John Kamensky

We are told that innovation is the process of improving or adapting a service, product, or system in order to deliver better results and create value.  It turns out that most innovations are the result of the curiosity of employees, not the creation of an innovation office staffed by specialized “innovators.”

Last year, The Economist wrote that “data is the new oil.” And in the government, this perspective is increasingly reflected in its priorities. For example, the current Administration has made the development and implementation of a Federal Data Strategy a key element in its management reform efforts in coming years.

John Kamensky

VA’s Priority: Customer Service.  Federal News Radio writes: “As one of the leading agencies in the Trump administration’s campaign to improve customer service, the Veterans Affairs Department sees potential in using artificial intelligence to get a handle on the hundreds of thousands of calls it receives daily from veterans seeking care.”

The use of data-driven meetings was popularized in the mid-1990s by the New York City police department, which dubbed them “CompStat” meetings.  These meetings were seen to contribute to a significant drop in crime and was eagerly replicated by other cities (Citi-Stat) and a number of states (State-Stat).  Harvard professor Bob Behn studied this phenomenon and wrote a book about “

Low Value. Government Executive reports, “Building on the president’s management agenda, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Monday sent agency heads new guidance on the c

Pentagon’s First CDO. FedScoop reports: “In a move highlighting the importance of data within the federal government’s largest agency, the Department of Defense recently hired its first chief data officer. . . . Michael Conlin, former CTO for U.S. public sector at DXC Technology, has stepped in to fill this role. He started the job July 30.”

The steady trend towards the increased use of cooperation and collaboration is happening against a backdrop of historically stove-piped programs and built-in institutional conflict, between and within agencies. Coordination is seen as good and conflict as bad. But can interagency conflict be good?

A 2015 study by the National Academy of Public Administration reinforces GAO’s concerns, concluding that “institutionalizing the discipline of program management across the federal government should be a top priority.”  This included creating an integrated approach to program management, creating a professional community and voice among program managers, and greater clarity in their roles and responsibilities. But what is the best approach for doing this?

John Kamensky

Skeptics call the President’s proposals to reorganize “boxology,” since they see them as merely shuffling around organizational boxes without anything actually being fixed.  Even a respected public management observer such as Donald Moynihan questions the Administration’s commitment: “Is it the nice, sensible documents that OMB puts out, or their actual management practice?”