Jonathan Walters

Jonathan Walters is a staff correspondent for Governing magazine. He has covered state and local public policy and administration for the past 20 years, writing on topics ranging from civil service reform to welfare reform.

Transforming Information Technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Jonathan Walters' report chronicles the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) efforts to realign and centralize its information technology activities. Describing it as an "ambitious, audacious and arduous crusade," Walters makes it very clear that this is still very much a work in progress. There are significant hurdles ahead and certain significant adjustments will no doubt need to be made for this ambitious undertaking to be ultimately implemented and sustained by the VA.

The Transformation of the Government Accountability Office: Using Human Capital to Drive Change

The authors present an honest description of the transformation of the GAO. The report openly discusses challenges faced and overcome, mistakes made, and lessons learned. It challenges the reader to think broadly about human capital management as a driver for organizational transformation and what it can mean for the public sector as a whole. Like the Government Accountability Office, other public and private organizations have also successfully used human capital management to transform their organizations. Three keys appear to be essential to such transformation.

Life after Civil Service Reform: The Texas, Georgia, and Florida Experiences

As with the federal government, states and local governments are examining alternatives to the traditional civil service system. This report examines civil service reform programs in Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Human Capital Management

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.

Staff Correspondent
Governing Magazine
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Jonathan Walters is a staff correspondent for Governing magazine. He has covered state and local public policy and administration for the past 20 years, writing on topics ranging from civil service reform to welfare reform.

Currently his focus is on public sector management and change management in state and local government, with an emphasis on workforce development and strategic workforce planning. Besides Governing, Mr. Walters has written for such publications as the Washington Post and USA Today. He is the author of the Pioneer Institute's White Paper, Toward a High-Performance Workplace; Fixing Civil Service in Massachusetts; and also Is There Life After Civil Service?, published by the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government. He is also author of the book Measuring Up; Governing's Guide to Performance Measurement for Geniuses (and Other Public Managers).

He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1977 with a degree in English. He currently resides in Ghent, New York, where he is an active member of the Ghent Volunteer Fire Company and where he also serves as co-chairman of the Ghent Planning Board.