While they find that many of the elements necessary for effective collaborative ventures are critical — such as a clear purpose, dedicated staff, and the willingness to be flexible — they conclude that a bilateral collaborative venture is often more effective when it has a formal legal structures in place that enhance its legitimacy in the eyes of various stakeholders. Informal collaborations are often useful precursors to more formal efforts. These informal

Harvey Koeppel is Executive Director of the Center for CIO Leadership. In this capacity, Harvey sets the Center’s strategy and directs internaland external operations. He also serves as Chairman of the Center’s Advisory Committee.

 

Under the leadership of National Academy Fellow Don Kettl and National Academy President Jennifer Dorn, the National Academy of Public Administration convened a roundtable of government leaders, business leaders, researchers and other experts to discuss governance issues related to the government's response to the financial crisis. Seven strategic questions related to governance emerged from the discussion held earlier this year, which was moderated by Don Kettl.

Public services are traditionally delivered through a number of government agencies via programs that are not connected to each other. In the midst of this decentralized fragmentation, two trends - a citizen-centric philosophy and network model of service delivery - are driving demands to integrate the delivery of citizen-oriented services across levels of government. The rapid increase in technology allows this new collaborative approach to service design and delivery to be a successful substitute for the old hierarchical approach.

As the United States faces unprecedented challenges andopportunities around the world, Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice has unveiled a bold new vision of American diplomacyfor the 21st century known as “transformational diplomacy.”According to Secretary Rice, transformational diplomacy is avision rooted in partnership, not paternalism—in doing thingswith other people, not for them. “I think,” says AmbassadorPatrick Kennedy, that the major focus of transformational diplomacyhas to [do with] getting our personnel out and operating

As part of its Presidential Transitions series, the IBM Centerfor The Business of Government recently hosted a conversationwith Sir Nigel Hamilton, the head of the NorthernIreland Civil Service (NICS), focusing on the role of careergovernment officials during transition. The session—whichwas moderated by Jonathan Breul, executive director of theIBM Center for The Business of Government, and includedinvited members from the U.S federal government’s SeniorExecutive Service—contributed an international perspective

Governments are under increasing pressure to produce--and to demonstrate--results in terms of their mission. Over the last decade, countries around the world have undertaken reforms with the aim of improving the relevance and effectiveness of public services and the quality of public sector management. Integrating Performance and Budgets showcases attempts by federal and state governments, as well as a mix of developed and developing countries, to introduce performance or results-oriented budgeting and management as a means to support better decision making and accountability.

This report develops a tool-kit of practical advice for would-be public management innovators based on the experiences of successful public management innovators in a variety of countries. Through a survey of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) international innovation award winners, a series of tool-kit characteristics are generated of innovations and tactics used to build alliances of supporters and overcome obstacles.

Perrin’s report provides substantial evidence that countries are moving toward a results-oriented approach in a wide variety of government contexts. Until recently, the process and performance of government has been judged largely on inputs, activities, and outputs. Based on a two-day forum sponsored by the World Bank and the IBM Center involving officials from six developed and six developing countries Perrin identifies state-of-the-art practices and thinking that go beyond the current literature.Managing for Performance and Results