These and other GAO products have led to hearings and legislation, billions of dollars in taxpayer savings, and improvements to a wide range of government programs and services.

Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. He was nominated by President Obama in September of 2010 and had been serving as Acting Comptroller General since March of 2008.

The Partnership for Public Service is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.

Simply put, reverse auctions are auctions that enable sellers to “bid down” prices for their goods and services. The use of reverse auctions has substantially increased since Wyld’s initial report in 2000, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated in the earlier study. This new report contains original research on the potential of reverse auctions as a government cost-saving tool that also saves time and increases transparency.

Prizes are incentives that have long been used by public or private sponsors to elicit effort of individu als and organizations. For instance, in the 18th cen tury, prizes were used to encourage basic research by compensating research results with monetary rewards or medals. Prizes also helped in the initial development of the aviation industry in the early 20th century.

The Federal Government is the largest data processing / IT organization in the world. The shear number of computer centers, unique applications and support staff dwarfs even the largest private sector IT organizations.  With this scale comes a significant opportunity to enhance service performances and lower operating costs associated with physical assets such as computer equipment, data center space, staffing and overall investment. 

Management of government projects, programs, and portfolios— and the related expenditures of public funds—are major, visible areas of interest and concern. Emphasis on performance improvement in government continues to increase steadily, supported by mandates imposed by government laws and public pressure. Despite a growing understanding of the determinants of success, increasing maturity, and a stream of successful programs and projects, project failures continue at an alarming rate.

Exploring ideas to improve government effectiveness. We profile three Center reports with authors Russ Mills on regulatory partnerships at FAA, Cass Moseley on Collaborating on the front lines, and Professors Greis and Noguiera on enhancing food safety through collaboration and partnerships.

My earlier post this week discussed the difference between transparency and clarity.  It also used an example that was applicable to a broad spectrum of commercial and government challenges – getting the right information to the right people so they can make decisions effectively and lead with clarity.  I consider this to be a key component of enabling leaders to lead.