William D. Eggers
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Contributor
Email :
weggers@deloitte.com
Twitter :
@wdeggers
William D. Eggers is the executive director of the Center for Government Insights at Deloitte and the author or co-author of numerous books, studies and articles on government reform. His latest book, Delivering on Digital: the Innovators and Technologies that Are Transforming Government, was published in June 2016. He is a co-author of "Crafting an AI Strategy for Government Leaders," a Deloitte study released in December 2019.
Eggers' writings have won numerous awards, including the Louis Brownlow award for best book on public management, the Sir Antony Fisher award for best book promoting an understanding of the free economy, and the Roe Award for leadership and innovation in public-policy research. A former manager of the Texas Performance Review and director of e-Texas, he has advised governments around the world, and his commentaries have appeared in dozens of major media outlets.
THE FUTURE OF What’s Next
5 Domains of Government That Are Ripe for Transformation
Rapidly maturing technologies hold the key for dramatic improvements across an institution that was designed for incremental change. Governments need to act quickly, deliberately and flexibly.
January 20, 2021
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THE FUTURE OF What’s Next
The Need to Institutionalize Government’s Newfound Agility
In responding to COVID-19, governments have been forced to move far more quickly and flexibly. What they've learned will prove invaluable as they prepare for the crises of the future.
THE FUTURE OF What’s Next
5 Elements of a Comprehensive Government AI Strategy
Artificial intelligence has tremendous potential for government, but putting it to work requires making management choices up front. The last thing we need is for it to evolve unpredictably.
THE FUTURE OF What’s Next
The Powerful Potential of Anticipatory Government
New technologies can move the focus from cleaning up problems to preventing them, while putting taxpayer money to more efficient use. But governments lag the private sector in employing these evolving tools.
January 10, 2020
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Archive
Government's Journey to the Future of Work
Public-sector management practices and workplace tools rooted in the distant past can't address today's complex challenges.
Archive
Government and the Predictive Power of Language
From preventing terrorism to spotting restaurant heath violations, a form of artificial intelligence called natural language processing can help connect the dots.
January 22, 2019
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Archive
The Art of Nudging Technology Adoption in Government
There's always going to be resistance to change. Behavioral science can help overcome it.
Archive
One City’s Data-Driven Transformation
In its war on blighted properties, New Orleans is demonstrating its leadership in the use of data analytics.
October 25, 2017
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Archive
How Government Data Can Supercharge the Nudge
Jurisdictions are tapping the latest in behavioral science to steer people toward better choices. Emerging technologies can increase its impact.
Archive
How Artificial Intelligence Is Already Changing Government
It's cutting costs and freeing up public workers to do things humans do best.
Archive
A ‘Whole of Government’ Approach to Social Problems
The success of an intergovernmental, cross-jurisdictional effort to reduce -- and end -- homelessness among veterans shows the way.
January 17, 2017
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Archive
The Customer-Experience Prescription for Government
America's most successful companies have learned a lot about keeping their customers happy. The public sector can join that revolution.
October 18, 2016
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Archive
Faster Government: Rethinking the Risk Equation
In a time of rapid change, being ready to fail early and get past it is essential.
August 30, 2016
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Archive
Digital Government and the Virtues of Simplicity
The face government presents to the public is far too complex. If the public sector isn't to become increasingly irrelevant, that has to change.
Archive
5 Keys to Government’s Digital Transformation
It's risky and wrenching, but nothing is more important for the future of service delivery.
October 30, 2015
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Archive
How the Internet of Things Could Transform Public Services
As technology evolves, governments are going to need to rethink how they do business.
September 2, 2015
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Archive
What ‘Cognitive Government’ Could Do
To achieve real breakthroughs in public management, we need governments capable of continuously adapting to changing technology.
Archive
Government 2020: Imagining the Future
We don't know how technology and other forces are going to transform government. But that's no reason not to think about the changes that are coming.
February 17, 2015
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Archive
The Rise of Customer-Centered Human Services
Technology-based practices adapted from the commercial world are taking social services beyond the one-size-fits-all approach.
November 20, 2014
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Archive
Government Problems and the Power of Prizes
There's a reason the public sector is increasingly turning to competitions for innovative solutions. They work.
Archive
How to Keep a Big Government Project from Exploding on the Launchpad
Sometimes a major initiative can never recover from a poor launch. To maximize the chances of success, it's critical to avoid the "Overconfidence Trap."
December 18, 2013
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Archive
The Case for Lightweight Government
Getting better results needn't always mean massive spending and heavy infrastructure. There are innovative ways to get the same results at a fraction of the cost, or even at no cost.
September 18, 2013
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Archive
The Real Story of the State and Local Workforce
Layoffs make a lot of news, but over the long haul, governments have controlled their headcounts mostly through attrition. And salaries have more than kept up with the private sector's.
August 14, 2013
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Archive
Getting Mobile Right: Six Steps to Success in Government
Mobile technology can be a powerful tool for both productivity and citizen engagement, but there are implementation pitfalls to avoid.
Archive
A Mobile Boost for Human Services
Smartphones and laptops not only can boost caseworkers' efficiency but also can enable them to spend more time where they are most needed: in the field.
February 25, 2013
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Archive
Mobile Technology, Co-Creation and the Empowered Citizen
Mobile devices are powerful platforms for engaging citizens as partners in transforming the public sector. Governments need to move faster to take advantage of this opportunity.
February 13, 2013
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Archive
'Where' Matters: Shaping Public Services for the Mobile Citizen
Advertisers aren't the only ones that can benefit from mobile devices' location-based services. The technology gives government an opportunity to deliver public services in remarkable new ways.
October 3, 2012
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Archive
Five Ways Crowdsourcing Can Transform the Public Sphere
It’s a powerful concept, but governments need to use the right tool for the job at hand.
Archive
Intentionally Unreasonable Government
Transforming the way government works means no longer clinging to bygone processes. One way to break out of the mold is with a “disruptive hypothesis.”
Archive
The Public Sector, Disrupted
Government needs the kind of innovation that allows us to really get more for less.
January 18, 2012
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Archive
Microtasking: the Next Frontier in Government Work?
It’s a way for governments to unleash the talents and energies of hundreds or thousands of people to solve problems and get big jobs done.
October 12, 2011
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Archive
What Geeks Can Teach Government
Technology development works very differently from the way government programs are launched, managed — and ended. There are lessons for government in the way the gadgets we use are created.
August 17, 2011
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Archive
Creating Cross-Boundary Teams
Instead of a single government entity trying to solve a problem, cross-boundary collaboration allows a whole group of players to tackle tough policy challenges.
Archive
The Power of Cross-Boundary Collaboration
It helps government officials create public value by connecting, innovating and executing.
Archive
Designing for Success
Lawmakers can steer clear of costly and politically embarrassing boondoggles while devoting scarce funds to their most promising new programs.
Archive
A Results-First Approach to Cost Reduction
When states and cities respond to record budget shortfalls with across-the-board cuts, some vital public services unnecessarily end up on the chopping block.
February 23, 2011
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Archive
Cloud Computing in Government Explodes
State and local government should look at cloud computing as an emerging technology that has the potential to significantly streamline the way they use technology to deliver public services
January 31, 2011
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Archive
How to Save Education
Cost-savings ideas that don't come at the expense of a good education.
January 26, 2011
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Archive
Cutting Education Costs, Not Education
A few promising approaches to finding cost savings without cutting student services.
January 26, 2011
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How New Governors Can Renew Public Trust
New governors are being greeted by a flood of red ink and a public that doesn't trust the state governments they run.
January 12, 2011
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Archive
The Secret to Successful Change
It involves resolving the political leadership's and the bureaucracy's different appetites for change.
November 10, 2010
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Too Many Governments?
It’s too early to call it a movement, but state and local officials are beginning to ask hard questions about the multiplicity of government agencies.
August 25, 2010
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Overload: Streamlining Governments
Too much government? Maybe. Too many governments? Definitely.
August 25, 2010
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Tips for Serious Cost Cutters
Learn how to make structural changes that will bend the cost curve of government down.
August 18, 2010
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Serious Cost Cutters Only, Please
This column is for those public leaders who are looking to make structural changes that will bend the cost curve of government down.
August 18, 2010
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Archive
A Terrible Thing to Waste
The saying may have its merits, but getting out ahead of a crisis is more sustainable and attainable.
Archive
Fiscal Crisis? Let the Games Begin
Games and simulations can be important tools as governments around the globe grapple with the grim reality of their fiscal situation.
Archive
Debt, Deficits, and the Road to Fiscal Sustainability
States, cities and many nations around the globe are facing an existential threat in the form of a massive fiscal imbalance.
Archive
The Pension Time Bomb -- Part I
In April 2005, San Diego mayor Dick Murphy stepped before a hastily assembled crowd of news reporters and announced his resignation. Murphy, elected just five...
Archive
The Pension Time Bomb, Part II
How can governments escape the ?scal black hole some already have entered and others are on the verge of falling into? Unfortunately, there is no...
November 1, 2009
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Archive
Getting Past the Blame Game
Hurricane Katrina is the reigning poster child for government failure. In the days and weeks that followed, pundits and politicians rushed to fix blame on...
November 17, 2009
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Archive
Arne, Katrina and Schumpeter
In politics, nothing is more dangerous than the truth. Hence, the kerfluffle over Education Secretary Arne Duncan's recent statement about New Orleans. "Let me be...
February 9, 2010
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Archive
Health Care, Chaos, and the Challenge of Chickens in Manhattan
The debate surrounding the massive health care system overhaul that has been raging in Washington leaves one thing clear: Redesigning roughly one-seventh of the economy...
February 25, 2010
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Archive
Navigating the Journey to Sustainable Government
The numbers do not lie. States, the federal government and many nations around the globe are facing an existential threat in the form of massive...