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Improving Performance with Intergovernmental Grants - Lessons from the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program

Submitted by on Wed, 11/15/2023 - 09:40

The authors share findings from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) program that inform an in-depth examination of the federal government’s largest discretionary grant program intended to reduce homelessness. The research identifies HUD’s multi-pronged strategies that combine performance measures and capacity building supports to focus grant recipients on achieving national goals. These strategies provide a menu of smart practices that can be used by other federal agencies that administer intergovernmental grants.

Eight Strategies for Transforming Government

Submitted by on Fri, 10/21/2022 - 09:39

Importantly, the areas address both individual trends influencing government, and topics that can be addressed with even greater impact if assessed in a way that integrates across trends—such as driving an agile approach to digital innovation that improves outcomes. This integrative approach is especially true for how different trends relate to equity across government programs and foster trust in government institutions,

A Practitioner’s Framework for Measuring Results: Using “C-Stat” at the Colorado Department of Human Services

Submitted by on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 11:13

While this report is a framework for measuring performance in state agencies, it has relevance to performance measurement in other large public sector organizations as well. The author describes the evolution of C-Stat as a management framework for over a seven-year period, and offers concrete and actionable advice on the dynamics of using such an approach.

Building Performance Systems for Social Service Programs

Submitted by on Tue, 04/05/2016 - 09:37

Prodded by past scandals and court orders, the State of Tennessee today has one of the nation’s best performance-contracting systems for its child welfare program. In this report, Patrick Lester documents its evolution and use, and how Tennessee has avoided some of the common design flaws endemic in other social service programs using the performance-based contract model.

Incident Reporting Systems: Lessons from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization

Submitted by on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 12:58

Incident reporting systems are an integral part of many agencies’ operations. For example, the Veterans Health Administration collects data on incidences of errors made during surgeries, the Food Safety and Inspection Service collects data on incidences of errors in meat inspection plants, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration collects data on incidences of work­place injuries.

The New Federal Performance System: Implementing the GPRA Modernization Act

Submitted by on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 11:45

In this report, Professor Moynihan describes the evolution of the federal performance management system over the past 20 years since the passage of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). He reports recent progress in achieving meaningful performance results within targeted pro­grams and describes anticipated future changes over the next few years as a result of the new requirements of the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, which significantly amended the earlier law.

Five Methods for Measuring Unobserved Events: A Case Study of Federal Law Enforcement

Submitted by on Wed, 10/24/2012 - 14:11

Measuring program performance is relatively straightforward in many areas of government, such as social services, visa processing, and air traffic control.  But there are instances where assessing performance and success is much harder.  One particularly difficult area involves law enforcement, where a key goal is to prevent or deter bad outcomes – which can often happen without the knowledge of law enforcement officials.

From Data to Decisions II: Building an Analytics Culture

Submitted by on Tue, 10/16/2012 - 14:23

In our 2011 report on analytics use in the federal government, "From Data to Decisions: The Power of Analytics," we wrote about the tremendous budget pressures federal agencies face at a time when there is great public demand for government to be more effective and efficient. This report’s release sparked an overwhelmingly positive response from agency leaders and federal performance management practitioners who asked, “Where do we go from here?

From Data to Decisions: The Power of Analytics

Submitted by on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:28

Batting average isn’t the best way to determine the effectiveness of a hitter. The Oakland Athletics learned that while doing statistical analyses of players and trying to build a winning team during their 2002 season. “They took everything that happened on the baseball field and sliced it and diced it to its most elemental parts,” Michael Lewis, author of the book, “Moneyball,” said in a radio interview.  The A’s surprised just about everyone with their new-found success on the field, besting teams that had millions more to spend on recruiting top players.

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