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New Center Report – Collaboration Across Boundaries: Insights and Tips from Federal Senior Executives
New Center Report – Collaboration Across Boundaries: Insights and Tips from Federal Senior Executives
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
The IBM Center for the Business of Government is pleased to release present a new report, Collaboration Across Boundaries: Insights and Tips from Federal Senior Executives, by Professors Rosemary O’Leary and Catherine Gerard of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
This report continues the IBM Center’s long interest in collaboration. This new report provides valuable insights into how federal senior executives view collaboration. Based on survey responses from over 300 members of the federal Senior Executive Service, O’Leary and Gerard found – to their mild surprise – that nearly all those surveyed reported using collaboration as a management strategy. Survey respondents clearly recognized that the job of senior executives today involves collaboration within their agency, their department, and the federal government, as well as with key external partners and stakeholders.
The O’Leary-Gerard survey of federal executives is unique in that it received open-ended answers from respondents about how to collaborate in government more effectively. The report concludes with eight insightful tips about how to collaborate in government, including the view of senior executives that the foundation of success in collaboration is common purpose, while another is “don’t be afraid of conflict – expect it.” The report also includes valuable insights into why agencies collaborate, barriers to collaboration, and the skill set needed to be a collaborative manager.
Social Security in the BRIC Countries
Social Security in the BRIC Countries
Source: IMB Center for the Business of Government
Social security is a well-established part of the societal landscape in traditional westernized countries. There are a variety of approaches, and there are substantial differences between the operation of social security under the predominantly insurance-based (or Bismarckian) systems and the social assistance (Beveridge) systems. But both were developed and matured in the context of the industrialization of societies and both reflect the need to provide social protection in mass-scale workforces. It is recognised that (at least historically) the development of social security was seen as a natural complement to the process of economic development. Indeed, they can effectively be characterized as two sides of the same coin.
But what can we draw from the lessons of history and how much do these lessons apply to countries undergoing the 21st century equivalent of the industrial revolution? The so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries are experiencing the same kind of growth and rapid change experienced in western economies almost two centuries ago. Certainly, there are similar demands and pressures to balance economic advancement with social protection for those workers who provide the labour to fuel the economic development.
This report examines the existing nature of social security in the BRIC countries in order to consider the likely trajectory of its future development. The report provides a useful reminder that, whilst the underlying pressures are at least to some extent similar,
the starting places and norms are quite different. Also, the globalised world of the 21st century brings new pressures compared with the conditions that applied in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Designing Collaborative Networks
Designing Collaborative Networks
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
This report offers practical advice to public managers and political leaders who are addressing complex public challenges through multi-organizational networks. The use of collaborative networks of organizations has matured in the past decade. However, the developers of collaborative networks face political, organizational, and technological challenges in a world accustomed to the traditional, hierarchical approach to problem-solving and accountability.
Professors Fedorowicz and Sawyer draw on a six-year project which collected data on 266 collaborative networks of public safety organizations, such as law enforcement and first responders to emergencies. They found a great deal of diversity in these public safety networks. They also found, however, common patterns of issues. For example, most of the design issues surrounding public safety networks center on data security and access concerns of the various participants. The authors also found common principles for designing successful collaborative networks, and they believe that these design principles can be applied in policy arenas other than public safety.
One principle they present is the importance of leveraging the use of technology as a way to advance the work of a collaborative network. For example, to address the issue of data security and access, they recommend that those involved in designing a collaborative network “ensure that data custodianship remains with the data’s owners … the collaboration should be seen as providing a portal to data, not a warehouse for its storage.”
Much of their advice and recommendations come from the experience of people on the ground who have faced and solved knotty problems. As a result, we hope this report serves as a useful guide to federal managers as they develop collaborative networks to address challenges that reach across federal agency—and sometimes state, local, non-profit, and private sector—boundaries.
The Business of Government Magazine — Spring/Summer 2012
The Business of Government Magazine — Spring/Summer 2012
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
This edition of The Business of Government magazine provides a glimpse into the many challenges, risks, and opportunities facing today’s government executives. More importantly, it introduces a select group of government leaders who offer their insights, outline successes, and tell us how they, in their own unique way, are making a difference in an era of fiscal austerity.
Today’s conditions require government executives to go beyond simply doing more with less—to find smarter ways of doing business, using resources more efficiently, and investing them more wisely. The dramatic nature of this historical moment cannot be overstated. It is fully revealed by the depth of the vicissitudes being faced. How government leaders respond matters and the conditions require more than vague changes. It is to be understood that today’s actions affect future choices and lost opportunities result in ubiquitous costs. In the end, it is not necessarily retrieving something ideal from the past, but discovering a new path forward in the present.
This issue of The Business of Government Magazine also continues and expands on the core mission of the IBM Center, which is to connect public management research to practice. Whether it’s getting big things done in government, enhancing national competitiveness, revitalizing public service, reforming the federal IT budget, or evaluating citizen participation and using wikis in government, we bring together thoughtful perspectives from some of the leading practitioners and academics in the field.
Working the Network: A Manager’s Guide for Using Twitter in Government
Twitter—a microblogging service that allows for short updates of 140 characters—has grown to over 540 million registered accounts as of early 2012 . News organizations, corporations, and the U .S . government have adopted this new practice as an innovative form of interaction with their stakeholders . Many government agencies maintain at least one Twitter account, and even multiple accounts, based on their operational needs and their diverse audiences . It can be unclear to government Twitter users what the best strategies are for interacting with the public on Twitter, and how an agency can use Twitter in a meaningful way to support its organizational mission.Twitter updates are seen as public conversations and are increasing not only transparency and potentially accountability, but can also—when used appropriately—lead to increased inclusion of public opinion in policy formulation through information aggregation processes . Twitter can be used effectively to involve a large number of citizens and create conversations with an engaged, networked public . The outcome of these conversations can be new insights and even innovations in the public sector including suggestions on how to make government more effective, or rapidly accelerating emergency responses that help to improve public safety.This report is based on insights gained from discussions with social media directors in U .S . federal government agencies and observations of their daily Twitter tactics . Part I provides an overview of current strategies for using Twitter to interact with citizens. Four main strategies are identified:
- push
- pull
- networking
- customer service
In addition, hands-on best practices are presented for both public managers and social media administrators.
Shaping the Future of the National Guard: Insights from Colonel Donald H. Dellinger Deployment Director, National Guard Joint Continuous Process Improvement Initiative
Shaping the Future of the National Guard: Insights from Colonel Donald H. Dellinger Deployment Director, National Guard Joint Continuous Process Improvement Initiative
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Whether the call is coming from a state governor or directly from the president of the United States, the National Guard must be always ready to respond and engage whether at home or abroad. Today, like most of the government, the Guard is hardly immune to this period of fiscal contraction and has sought to respond to the new fiscal realities by reducing waste, controlling costs and improving business processes.
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Breaking New Ground: Promoting Environmental and Energy Programs in Local Government
Breaking New Ground: Promoting Environmental and Energy Programs in Local Government
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
The survey asked questions regarding sustainability initiatives that have been undertaken by local governments. Over 2,000 local governments responded to the survey. The survey was developed by ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities, the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University, the Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, and the Alliance for Innovation.
In brief, the survey found that a large majority of the localities responding to the survey were at an “early stage” of adopting sustainability initiatives. While over 80% of localities reported initiatives in the area of recycling, transportation, and building energy use, adoption rates were much lower for other sustainability initiatives such as alternative energy generation and workplace alternatives.
In addition to the survey results, the report presents case studies of eight local governments across the nation that are considered leaders in sustainability initiatives. The case studies go beyond the survey results to discuss how each community linked their sustainability initiatives to broader community goals. The report concludes with seven action steps that local governments can take in developing a long-term, integrated approach to environmental,
economic, and social sustainability.This report serves as an excellent companion study to a recent IBM report, A Guide for Local Government Executives on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, by Nathan Francis and Richard C. Feiock. That report set forth six strategies that local government decision-makers and administrators can take to develop new sustainability programs or refine existing programs.
Both the Francis-Feiock and the Svara-Read-Moulder reports come to similar conclusions: local government is still at the very earliest stages of adopting comprehensive sustainability programs in the areas of environment and energy. In this report, Svara, Read, and Moulder conclude, “Sustainability may be the ‘issue of our age’ but most local governments are still at a relatively early stage of addressing it. Most communities are taking some action, but the number and range of activities remain limited … Based on past experience with the spread of other local government innovations, most cities and counties will significantly increase sustainability activity in the future.”
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Assessing Public Participation in an Open Government Era
Assessing Public Participation in an Open Government Era
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
The plans of top agencies have been assessed by both the government and advocacy groups to see if they met the requirements laid out in the directives, often with an emphasis on the degree to which they increase transparency. This report focuses on how well these agency plans increase public participation and collaboration.
The authors compare what the large agencies say they plan to do, against the criteria used by professionals who conduct high-quality public participation initiatives in the non-profit world. The authors find most plans fail to define what constitutes high-quality public participation, but do “display an admirable willingness to experiment.”
The report provides details of best practices being applied by federal agencies in engaging the public on-line, face-to-face, and through formal mechanisms, as well as what agencies are doing to change their cultures to support greater participation by the public. It also offers a series of specific recommendations for what next steps the White House and agencies might take to spread these best practices across the government.
+ Full Report (PDF)
The Business of Government Magazine – The NEW Spring/Summer 2011 Edition
The Business of Government Magazine – The NEW Spring/Summer 2011 Edition
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
As with each edition, this issue of The Business of Government magazine has as its focus the core mission of the Center—connecting research to practice as a means to improve public management. We do this by bringing together insights and perspectives, blended with an equal measure of practicality and reflection, from an array of government leaders, public managers, thinkers, practitioners, and academics.
In an era of fiscal contraction, today’s leaders face unique challenges that present many difficult choices. It is a period that, while imposing many constraints, simultaneously confers as many opportunities. These are opportunities to make a difference, introduce new ways of managing, explore pragmatic approaches, and pursue management imperatives that help government leaders perform in ever-challenging, complex environments. We hope that each feature contributes in some way to advancing best practices, clarifying core public management issues, and whenever possible, presenting strategies marked by clarity and practical utility.
Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® Staff/Manager Alignment Scores
Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® Staff/Manager Alignment Scores
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Managers play an important role in an organization; they implement policies from senior leadership and also carry concerns up the chain from staff to decision-makers. If managers and staff don’t see eye-to-eye on the key issues, then managers may be unable or unwilling to properly acknowledge and share staff concerns to leadership. Executives may be left unaware of what’s happening on the front lines, issuing policies that risk failure because they aren’t fully informed. Executives may also miss opportunities to improve the workplace, if they aren’t aware of challenges facing their staff.
As important as it is for staff and managers to be aligned, it’s not unusual to find that managers and staff report different levels of satisfaction. Managers tend to report higher levels of satisfaction, because they typically have more status, earn more money and exercise more autonomy in their daily roles. But if staff and manager opinions at a particular agency are more divergent than what is normal across government, it may signal trouble ahead for future mission goals and desired reforms.
The Staff/Manager Alignment Score helps decision-makers and action planners at a particular agency to determine whether staff and manager views wildly diverge compared to other agencies across government, or whether the workforce agrees on the agency’s strengths and challenges. A closer examination of the gaps between staff and manager views on each of the questions that comprise the score can help decision-makers and action planners to identify and address potential hot-button issues for the workforce.
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Breaking New Ground: Promoting Environmental and Energy Programs in Local Government
Breaking New Ground: Promoting Environmental and Energy Programs in Local Government
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
This report presents findings from an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) survey that was sent to over 8,000 local governments across the nation.
The survey asked questions regarding sustainability initiatives that have been undertaken by local governments. Over 2,000 local governments responded to the survey. The survey was developed by ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities, the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University, the Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, and the Alliance for Innovation.
In brief, the survey found that a large majority of the localities responding to the survey were at an “early stage” of adopting sustainability initiatives. While over 80% of localities reported initiatives in the area of recycling, transportation, and building energy use, adoption rates were much lower for other sustainability initiatives such as alternative energy generation and workplace alternatives.
In addition to the survey results, the report presents case studies of eight local governments across the nation that are considered leaders in sustainability initiatives. The case studies go beyond the survey results to discuss how each community linked their sustainability initiatives to broader community goals. The report concludes with seven action steps that local governments can take in developing a long-term, integrated approach to environmental,
economic, and social sustainability.
Free report available for order.
Engaging a Multi-Generational Workforce: Practical Advice for Government Managers
Engaging a Multi-Generational Workforce: Practical Advice for Government Managers
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
The American workplace, the federal government workplace included, is undergoing a significant transition that presents both serious challenges and tremendous opportunities.
As a result, today’s managers face an unprecedented set of challenges. As organizations prepare for the coming generational shift, they need to take full advantage of the knowledge of their experienced workers, while at the same time rethinking old paradigms about what work is and how it gets done.
A major challenge for today’s Traditionalist and Baby Boomer managers is to figure out how to develop younger workers into tomorrow’s managers under a new model. A prudent question for managers is, “Do we want our legacy to be of mentoring and empowering the next generations, or of fighting them tooth and nail?” Organizations that embrace generational differences in values, ways of getting things done, and ways of communicating will thrive.
Managers who harness this unprecedented opportunity for growth, development, and collaboration, and build bridges between generations, will thrive.
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Implementing Telework: Lessons Learned from Four Federal Agencies
Implementing Telework: Lessons Learned from Four Federal Agencies
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Telework has been touted as a winning strategy for government. A study by the Telework Research Network claims potential savings for the federal gov ernment of nearly $3.8 billion as a result of reduced real estate costs, electricity savings, reduced absenteeism, and reduced employee turnover.
The recent passage of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 substantially changes the status of telework throughout government. Instead of each agency developing its own telework policies and procedures, the legislation sets forth a government-wide framework which both endorses and encour ages the use of telework throughout the government. Case studies were developed of telework practices and experience at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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Managing Care For People With Complex Needs Under Health Reform’s Medicaid Expansion
Managing Care For People With Complex Needs Under Health Reform’s Medicaid Expansion
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Under the expansion of Medicaid in health reform, an estimated 16 million people will gain insurance coverage. Many of these individuals will be childless adults with complex health needs, including chronic illness and mental health ailments.
Making health reform work will be about more than simply granting new individuals access to coverage. Those who manage health programs such as Medicaid will have to make sure the expanded program will have the capacity to deliver care in the most effective ways.
In his second Implementation Brief for the Maryland School of Public Policy and the IBM Center for the Business of Government, Jack Meyer explores ways that Medicaid officials can manage care to meet the often complex needs of the newly insured. The first Implementation Brief explored different strategies to enroll people in Medicaid coverage, while an upcoming third brief will examine the challenges and choices states have in creating insurance exchanges.
In his second brief, Meyer presents examples of states, including North Carolina and Oklahoma, that target patients with particular diseases or particular characteristics for more outreach efforts. Meyer reviews the research on the programs and recommends six approaches:
- Set clear goals for care and get stakeholder involvement through community meetings and focus groups.
- Do a needs assessment of each individual and then develop and individualized care plan.
- Move away from the fragmented care delivery model and integrate services, especially physical and behavioral health care.
- Hold Medicaid managed care plans accountable with data and performance measurement initiatives.
- Emphasize counseling and planning prior to hospital discharge to reduce costly readmissions.
- Redesign the delivery system so that Medicaid recipients who unnecessarily show up at the ER are redirected to community health centers or primary care providers.
+ Full Document (PDF)
See also: Modernizing Medicaid: Strategies for Managing Enrollment in Health Care Reform
Case Studies in Merging the Administrations of Social Security Contribution and Taxation
Case Studies in Merging the Administrations of Social Security Contribution and Taxation
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Nothing is stable in social security and, thus, the social security structures and financing mechanisms are constantly evolving.Therefore, governments may need to adapt these structures and mechanisms to the new circumstances, especially those arising after the recent economic downturn. Still remains the question how we can move forward in social security with efficiency and effectiveness with regard to the financing of the social security schemes. An answer to this question could be the far more reaching form of cooperation between social security administration and tax authority in the collection of the social security contributions; this close form of cooperation is the merger of the administrations of social security contributions and taxation.
This report studies the collection systems of five different European countries and gives an overview of the lessons learned from the different practices adopted in this field. These conclusions may help trigger awareness in this particular area of collecting social security contributions. The report may also give an insight for further changes in the national collecting systems of other countries.
This report continues IBM’s long interest in this topic. Several years ago, the IBM Center published Cooperation Between Social Security and Tax Agencies in Europe by Bernhard Zaglmayer, Paul Schoukens, and Danny Pieters. In that report, the authors argued that as social policy continues to evolve, governments now may need to look beyond the traditional structures of social security and taxation. That report made a series of important observations about the potential evolution of cooperation between social security and taxation organizations in the years ahead. This new report expands our knowledge on this important topic.
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A Best Practices Guide to Information Security
A Best Practices Guide to Information Security
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Organizations take great pains to use technology to defend against outside attacks; they work hard to spot and stop the malicious insider who is willfully trying to do ill to systems. However, most organizations fall short in equipping their workers with best practices to make them part of the solution to information security.
The authors first describe the most common problems related to front-line information security, and then provide solutions to each of these problems. This report can be used to evaluate an established program, or to set up a new one. These solutions alone will clearly not stop every threat facing organizations in the information security arena, but they go a long way in closing gaps over which organizations actually have some control. Significant results can be achieved at little or no cost, and can reduce security “noise” so that security professionals can focus on the larger and more dangerous threats that remain.
While most efforts at training on information security focus on what not to do, the authors examine how to incentivize positive actions that organizations can take to improve collective security. This fresh perspective is one that everyone who comes into contact with government — employees, businesses, and citizens — can benefit from. We trust that this report will be useful to all government leaders as they work to prepare, train, and inspire their front-line workers to become stewards of information security.
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A Guide for Local Government Executives on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
A Guide for Local Government Executives on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
Source: IBM Center for the Business of Government
While the federal government receives much attention for its environmental initiatives, much activity is now taking place at the state and local levels to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. The report sets forth six strategies that local government decision makers and administrators can use to develop new sustainability programs or refine existing programs.
The strategies presented in the report by Francis and Feiock are based on a nationwide survey that the authors conducted of medium-sized cities (with populations between 20,000 and 50,000) about their energy efficiency, sustainability, and climate protection efforts. These medium-sized cities account for most of the urban population and energy conservation in the United States.
Considerable money and attention has been directed toward local energy and sustainability issues in the last few years. The road ahead, however, will be challenging as local governments face tighter budgets and declining resources. Little practical information has been developed to guide local government officials and public managers in determining how best to approach local sustainability and climate protection programs. While energy efficiency and conservation promise long-term savings, nearly 40 percent of the cities surveyed report that limited financial resources will present a significant challenge for undertaking new energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. The goal of this report is to serve as a useful guide to local government officials as they face such challenges.
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