The Power of Frontline Workers in Transforming Government: The Upstate New York Veterans Healthcare Network

The project describes and analyzes how a government organization, providing services within the ongoing constraints of bureaucratic routine, reduced funding and political influence and used the entrepreneurial capabilities of its workforce to navigate major strategic challenges successfully. The organization examined was a single health service network within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Upstate New York Veterans Health Network, which allowed its work force to become more entrepreneurial and independent in performing their responsibilities.

The President's Management Council: An Important Management Innovation

In 1993, the President's Management Council (PMC) was created. The PMC consists primarily of the deputy secretaries of each federal departemnt. The PMC served as the coordinating body for the administration's initiatives in management in government. In this report, the value of the PMC as a management innovation is assessed. The study is based on on-the-record inteviews with current and former Council members and is the the only study thus far of the PMC.

The State of Federal Websites: The Pursuit of Excellence

This report discusses the legal and policy context of federal website implementation and some of the major issues that have faced federal web managers. These issues include the need to assess web content after September 11th to ensure security, provide security against hackers, and protect citizens' privacy. Technology and E-Government

Transborder Service Systems: Pathways for Innovation or Threats to Accountability?

This report describes the emergence of contracts that cross local borders. One example is Edison Schools, which is now the country’s leading private manager of public schools, operating 136 schools in 22 states. Another example is Maximus Incorporate that operates social service programs in all 50 states, 49 of the fifty largest cities, and 27 of the thirty largest counties. A third example includes the construction of the new Cross Israel Highway that is led by the Canadian Highways Infrastructure Corporation.

Transforming Government: The Revitalization of the Veterans Health Administration

This report describes and analyzes the transformation of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), one of the country’s largest organizational transformations in recent years. The goal of the transformation was to create an organization that could provide care as efficiently as leading private-sector health care organizations and that would embrace innovation and continuous quality improvement.

Transforming Government: Creating the New Defense Procurement System

This report focuses on the government leaders within the Pentagon and the White House who transformed the weapons procurement process from a rule-bound, inflexible, and inefficient system to a more subjective, cost-effective, and innovative public acquisition process. The study seeks to discover how these public sector leaders injected private sector business methodologies into the traditional federal bureaucracy and offers an illustration of how this government team exemplified leading widespread change and instilling innovation. Organizational Transformation

Transforming Government: The Renewal and Revitalization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

This report investigates the effectiveness and efficiency of the disaster assistance programs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In particular, the study explores the evolution of disaster management from the Bush Administration to the Clinton Administration and compares FEMA responses to Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Andrew with agency responses to more recent disaster such as the Northridge Earthquake. Organizational Transformation

Understanding Innovation: What Inspires It? What Makes It Successful?

Public sector innovation may be considered an oxymoron, but for 15 years the Ford Foundation and John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University have been identifying innovative public sector programs at the state, local, federal and tribal government levels through the Innovations in American Government Awards program, funded by Ford and administered by the Kennedy School.

Using Technology to Increase Citizen Participation in Government: The Use of Models and Simulation

The use of decision support tools by citizens and community leaders to make better decisions holds tremendous promise as the next area of E-government technology. This research project identifies these opportunities, examines existing attempts to use these technologies, and conducts usability research related to a particular set of simulation technologies designed to help citizens more fully participate in decisions about sustainable development.nj, new jersey, ca, california Technology and E-Government

Working to Transform Your Organization

A part of the larger report, "Becoming an Effective Political Executive: 7 Lessons from Experienced Appointees," this essay, "Working to Transform Your Organization," describes how political appointees can successfully transform organizations. Four organizations were chosen as case studies and eight common lessons emerged about how leaders successfully undertake large-scale transformation initiatives.

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