Profit, Privacy, and Innovation

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:24

Give us your cookies, your browser history, your torrid search queries, yearning to breathe free. (Sorry, Emma.)

That's the deepest desire of online marketers, and it is thanks to them that we have so much content and so many applications available to us free, online, every day. Our data is valuable, but not in itself and not by itself, which is why (a) we give it away so easily and (b) why organizations are trying to collect as much data from as many people as they can.

Getting "Change" Right

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:23

The seminar – like his book -- was a very practical description of real-life experiences in leading organizational change. A self-described former street performer, Kahan engaged his audience in ways to create rapid, widespread engagement in their organizations. He offered both a framework for understanding how to do this, as well as a series of specific actions, based on his personal experiences in helping foster large scale changes in the World Bank and other organizations.

Crowdsourcing Government Reform

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:21
Shortly after President Obama took office, he reached out to the public for ideas on issues his new administration should address. He sponsored an “Open for Questions” forum and encouraged people to submit questions, and rank and vote on which should be top priorities. More than 100,000 questions were submitted, but participants didn’t always respond to the suggested topic areas, such as home ownership, health care reform, education, veterans, etc. Instead, they added their own and

Weekly Roundup for March 20-24, 2017

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:19

John Kamensky

Summer Field Trip in Annapolis

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:17

 Harvard professor Bob Behn calls the various “-stat” systems used across the country “Performance-Stat.” This includes the New York City CompStat, Baltimore’s CitiStat, and Maryland’s State-Stat, as well as Montgomery County’s County-Stat system.

Blockchain for Government

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:16

Simply put, Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger that can be likened to bookkeeping, where transactions are recorded as “blocks” and any modifications or related transactions are also recorded and linked creating a connected “chain”. This provides a unique opportunity to address pressing issues government organizations face, such as transparency, fraud detection, and efficient and improved services.

Transparency

Beach Reading for Performance Wonks

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:15
A newly-released book by a trio of authors, Performance Management in the Public Sector, (available August 2nd) takes a strategic and theory-based look at performance approaches. The authors – Wouter Van Dooren, Geert Bouckaert, and John Halligan – are well-known academics in the field from Belgium and Australia. Their book provides useful context for people new to the field

Should We Create a Performance Management Framework?

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:14

OMB last month released a memo on its next steps on improving agency performance.  Rather than defining a government-wide, all-encompassing framework, it focuses on defining a framework for agency “high priority performance goals” and tra

Moving Forward with a New Management Agenda

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:14

Blog Co-Author: Haynes Cooney Senior Managing Consultant at IBM Global Business Services

If implemented effectively, these initiatives could result improved efficiency and effectiveness of the federal agencies, and smarter use of taxpayer dollars.

The management section outlines a series of ideas focused on the “what” and “how” of government.

Citizen Engagement: A Pathway for Government Reform

Submitted by on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 14:12

I recently participated on a citizen engagement roundtable with leaders from a variety of agencies, moderated by FCW, as part of a broader set of panels on citizen engagement (see FCW's summary here).

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