Best Practices for Leading Sustainability Efforts

 In attempting to tackle this question and assist government executive charged with wrestling with it, we present a new Center report, Best Practices for Leading Sustainability Efforts, by Jonathan M. Estes.

 

In October 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514, which outlines leadership efforts the federal government can make to reduce energy consumption and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Federal agencies are required to develop strategies, implement and report on projects, and continuously improve their processes as a model for the country.

Government Reform: Kenya and Malaysia (Part 4)

The World Bank seminars this past Spring continue to have me mulling about the progress of the performance movement internationally, and how surprised I was that several countries seem to be putting foundations for performance in place at two or three times the speed of more developed countries.  Four countries struck me as making notable progress.  I summarized two in a previous post (Colombia and South Africa).  Today I’ll focus on Kenya and Malaysia:

Government Reform: Colombia and South Africa (Part 3)

The World Bank seminars this past Spring on international progress in performance management continue to have me mulling about the progress of the performance movement internationally, and how surprised I was that several countries seem to be putting foundations for performance in place at two or three times the speed of more developed countries.  Four countries struck me as making notable progress.  I’ll summarize two today and two in my next post – along with notes on their commonalities:

Government Reform: The New Zealand Example (Part 2)

At the World Bank’s series of forums on performance management, I found John Whitehead’s insights particularly interesting.  Whitehead is a former secretary of the Treasury in New Zealand, which has been touted as the most advanced in performance-oriented government reform.  He looked back on what worked and what did not in their reform efforts over the past 25 years.  New Zealand’s effor

Government Reform: An International Snapshot of Progress on Performance Management (Part 1)

nations – with implications for the more developed countries.

The World Bank held a series of forums and invited presenters from Europe (Ireland, Britain), Africa (Kenya, South Africa), South America (Columbia, Brazil), and Southeast Asia/Pacific (Malaysia, New Zealand). The presentations and following discussions were both inspiring and cautionary, and I’ve been mulling over the past couple of months over what it all means for the future of the movement.

Agency Priority Goals: Playing Hide and Seek

ely identified agency “high priority performance goals” after he took office in 2009. It’s a solid start, but finding the information in one list wasn’t easy.

Agency Priority Goals: Playing Hide and Seek

The FY 2013 budget identifies 103 Agency Priority Goals. They were created in response to requirements in the new GPRA Modernization Act, but the creation of priority goals was initially inspired by an early Obama performance initiative that administratively identified agency “high priority performance goals” after he took office in 2009.

Mission-Focused Analytics

What do we mean by “mission-focused analytics?” That is the focus of a new report co-sponsored by the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government and released earlier today at an event with a panel of federal executives using analytics.

“It’s like peeling back an onion.  You cry a bit, then peel another layer and cry some more.”  That’s how Michelle Snyder, deputy chief operating officer of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Servic

Congressional Oversight of Performance

There may be widespread public dissatisfaction with Congress’s performance, but GAO has issued a new report that highlights Congress’s role in overseeing agency performance.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a set of briefing slides, “Managing for Results:  Opportunities for Congress to Address Government Performance Issues,” which it is using to bring Members of Congress and their staffs up to spe

The Three Hats of Mission Support Leaders

How do you assess the effectiveness and impact of mission support functions -- human resources, acquisitions, finance, technology, etc. -- on an agency’s mission?

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