John Kamensky

(a continuation from the December 23, 2009 blog on “Managing Performance”)

(a continuation from the December 23, 2009 blog on “Managing Performance”)

(a continuation from the December 23, 2009 blog on “Managing Performance”)

(a continuation from the December 23, 2009 blog on “Managing Performance”)

Bouckaert and Halligan call their first idealized performance management model the “Performance Administration” approach.

This model is seen as modest, ad hoc and un-systematic. It is oftentimes designed for formal, hierarchical organizations and is seen as mechanistic or compliance-oriented in implementation. Nevertheless, it is the typical starting place for many organizations.

Remember the YouTube phenomena, “The Evolution of Dance?” I have been reading a book, “Managing Performance: International Comparisons” by two highly-regarded foreign academics – Geert Bouckaert (a Belgian) and John Halligan (an Australian). Their book could well have been named: “The Evolution of Performance!”

The federal government’s chief performance officer, Jeff Zients, declared at a recent Senate hearing: “The test of a performance management system is whether it is used.” He thought federal agencies were failing the test.

OMB released a report today, “Acquisition and Contracting Improvement Plans and Pilots: Saving Money and Improving Government,” which follows up on its July 2009 directive that agencies trim 7 percent – about $40 billion -- from their contracting budgets over the next two years by improving their buying processes.

Senator Mark Warner chaired another hearing of his Taskforce on Government Performance, on “Data-Driven Performance: Using Technology to Deliver Results.”

The Obama Administration’s chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, testified. Here are some interesting excerpts from his statement:

Clock Is Ticking. In an op-ed for Government Executive, Stan Soloway writes: “While better government management was a major theme of the Trump campaign, a real management agenda—one that is cogent, coordinated, leadership-driven, and focused on improving institutional and mission performance—is not yet in evidence. I’ve been in and around government for more than three decades, across five administrations.

The White House released its long-awaited implementation guidance for President Obama’s Open Government initiative, along with links to ongoing agency initiatives and a “Progress Report to the American People.” The guidance lays out actions and timetables.