvard Business Review article by Teresa Amabile, Colin Fisher, and Julianna Pillemer examines how the CEO of a cutting-edge design firm, IDEO, did just that.  Can the lessons from this company be applied in your organization?

Dr. Thomas Davenport, in a recent Harvard Business Review article, says “Some of us now perceive another shift, fundamental and far-reaching enough that we can fairly call it Analytics 3.0.”  What does this mean for leaders of large organizations?

The Three Phases of Analytics.  Davenport writes that the field of "analytics" has evolved over the past 60 years in three phases:

A provision of the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 kicks in this year.  It requires OMB to “determine whether the agency programs or activities meet performance goals and objectives outlined in the agency performance plans.”  If not, then OMB has to prepare a report to the Congress on unmet goals.

Former Netflix chief talent officer, Patty McCord, describes its key talent management tenets in a recent Harvard Business Review article.  While Netflix’s approach may not be suited to other companies or the work of the public sector, they are worth highlighting for no other reason than to spark some reflection and discussion.

On occasions, the Government Accountability Office breaks the mold for its reports and looks for things that worked well and then tries to identify why, and then highlights those factors.  A new report examines four successful cross-agency collaborative initiatives that overcome program overlaps, and identifies four sets of promising practices that they use in order to be effective.