John Kamensky

John Kamensky

Who Is the Economic Predictor? Federal Times reports: “with the U.S. economy having just experienced its worst financial quarter in a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic, senior government leaders are asking when it will recover. The Transportation Department’s statistical agency may be able to offer clues.”

Government needs to think about effective management both in the current historical moment, and for the longer-term. Additionally, knowing how well different which agencies are managed would be a useful baseline for new agency leaders or in setting priorities for a new administration. Developing benchmarks to measure effective management would be useful for agencies to assess how they are doing over time, in comparison to other agencies, or what best practices exist for potential adoption.

John Kamensky

Chief of Staff. What is the role of a chief of staff? When does an organization need one? A great article in the Harvard Business Review.

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the first in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works.]

The Small Business Administration says it will start accepting “paycheck protection” applications from up to 30 million small businesses by April 11.  The IRS is anticipated to start sending out stimulus payment checks starting mid-April to about 140 million taxpayers. And there are dozens of other provisions mandating action with impossibly short deadlines – while much of the federal workforce is working from home.

John Kamensky

Emergency Acquisition Authorities. Federal News Network reports: “At least four agencies have implemented emergency acquisition authorities to make it easier to award contracts to support coronavirus relief efforts.” This includes both micro-purchase thresholds and simplified acquisition thresholds.

What needs done to effectively implementing programs to address the COVID-19 funding and response efforts about to be enacted into law?  The IBM Center sponsored a number of research reports in the wake of the 2009 Recovery Act.  Following is an overview of these reports, with lessons learned, and a perspective as to what might be a governance framework that builds on lessons from that experience and addresses the current environment for ensuring the dollars and programs make a difference for the American people.

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

Not having a technology background, I had little appreciation for just how cutting edge we were at the National Performance Review (NPR) – Vice President Al Gore’s reinventing government initiative in the 1990s. But I readily understood the power of letting innovators stretch their imaginations!