Government Reform: Inspirations from Developing Countries (Part 5)

four developing countries.

The World Bank seminars this past Spring continue to have me mulling about the progress of the performance movement internationally, and how surprised I was that several countries seem to be putting foundations for performance in place at two or three times the speed of more developed countries.  Four countries struck me as making notable progress, which are summarized in earlier blog posts:  Colombia, South Africa, Kenya, and Malaysia:

Government Reform: Kenya and Malaysia (Part 4)

The World Bank seminars this past Spring continue to have me mulling about the progress of the performance movement internationally, and how surprised I was that several countries seem to be putting foundations for performance in place at two or three times the speed of more developed countries.  Four countries struck me as making notable progress.  I summarized two in a previous post (Colombia and South Africa).  Today I’ll focus on Kenya and Malaysia:

Government Reform: Colombia and South Africa (Part 3)

The World Bank seminars this past Spring on international progress in performance management continue to have me mulling about the progress of the performance movement internationally, and how surprised I was that several countries seem to be putting foundations for performance in place at two or three times the speed of more developed countries.  Four countries struck me as making notable progress.  I’ll summarize two today and two in my next post – along with notes on their commonalities:

Government Reform: The New Zealand Example (Part 2)

At the World Bank’s series of forums on performance management, I found John Whitehead’s insights particularly interesting.  Whitehead is a former secretary of the Treasury in New Zealand, which has been touted as the most advanced in performance-oriented government reform.  He looked back on what worked and what did not in their reform efforts over the past 25 years.  New Zealand’s effor

OMB Guidance: What Is a Program?

Earlier this Spring, Senator Tom Coburn grilled an OMB witness at a hearing about why OMB had not yet implemented a provision in the GPRA Modernization Act requiring the creation of a government-wide inventory of all existing programs.  He pointed to a list developed by the Department of Education and wondered why this was not done by every agency in government.

OMB Guidance: Prepare to SOAR

Agencies will have to put this new approach in place over the next two years.

A New Federal Performance Framework

requests for fiscal year 2014, which is called OMB Circular A-11.

Government Reform: An International Snapshot of Progress on Performance Management (Part 1)

nations – with implications for the more developed countries.

The World Bank held a series of forums and invited presenters from Europe (Ireland, Britain), Africa (Kenya, South Africa), South America (Columbia, Brazil), and Southeast Asia/Pacific (Malaysia, New Zealand). The presentations and following discussions were both inspiring and cautionary, and I’ve been mulling over the past couple of months over what it all means for the future of the movement.

Recovering from the Recovery Act - Part 5

 A new report looks back at states’ experiences in implementing the federal reporting requirements and offers insights for the potential of extending such requirements.

Since 2009, the public has been able to track the outlay of more than $275 billion in federal contracts, grants, and loans as a result of the unprecedented transparency and accountability provisions included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), part of the federal economic stimulus program.

Creating Culture Change That Sticks

not an impediment.

Business writers Jon Katzenbach, Ilona Steffen, and Caroline Kronley wrote an insightful article in the July-August issue of Harvard Business Review summing up their observations of how leaders of large companies, such as 150-year-old Aetna Insurance, turned around a failing organization by reshaping the culture.  They say that too often leaders see culture initiatives as icing on the cake.  But it should be seen as “an accelerator and an energizer,” not a distraction.

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Emeritus Senior Fellow
IBM Center for The Business of Government

Mr. Kamensky is an Emeritus Senior Fellow with the IBM Center for The Business of Government and was an Associate Partner with IBM's Global Business Services.

During 24 years of public service, he had a significant role in helping pioneer the federal government's performance and results orientation. Mr. Kamensky is passionate about helping transform government to be more results-oriented, performance-based, customer-driven, and collaborative in nature.

Prior to joining the IBM Center, he served for eight years as deputy director of Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. Before that, he worked at the Government Accountability Office where he played a key role in the development and passage of the Government Performance and Results Act.

Since joining the IBM Center, he has co-edited six books and writes and speaks extensively on performance management and government reform.  Current areas of emphasis include transparency, collaboration, and citizen engagement.  He also blogs about management challenges in government.

Mr. Kamensky is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and received a Masters in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, in Austin, Texas.