ACADEMY NEWS

National Academy to Host White House Dialogue on IT Solutions for Economic Recovery

For one week beginning April 27th, the National Academy of Public Administration, on behalf of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, will host a national online dialogue to engage leading information technology (IT) vendors, thinkers, and consumers in answering a key question:

What ideas, tools, and approaches can make Recovery.gov a place where the public can transparently monitor the expenditure and use of recovery funds? Participants from across the IT community will be able to recommend, discuss, and vote on the best ideas, tools, and approaches. The ideas submitted can directly impact how Recovery.gov operates, and ensure that our economic recovery is the most transparent and accountable in history.  The dialogue will go live on April 27th at www.recovery.gov; hosts the National Dialogue on Health IT & Privacy, hosted by the National Academy and OMB.

Mark Your Calendars!
The IT Solutions Dialogue begins in:

On March 19th, the National Academy of Public Administration hosted a highly successful exhibition Budgetball tournament at Philander Smith College, a Historically Black College in Little Rock, AR. Budgetball is a new physical sport that was developed collaboratively by a Panel of the National Academy and game developers at Parsons The New School for Design and Area/Code. It has been funded by a grant from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The game, which is played by two teams of 6-10 people on a basketball court or field, is designed to increase awareness of the federal debt and reward strategic thinking and collaborative problem-solving around issues of financial responsibility. Eighty students at Philander Smith College played Budgetball, and a dozen more volunteered to help manage the tournament, help with set-up and clean-up, and hand out refreshments that were donated by Coca-Cola and LSC, Inc. Over a hundred students, faculty, and community members enthusiastically cheered the final match – which was won with a “savings” strategy by the championship team!

On March 23rd, University President and National Academy Fellow Donna Shalala kicked off the Budgetball Event Series at the University of Miami. The month-long event series is focused on the federal debt and personal financial responsibility, and will culminate in a university-wide Budgetball Tournament on Saturday, April 18th. On Monday, more than 200 students and community members attended a “Fiscal Wake-Up Tour” forum that the Budgetball team at the National Academy helped arrange and promote as part of our broader effort to engage the public on issues related to the nation’s fiscal future.

For more information about Budgetball, please visit the National Academy’s new Budgetball website: www.budgetball.org.

SES Views on Successful Leadership Transition

On Thursday, March 12, 2009 the National Academy released its report outlining actions members of federal government’s Senior Executive Service (SES) can take to promote a successful leadership transition in this new administration. The report is based on a survey of SES personnel, the nation’s career executives, conducted in September – October 2008.

Analysis of the responses by SES members indicated that transition activities underway at their agencies appeared to be missing important elements such as information on critical external stakeholders including Congressional Members and Committees that can provide early support for or opposition to key agency priorities.

In response to these gaps and to help steer additional transition efforts the Academy made recommendations to guide preparations in three categories – preparing the organization, preparing the individual and preparing for a new working relationship with incoming leaders.

Dun & Bradstreet and BearingPoint provided financial support for the Academy’s online survey of SES employees.



Read the full report

Read David Broder’s syndicated column on the recent National Academy session: “The Economic Crisis and the Implications for Governance”

Click here to read the article

National Academy Panel Recommends Veterans Affairs Develop a “No Wrong Door” Environment

On February 26, 2009 the National Academy of Public Administration released its Panel report After Yellow Ribbons: Providing Veteran-Centered Services. In the report the Academy Panel calls on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to create a “No Wrong Door” environment to improve veterans’ access to the wide array of services provided by the many offices within the Department. To meet new challenges created by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, VA must improve on what it does well and at the same time evolve its services to deal with new issues created by the latest weapons and improved battlefield medical care.

The National Academy panel recommendations consider five areas:

Create and maintain veteran-centered systems including a “No Wrong Door’ policy to ensure appropriate guidance regardless of the veteran’s first point of contact within VA; integrated call centers; user-friendly web sites; and a customer service orientation for VA personnel who deal with the public.

Establish a Congressionally-chartered external advisory board to monitor implementation and maintenance of the veteran-centered system and provide regular progress updates to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Congress, and the American public.

Improve methods for outreach and access to care by injured veterans including technology to create personal records, enhanced efforts to coordinate with and assist organizations supporting veterans at state and local levels, and a greater collaboration in dealing with newer disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Improve information technology and internet capabilities to provide veterans easy access to VA benefit and claims information, allow for further automation of claims records, and promote communications internally and externally.

Develop and apply appropriate performance metrics designed to drive VA toward a veteran-centered system by providing clear of improved outcomes for veterans.

Read the full report
Read the press release

National Academy Releases Report on Management and Organization of White House “Drug Czar’s” Office

The National Academy has released a Panel report concerning the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Executive Office of the President entity responsible for coordinating federal drug control policy among the many entities engaged in this multi-dimensional law enforcement and health issue. At the direction of Congress, the Academy Panel conducted a review of ONDCP’s organizational structure, resource management, workforce, and policy processes. The report is based upon research, interviews with more than 135 government officials and stakeholders, analysis of nine years of workforce data, a survey of partner agencies, and an analysis of statutory requirements. The Panel’s major recommendations are that ONDCP develop a comprehensive, multi-year Strategy and comprehensive Budget Summary; increase its collaboration and consultation with Congress and partner drug agencies; realign its compartmentalized organizational structure; rebalance its workforce by reducing the number of political employees and supervisors; and implement more transparent and less centralized human capital policies and practices.

Read the full report
Read the press release

Towards More Meaningful Historic Preservation Performance Measures

The Academy recently released a report identifying more meaningful performance measures for the National Historic Preservation Program. The report recommends 17 measures for consideration by the larger historic preservation community in the hopes that these measures will be adopted and used by state and tribal programs, the National Park Service, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Office of Management and Budget, other federal agencies, and the Congress. Guided by the National Academy, the 14-member report team included federal, state, and tribal experts and practitioners in historic preservation.

Read the full report

National Academy Panel Releases Report on National Dialogue on Health IT and Privacy

In October 2008, on the eve of the presidential election, citizens and stakeholders from around the country convened at www.thenationaldialogue.org/healthit to share their ideas and concerns about the future of our health IT and privacy policies. Over 3,000 people from every state and 80 countries around the world visited this website, generating hundreds of ideas and comments. Now, a Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration has analyzed that Dialogue, and issued this report with key implications for health IT and privacy and civic engagement. The report also uses the information shared during to course of the Dialogue to establish principles on which future health IT and privacy policy should be based. President Obama has called upon government to harness new technology and make government transparent, participatory and collaborative. The National Dialogue demonstrates an important new opportunity to use technology to reach across and outside of government to access the collective brainpower of organizations, stakeholders and individuals.

Read the full report

Collaboration Project Releases Paper on Key Priorities for the Obama Administration

President Obama has called for government to become more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. The National Academy's Collaboration Project has issued a paper highlighting three priorities that the new President must focus on to make this vision a reality. The paper, Enabling Collaboration: Three Priorities for the New Administration, encourages the President to create an open technology environment; treat data as a national asset, and foster a culture and framework for collaboration. By focusing on these priorities, President Obama can begin transforming federal agencies and departments so that they can execute the goal of a more open and transparent democracy.

Read the full paper

Academy Panel Recommends Improvements for NOAA Habitat Protection and Restoration Programs

The National Academy recently issued its Panel report, An Early Evaluation of NOAA's Habitat Matrix Program to the National Oceanic and Atmospherric Administration. The Panel found that the program's matrix management approach has not reached its full potential as the 6 component programs are largely managed separately with performance measures that  focus on program outputs rather than measurable improvements in habitat conditions for the fish and other marine resources for which NOAA has a trustee responsibility.  The Panel recommended that NOAA create an overarching, outcome-oriented legislative framework for the whole habitat improvement mission, involve the wide range of stakeholders more regularly and intensively, invest more of the program's limited resources in activities that have the greatest potential to produce large impacts, and transform the program's performance measures to enable NOAA to set and track meaningful targets for improving the nation's coastal and marine habitats.

Read the report

Bridging the Gap in Critical Healthcare Positions Through Focused Strategies to Acquire Talent and Enhance Diversity

Back by Popular Demand….National Academy Offers Executive Workshop on Presidential Transition for Career SES Members

In response to popular demand, the National Academy will again offer its “Transition Readiness:  Becoming a Valued Partner" executive workshop for career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), scheduled for February 4, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The agenda features advice and insights from a key advisor to the Presidential Transition Team;  dynamic, interactive sessions with experienced career and political leaders; and structured segments facilitated by experts in organizational change and communication.  For more information and to see what participants have said about the workshop, click here.

Management Survey

Federal System Standing Panel Releases Transition Paper on Intergovernmental Management

The Academy’s Standing Panel on the Federal System recently developed a transition paper on intergovernmental management in concert with state and local group leaders. The statement was delivered to President-elect Obama’s Assistant for Intergovernmental Relations, Valerie Jarrett. To read a copy of the transition statement. Click here.

National Academy Provides Executive Workshop on Presidential Transition for Career SES Members

The National Academy is pleased to announce its upcoming executive workshop for career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), scheduled for December 15, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The workshop was designed in response to the National Academy’s recent survey of career SES members who expressed a desire for specific training and guidance to help them prepare for the upcoming Presidential transition.

View the invitation

Click here for expert perspectives on preparing for the Presidential transition. Windows Media Player│QuickTime

Building Powerful Leadership Teams for Transition and Beyond

On Thursday, November 20, the National Academy of Public Administration publicly released the results of recent surveys focusing on the transition experience and expectations of political and career government employees. Each survey considered challenges to the transition process and skills essential for success. Delays in the confirmation process were identified by both groups as a significant challenge. Political appointees highlighted leadership as the key to success in their roles while SES identified knowledge of the organization's policies and processes as important attributes for their positions.  Detailed results from both surveys are available below.  

View PAS presentation

View SES presentation

Saving Our History:  A Review of National Park Cultural Resource Programs

The National Academy recently released a report entitled “Saving Our History:  A Review of National Park Cultural Resource Programs.”  In this report, a National Academy Panel responds to a request from the National Park Service (NPS) to provide independent recommendations to improve stewardship of cultural resources in our national parks, including historic structures, archeological sites, museum collections, cultural landscapes, and park histories.  The Panel has identified ways that NPS can improve stewardship of these important national resources by strengthening performance-based management, ensuring park superintendent accountability, increasing flexibility in the use of funds, strengthening national leadership, and seeking additional funds and staff to reduce risks to cultural resources of national significance. 

Read the report

Academy Fellows Offer Lessons for the Next Administration on Improving Policy Outcomes

In a recently released paper, National Academy Fellows, Kathryn Newcomer and Steve Redburn, offer concrete recommendations to the next President on how to improve executive branch performance to achieve his desired policy outcomes.  The report proposes answers to two key questions:  Who should be responsible for guiding the federal government’s performance in the next Administration? And, how can the next President achieve real improvements in federal policy outcomes?  The guidance is based on their review of the experience over the last decade with efforts to bring performance information to bear in improving how programs are managed, and to improve decisions on policy design and use of resources.  

Read the report

National Online Dialogue to Examine Healthcare Privacy

The National Academy is hosting the National Dialogue on Health Information and Privacy - an online discussion among subject matter experts, interested stakeholders and the public seeking areas of common ground from which we can build new understanding to move the issue forward.  All are invited to visit the dialogue website in order to submit and vote on the most important challenges, breakthrough ideas, and core principles that should guide government's response to this critical issue. 

Participation is easy.  Just visit www.thenationaldialogue.org to read, comment, rank and post ideas.  You can also follow the conversation on Twitter http://twitter.com/natldialogue.

Read Dialogue Summary

Read Dialogue Advisor

Academy Panel Provides Recommendations to Support a National Imperative

The National Academy recently released a report entitled “Identifying the Workforce to Respond to a National Imperative: The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).” In this report, a National Academy Panel responds to a request from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Air Traffic Organization (ATO) to provide detailed recommendations on the competencies needed by ATO’s acquisition workforce to successfully deliver and integrate the many systems and procedures that are expected to transform the nation’s air transportation system.  The Panel also recommends strategies for acquiring the necessary competencies, to include building ATO’s internal capabilities in key areas.  Additionally, to help ATO overcome several implementation challenges that may impede success, the Panel urges the agency to: tailor the FAA leadership program to focus on the critical skills needed for the NextGen transition, complete detailed NextGen plans, ensure that there is a labor-management strategy to support NextGen, and review the structure and content of human resources management operations.

Read the report - Volume 1

Read the report - Volume 2

The National Academy is proud that many of its Fellows will play a significant role in Transforming Bureaucratic Cultures: Challenges and Solutions for Public Management Practitioners, a two-day conference to be held July 28-29 at Baltimore’s Renaissance Harborplace Hotel. The conference is sponsored by The Public Manager and the American Society for Public Administration.

This innovative event will showcase the knowledge and perspectives needed to deal with today’s dynamic, complex management challenges as drawn from an array of superlative professionals. Six tracks are featured: Performance, Accountability, Human Capital, Technology, Communication, and Governance. All are designed to offer a unique emphasis on direct interaction with expert practitioners who have achieved transformational change in their fields. The anticipated audience will include approximately 500 federal, state, local and international managers and executives, public service and non-profit professionals, and others interested in improving public sector management. Academy Fellows will make up approximately 20 percent of the panelists and moderators, and Academy President Jenna Dorn will moderate a capstone plenary session on Leading and Managing Change in a Multi-Sector Environment.

To learn more about the conference and register online, click here

New “Big Game” to Engage Young Adults on America’s Fiscal Future

National Academy and PETLab Partner to Create Game for Students to Play on College Campuses

The Academy recently announced that it will join forces with PETLab (an initiative of Parsons The New School for Design and Games for Change) to develop an innovative game to educate college students about America’s fiscal future.   The game will be played on college campuses, and will also take advantage of social media used by students.  Exploring difficult fiscal issues like unsustainable entitlement programs, rising health care costs, and investments in alternative energy sources the game will raise awareness, increase understanding of the underlying causes, and spark action on the looming fiscal problems facing America.  The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is funding development of this “Big Game,” which will launch in spring 2009.

Read the Press Release

Academy Panel Urges New Approach to Homeland Security Transition

In a recently released study requested by Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, a National Academy Panel has made important recommendations to reduce America’s vulnerability during the coming election and Presidential transition period.  The Panel advises DHS to complete its plans quickly, and urges DHS, other Federal agencies with homeland security responsibilities, the Presidential candidates of both parties, and Congress to take additional steps now to ensure a seamless transition.

Read the Press Release

Read the Report

Administration Directs Development of National Environmental Indicators in Response to Academy Panel Recommendation

On June 17, the Administration announced that a series of National Environmental Status and Trend (NEST) indicators would be developed, following up on recommendations that an Academy panel made late last year.

In December 2007, a National Academy report, “A Green Compass: Institutional Options for Developing a National System of Environmental Indicators”, recommended  practical steps for creating a national system of environmental indicators. The Study Panel, chaired by Hermann Habermann, worked closely with a federal interagency team to explore institutional options to select and regularly produce environmental indicators that are reliable, relevant and trusted.  

The Panel recommended that the five federal environmental and natural resources agencies forego organizational changes and instead use a pilot to engage states and other key players, broaden support and build momentum for a national system of indicators through the transition to the next Administration.

Read the White House Press Release

Read the report

Academy Fellow Paul Light releases "A Government ILL EXECUTED"

On Monday, June 9th, 2008, the National Academy hosted a book discussion centered on the release of “A Government ILL EXECUTED: The Decline of Federal Service and How to Reverse it” by Paul Light.  The author was joined by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Academy President Jenna Dorn.  The author and his esteemed guests discussed the breakdown of government organization, the appointee process and ways to revitalize Alexander Hamilton’s energetic federal service.  
 
Read the 2007 Elmer Staats Lecture by Paul Light at the Academy Fall Conference

Standing Panel on The Federal System Meets to Discuss Intergovernmental Management Issues

The May 2008 meeting of the Standing Panel on the Federal System featured a discussion on the intergovernmental management issues that the next Administration faces and potential roles that the Panel might play in the transition.  The Academy was pleased to have two guest speakers share their experiences working in the White House Intergovernmental Affairs Office: Marcia Hale, former Assistant to President Clinton and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Maggie Grant, former Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs in the George W. Bush Administration.  The meeting was also attended by senior leadership of the state and local government associations.
 
Listen to a recording of the meeting’s discussion by clicking here.

Academy Convenes Government Experts to Discuss Intragovernmental Transactions

More than 60 government executives joined a panel of government leaders on April 17 to discuss the problems associated with intragovernmental transactions.  The inability to reconcile interagency transfers has caused numerous difficulties, including generating clean audit reports.  The speakers and attendees also explored potential solutions to this critical public management challenge.
 
The Academy was pleased to sponsor the event with MasterCard Worldwide, Grant Thornton, and Kelly, Anderson & Associates.
 
Read more about the Forum on Intragovernmental Transactions

Collaboration Project 2.0!!!

The National Academy is excited to launch the second version of our Collaboration Project website. Featuring lighthouse studies and examples of leaders driving change, this site will become home to the ideas that help to solve the tough problems that government is facing.  See it now at www.collaborationproject.org.

FedPitch Announces 2008 Winner

Robyn K. Dingledine of Littleton, CO wins the first FedPitch competition, held on May 7th on the PSRW main stage on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The purpose of the FedPitch competition was to identify innovative ways to attract and recruit people to federal public service, as well as seek out new approaches for retaining, engaging, motivating, rewarding, developing, or leading the federal workforce.

The winning pitch was to create an online career quiz to help individuals find the Federal career that best fits their interests.

The following were finalists for FedPitch 2008:

Jacqueline E. Bell (Upper Marlboro, MD), Sharon S. Gunselman (Washington, DC), John T. Bersentes (McLean, VA), James W. Herman (Reston, VA), Martha G. Buck (Winterville, NC), John C. Kunkel (Mechanicsburg, PA), Rose M. Bynum (Philadelphia, PA), Darryl A. Perkinson (Chesapeake, VA), Ray M. Crawford, Jr. (Washington, DC), Jane E. Petkofsky (Arlington, VA), Elizabeth M. Cuda (Chicago, IL), Joshua Russin (Walkersville, MD), Aparna Darisipudi (Arlington, VA), Debra L. Schweikert (Washington, DC), Robyn K. Dingledine (Littleton, CO), Karen E. Simpson (Washington, DC), Steven D. Genson (Washington, DC), Leonard A. Sipes (Baltimore, MD), Emily L. Grantner (Battle Creek, MI), Mark A. Stelzner (Washington, DC)

Go to http://www.FedPitch.org/ for more information.

The Collaboration Project Featured in The Public Manager

The interactive Web is forcing change across society, and the public sector is no exception.  In the current issue of The Public Manager, Academy Fellows and Staff discuss a few of the opportunities available to government leaders to collaborate in order to better meet challenges in governance.
 
See how Virtual Networks bring stakeholders and peers together, by Frank Di Giammarino and Lena Trudeau. Read the article

Learn more about the Collaboration Project

Read Summaries of articles by Academy Fellows

The Next President’s Management Agenda
Introduction and Overview—Part II  
Alan P. Balutis
 
Inherently Governmental Functions: At a Tipping Point?
Allan V. Burman
 
The President, Outcomes, and Performance
Robert Tobias
 
Now Is the Time for Collaboration
Robert J. O’Neill Jr. and Elizabeth K. Kellar
 
The Challenge of Managing across Boundaries
Mark A. Abramson and Alan P. Balutis

National Academy Introduces its Conference Facility

The National Academy is now making its state-of-the-art conference facility available for lease to outside parties. We offer a variety of rooms and configurations, along with staff support, to suit most any business need---from small office settings, to large gatherings of up to 100 people. Facilities are available on an hourly or daily basis.  

Click here for more information

National Academy Co-Sponsors 2008 National Public Service Awards

The National Academy of Public Administration and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) announce the winners of the 2008 National Public Service Awards, the premier awards for excellence in public service at all levels of government.

Read the press release

National Academy Releases New Report on Award and Pay Programs at HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The National Academy has released a Panel report on employee recognition and compensation programs at the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study involved close collaboration with CDC and HHS human resources staff and input from over 200 employees, managers, and labor union representatives. Recommendations include implementing a budgetary and accountability framework for awards, work-based criteria for senior-level pay, and expanded use of information technology to communicate and manage awards programs.

Read more

Read the panel report

Read other Academy News

Read other Academy Resources