The use of prizes and awards is a visible element of the Obama Administration’s efforts to promote innovation in government. For example, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has sponsored a competition among federal employees to find cost savings and the White House has created the “challenge.gov” website where federal agencies can pose problems in hopes of getting solutions from the public. OMB issued guidance to encourage agencies to offer challenges and prizes, as well.
The release of this report comes on the heels of the first anniversary of the Open Government Directive issued in December 2009. This Directive required all executive departments and agencies to take the following steps toward the goal of creating a more open government:
This report offers practical implementation advice to agency leaders and front-line managers faced with implementing the newly-enacted law expanding telework opportunities to over one million federal workers.
Telework has been touted as being a winning strategy for government. A study by the Telework Research Network claims potential savings for the federal government of nearly $3.8 billion as a result of reduced real estate costs, electricity savings, reduced absenteeism, and reduced employee turnover.
While the financial management community has made significant progress over the years, it continues to face challenges in meeting some of the basic standards for accounting and reporting. Many agencies currently use outdated financial systems that do not support their efforts to improve financial performance and accountability. Efforts made to improve financial systems through upgrades or replacement of current financial systems must be undertaken with planning and care.
Learn more about The IBM Center for The Business of Government through this short video overview.
The IBM Center for The Business of Government connects public management research with practice. Since 1998, we have helped public sector executives improve the effectiveness of government with practical ideas and original thinking. We sponsor independent research by top minds in academe and the non-profit sector, and we create opportunities for dialogue on a broad range of public management topics.
To date, federal agencies have largely been on their own in terms of how to manage records created via social media tools. This historically decentralized approach has resulted in some agencies banning the use of social media while other agencies have rapidly adopted their use but ignored the potential records management implications. The National Archives and Records Administration released a bulletin on managing social media records at the same time this report was released. It offered some “guidance to Federal agencies, who must then determine the most appropriate ways to incorporate
As is well known, health care remains one of the most pressing issues facing us today. The U.S. health care system continues down what most experts have concluded to be an unsustainable path, mired by ever-increasing costs, inconsistent quality, and access pressures. The U.S. spends over $2 trillion on medical care annually which, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), represents about 2.4 times the average of other OECD countries.
