Federal Foresight Community of Interest Turns Five

The answer: The U.S. Forest Service – 100 to 150 years – because it takes a long time to grow a forest!

An intrepid band of foresight analysts from across the federal government met last week to continue their regular round of sharing insights and practices. The group quietly celebrated their fifth year of informally gatherings and the band of volunteers who organize the meetings announced the creation of a community website.

The Business of Government Hour

Michael has two decades of experience with both the private and public sectors encompassing strategic planning, business process redesign, strategic communications and marketing, performance management, change management, executive and team coaching, and risk-financing.

Kathryn Denhardt

Kathryn Denhardt specializes in organizational leadership, human resource management, performance-based contracting, and ethics. She has worked extensively with state and local government practitioners, assisting them in bringing about desired changes in their organizations through strategic planning, organizational development, and a variety of management reform efforts. S

Robert A. F. Reisner

Robert A. F. Reisner is the President of Transformation Strategy Inc., a boutique strategy consulting firm that works with global firms and specialists in multiple disciplines to fashion creative solutions for clients in the public and private sectors. He is the author of “When a Turnaround Stalls” in the Harvard Business Review (February 2002) and numerous technical papers on issues ranging from strategic planning to innovation to institutional transformation.

 

Barbara C Crosby

Barbara C. Crosby is associate professor at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a member of the School's Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center. . During 2002-3, she was a visiting fellow at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Crosby was coordinator of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at the University of Minnesota from 1990 to 1993 and director of the Humphrey Institute's Reflective Leadership Center from 1999 to 2002.

What Agency Leaders Need to Know About Federal Acquisition

Most agencies in the U.S. government rely on products—goods and services—acquired through contracts to perform core functions, pursue agency objectives, and achieve mission success. In FY12, the federal government acquired $517 billion worth of products through contracts.

The Operator's Manual - An Update of Chapter 2: Performance

The IBM Center is releasing an update to its 2009 “The Operator’s Manual for the New Administration” for the use of new executives in the federal government. This updated chapter reflects statutory changes since 2009 and provides insights on how executives can improve performance in their agencies’ programs.

 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Performance

Magnifying the Voice of the Future

Dr. Boston, visiting the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship, sums up some of his initial research on how the U.S. and several other democratic countries address long-term policy issues, in a recent presentation at American University. Background. Dr. Boston says that there are a number of important societal problems that reach beyond the span of an election cycle, and that for political leaders there can be “a temptation for intergenerational buck-passing.

Is Foresight an Ethical Imperative?

Greenleaf’s statement is pretty strong. And most people would think that he refers to political leaders. But his observation is pointed at leaders at all levels. Efforts to create a strategic foresight capacity in the U.S. federal government have experienced fits and starts over the past 40 years. But in recent years, there has been some progress at the agency level, largely at the behest of political and career leaders who appreciate the value of foresight as part of their decision making processes. They might not think of it in terms of an ethical issue, but as good leadership.

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