Igor Vaysman

Igor Vaysman is Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, College of Business Administration,University of Texas at Austin. Professor Vaysman received his B.S. from Trinity University and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. His teaching and research interests include managerial and organizational design, costing systems, and decentralization.

Governance Challenges and the Financial Crisis: Seven Key Questions

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.

Innovation in E-Procurement: The Italian Experience

Italy's new public procurement system, created through Consip--a public company owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance--is the focus of this report. Consip created a new information technology platform and new operational procedures for public acquisitions that included an electronic catalog, online auctions, and an electronic marketplace. Working as a public company, Consip was designed to minimize red tape, recruit a highly educated workforce, and be more responsive to clients.

The National Security Council: Recommendations for the New President

Dr. Worley's report examines 60 years of history of how presidents have used the National Security Council organization and process. From the administration of Harry Truman to George W. Bush, the report analyses which approaches succeeded and which failed. It then offers a series of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the national security system.

Integrating Service Delivery Across Levels of Government: Case Studies of Canada and Other Countries

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.

The Quest to Become One

This report examines the efforts by three federal organizations--the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--to change the behavior of those within the organization to move in greater concert toward the achievement of organizational goals. The three initiatives--One VA, ONE DOT, and One NASA--were each unique and faced distinct challenges. The report examines what it means for a federal organization to become "one," the hurdles each agency faced, and which strategies appear to work well.