Our Top 10 Most-Read Blog Posts in 2010!

1.      Congress Hits Refresh Button on the Results Act (October 5, 2010)

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) summarized the need for a refresh when he introduced his bill with bipartisan support:  "Producing information does not by itself improve performance and experts from both sides of the aisle agree that the solutions developed in 1993 have not worked.”

2.      Veterans Affairs:  “Transformation 21” and Beyond (January 21, 2010)

The Department of Veterans Affairs, like HUD, is undertaking significant transformation efforts with congressional support.  Its initial “Transformation 21” plan was framed around its fiscal year 2010 budget.  Subsequently, more is on the way.

3.      Obama’s FY 2011 Management Initiatives (February 2, 2010)

Most of the news media focused on the size of the budget and which agencies gained or lost.  However, the budget also included an overview of the Obama Administration’s management initiatives, as well.

4.      Engaging Partners in Measuring Program Effectiveness (October 12, 2010)

How do you create a collaborative data collection and performance reporting system involving a range of stakeholders in communities, watersheds, or land restoration efforts?

5.      Finally, A Name! (September 14, 2010)

The Obama management agenda finally has a name: the Accountable Government Initiative. In a memo from President Obama to the 7,000 members of the senior executive service, he highlights six initiatives and their progress to date. He also says: “I have tasked our Chief Performance Officer, Jeff Zients, with leading the Accountable Government Initiative,. . . “ and asks for regular updates.

6.      UK Public Service Agreements (August 24, 2010)

Are there lessons from the use of Public Service Agreements over the past decade in the UK for the implementation of the Obama Administration’s High Priority Performance Goals?

7.      Government Managers’ Guide to Citizen 2.0 (October 28, 2010)

What the various kinds of citizen 2.0 want, how government mangers can give it to them, and why they should bother making volunteering more inviting. (a 4-part series covering citizens as consumers, creators, co-deliverers, and coordinators of government services)

8.      The Rise in Centralized, Mechanistic Decisionmaking (September 21, 2010)

The September 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review has an insightful piece, “The Judgment Deficit,” by Amar Bhide. It explores the role of statistical models in the centralization of decision making and how this played a role in the recent downfall of the financial sector. But his article also has insights for the public sector as well.

9.      Business of Government Magazine:  Fall/Winter 2010 Edition (December 6, 2010)

Announces the new issue and highlights key stories

10.  Strategies Promoting Collaboration on the Front Line (August 30, 2010)

The Obama Administration wants agencies to promote collaboration. Agencies have developed plans and initiatives. But how do you really do it? A new IBM Center report by Cassandra Moseley explores case studies of effective collaboration in natural resource agencies using stewardship contracting.