Feather O'Connor Houstoun

Recent Articles

• How Two Princetons Became One
• Feb 27, 2013
• Taking advantage of a state law encouraging local-government consolidations, the two New Jersey municipalities found a path that other places might follow.

• Can 'Talent Injection' Remake Social Services?
• Nov 28, 2012
• A foundation's experiment with providing experts to public agencies is showing promise as a way to make a big difference at a relatively modest cost.

• Shared Services and the Velveteen Rabbit Factor
• Sep 26, 2012
• One of the biggest barriers to consolidating service delivery is a jurisdiction's fear that it will lose its individual identity. There are ways to deal with that.

• Harnessing the Strength of Teams
• Jul 25, 2012
• Talk of teamwork in public agencies is often just that — a lot of talk. Making them work is about getting the framework right.

• Collective Impact and the Modern City
• May 9, 2012
• Tireless collaboration led to a revamped development process that promises to help revitalize Philadelphia.

• A Portfolio of Schools
• Feb 29, 2012
• Treating district-run schools and charters the same promises to turn traditional education administration inside out.
• 1 Comments

• Moneyball Government
• Dec 7, 2011
• The way evidence-based analysis—rather than what ‘passes for wisdom’—turned a losing baseball team into a winner has powerful lessons for government decision-making.
• 2 Comments

• The Fiscal Conversation We Need
• Sep 28, 2011
• The budget stress that governments face now is structural, not cyclical. What’s called for is an examination of the entire public enterprise.
• 3 Comments

• Collaboration Done Right
• Jul 20, 2011
• A public-private coalition of adoption services in Texas is getting many more kids into homes and saving money in the process.

• Collaboration's Collective Impact
• May 25, 2011
• A successful program is one that effectively captures the interest of public and private entities.
• 1 Comments

• Increase Transparency and Efficiency in Government
• Mar 30, 2011
• How? Foster transparency initiatives that make data actionable.
• 1 Comments

• Knowing What Works: Evaluating Evidence-Based Programs
• Feb 2, 2011
• What if a program is not producing the results desired? Should state and local officials immediately scrap it?
• 4 Comments

• Transforming Juvenile Justice
• Dec 22, 2010
• In these times of crisis, juvenile justice reform is politically saleable, cost effective and smart.
• 4 Comments

• Telling the Electorate a Story
• Oct 6, 2010
• A smart communicator tells a story that sets the stage for policy decisions.
• 2 Comments

• Persuading an Audience
• Oct 6, 2010
• A good narrative sells any policy decision.