IBM Center for The Business of Government

This report documents examples of milestone contracting between public agencies and social service nonprofit agencies, with a particular focus on a recent innovation in Oklahoma's way of managing its contracts with nonprofit organizations. Oklahoma's milestone contracting specifies a series of distinct and critical achievements and confers payment for a set of collaboratively defined programmatic results. This approach is explored in greater detail by examining Oklahoma's approach, while also thinking through a full range of potential uses of this emerging contract system.

A major challenge facing the public sector in the years ahead will be to manage across boundaries. To better understand the challenge of boundary-spanning management, this report profiles Dr. Helen Gayle, Director of the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP) at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In her role as Director of the Center, Dr. Gayle is responsible for working closely with the United Nations and other international organizations and nations in combating the AIDS epidemic. Collaboration: Networks and Partnerships

Mergers and consolidations of government agencies and departments raise significant policy and management dilemmas for public sector leaders. This research project examines the theory and practice of public sector mergers at the federal and state levels with two main goals: (1) to provide broad guidance to policy makers on how to analyze proposed mergers, (2) give practical advice to agency and department managers on how to respond to the many challenges created when several independent public organizations suddenly become one.

This report presents an overview and history of performance budgeting in the federal government. Professor Joyce presents a comprehensive view of how performance information can be used at the various stages of the budget process: preparation, approval, execution, and audit and evaluation.