• February 27, 2017
• Operational Excellence

This resource is part of the Ash Center's Operational Excellence in Government Project.

Overview

Performance management and accountability efforts are the driving force of operational excellence. As governments look to improve operations, the use of strategic management and planning grow even more important. The Performance and Accountability section highlights mechanisms for organizational effectiveness among basic government operations. This section includes articles and recommendations on value management, Lean processes, performance metric implementation and tracking, program evaluations, and fraud and waste detection.

Subtopics include:

•     Innovation
•     Performance systems involving the implementaion and reporting of performance metrics, balanced scorecards, operating reviews, audits
•     Program evaluations
•     Strategic management, including Lean government processes
•     Waste, fraud, and abuse

Related Reports

Performance and Accountability Reports

Related Resources

Performance and Accountability Reports, Case Studies, and Papers

Related Research

From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations
Stephen Kosack, Charles C. Griffin, Courtney Tolmie
Brookings Institution Press
March 2010

Grading Government
Mary Kopczynski
The Urban Institute
February 2001

Paying for Performance
Patricia Seliger Keenan, Janet Kline
Harvard Kennedy School
November 2004

The PerformanceStat Potential: A Leadership Strategy for Producing Results
Robert Behn
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
June 2014

Putting the frontline first: Smarter government
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
December 2009

Summary of "Managing for Results in State Government: Evaluating a Decade of Reform"
Stephen Goldsmith
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
March 2007

Summary of "The four pillars of high performance: How robust organizations achieve extraordinary results; High-performance government: Structure, leadership, incentives"
Stephen Goldsmith
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
March 2007p>

Transforming Iowa: The Iowa Reinvention Partnership, 1999 - 2006
Jim Chrisinger, Babak Armajani
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
2008

What are local governments doing to create transparency for and accountability to citizens?: Setting the Context
George Mathew
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
September 2007

What's More Important, Results or Rules?: Iowa Charter Agencies
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
2006

Related Innovations

Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control
City of Los Angeles, CA
1992 Innovations in American Government Awards Winner

Broadcast Real-time Inspection Transparency Emails
City of Aurora, IL
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Bright Idea

Citizen Relationship Management
Miami-Dade County, FL
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Semifinalist

Citizen Survey Data for Performance
City of Kansas City, MO
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Bright Idea

LouieStat
City of Louisville, KY
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Semifinalist

Massachusetts Municipal Performance Management Program
Collins Center for Public Management, McCormack School, UMass Boston, MA
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Bright Idea

North Carolina Innovation Center
State of North Carolina
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Bright Idea

Process Improvement Initiative
State of Colorado
2015 Innovations in American Government Awards Bright Idea

Sustainable Technology, Engineering, Planning and Strategies (STEPS)
City of Olympia, WA
2005 Innovations in American Government Awards Finalist