Mr. Whitley describes the challenges of measuring unobserved events such as tax cheating, drug smuggling, or illegal immigration.

Measuring program performance is relatively straightforward in many areas of government, such as social services, visa processing, and air traffic control.  But there are instances where assessing performance and success is much harder.  One particularly difficult area involves law enforcement, where a key goal is to prevent or deter bad outcomes – which can often happen without the knowledge of law enforcement officials.

The agency’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

John Morton was unanimously confirmed as the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by the U.S. Senate on May 12, 2009. ICE is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. Created in 2003, the agency has a budget of $5.7 billion dollars and more than 20,000 employees in offices in all 50 states and 47 foreign countries.

This edition of The Business of Government magazine provides a glimpse into the many challenges, risks, and opportunities facing today’s government executives. More importantly, it introduces a select group of government leaders who offer their insights, outline successes, and tell us how they, in their own unique way, are making a difference in an era of fiscal austerity. Today’s conditions require government executives to go beyond simply doing more with less—to find smarter ways of doing business, using resources more efficiently, and investing them more wisely.

In this issue of The Business of Government magazine, we survey the intersection where leadership, complex challenges, and the need for transformation meet.

In this issue of The Business of Government magazine, we survey the intersection where leadership, complex challenges, and the need for transformation meet. Whether it’s in the response to the global financial crisis, the national deficit, or the myriad of other pressing issues facing us, uncertainty seems boundless while constraints on resources are very real. It is within this context that we’ve assembled a varied group of government executives and thought leaders who are focusing on these problems and working to mitigate their effects.

“The DHS mission, as we all know,” notes Dr. Nick Nayak, DHS chief procurement officer, “is to ensure that the homeland is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other potential threats and hazards.” This cannot happen without acquiring critical and necessary services and supplies from outside the department. It also requires that the department pursue a focused acquisition and procurement strategy that aligns resources with DHS strategic objectives. The mission of Dr.

From transforming the National Airspace System to managing homeland security resources, educating today’s information leaders, and transforming governmentoperations, these executives clarify and extend our understanding of the work they champion and the efforts they lead. The nation stands on the verge of a new era in aviation. The National Airspace System is one of the largest and safest in the world. It is also one of the busiest.