John Kamensky

This “do what works” approach is global and is premised “on the assumption that increased use of research evidence will lead to better outcomes in terms of effectiveness, accountability, and sustainability,” according to a recent article by Roman Kislov et al in Public Administration Review.

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

Agile Government. Federal News Network’s Jason Miller reports on federal IT policy and agile management.

A recent article in Harvard Business Review reminded me of a favorite 2016 article in Public Administration Review by the British academic Christopher Hood, “Gaming in Target World.” Hood’s article recounted the problems created during the Tony Blair government when performance targets were widely used and tied to consequences affecting individual public servants.

But  according to Apolitical, an international online magazine covering the public sector, “over the past nine years, a revolution has been spreading through governments around the world. Today, over 200 public bodies are using a combination of behavioural science, economics and psychology to craft better policy.”

More specifically, what is being done to foster the continued organic growth in the understanding and use of these approaches in the public sector? And how do we bridge their use between academics and practitioners?

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

Missing Expectations. Governing reports: “”Public pension plans are missing their investment earnings expectations for the first time in three years, a development that could strain future state and local budgets amid rising concerns that the national economy is slowing.”

But that’s exactly what behavioral researchers found when trying to find ways to increase enrollment in a Philadelphia city program to provide low income senior citizens a discount on their water bills.