Feather O'Connor Houstoun

Recent Articles

• 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.
• 2 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.

• Technology: Infrastructure's Savior
• Sep 1, 2010
• Technology is helping public officials make more safety-informed decisions that stretch public dollars.

• Proposed Stormwater Plan in Philadelphia Emphasizes Green Infrastructure
• Sep 1, 2010
• A plan in Philadelphia to build a greener, more sustainable stormwater system may well blast green infrastructure into the mainstream.

• New Technology Tells Whether Bridges are "Dead or Alive"
• Sep 1, 2010
• Evolving bridge sensor technology offers tools to far more accurately assess the structural health of existing bridges.
• 1 Comments

• Green City, Clean Water
• Jul 21, 2010
• An unprecedented plan to tackle stormwater runoff hits the streets of Philadelphia.

• From Grey to Green in the Concrete Jungle
• Jul 21, 2010
• A plan in Philadelphia to build a greener, more sustainable stormwater system may well blast green infrastructure into the mainstream.
• 1 Comments

• Broke, Broken or Both
• May 26, 2010
• How to discern clues that a public-sector program is out of money and underperforming.