January 10, 2020
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.
April 9, 2019
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.
January 22, 2019
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.
May 16, 2018
The Art of Nudging Technology Adoption in Government
There's always going to be resistance to change. Behavioral science can help overcome it.
October 25, 2017
One City’s Data-Driven Transformation
In its war on blighted properties, New Orleans is demonstrating its leadership in the use of data analytics.
July 26, 2017
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.
May 3, 2017
How Artificial Intelligence Is Already Changing Government
It's cutting costs and freeing up public workers to do things humans do best.
January 17, 2017
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.
October 18, 2016
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.
August 30, 2016
Faster Government: Rethinking the Risk Equation
In a time of rapid change, being ready to fail early and get past it is essential.
June 15, 2016
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.
October 30, 2015
5 Keys to Government’s Digital Transformation
It's risky and wrenching, but nothing is more important for the future of service delivery.
September 2, 2015
How the Internet of Things Could Transform Public Services
As technology evolves, governments are going to need to rethink how they do business.
May 19, 2015
What ‘Cognitive Government’ Could Do
To achieve real breakthroughs in public management, we need governments capable of continuously adapting to changing technology.
February 17, 2015
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.
November 20, 2014
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.
August 6, 2014
Government Problems and the Power of Prizes
There's a reason the public sector is increasingly turning to competitions for innovative solutions. They work.
December 18, 2013
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."
September 18, 2013
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.
August 14, 2013
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.
March 13, 2013
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.
February 25, 2013
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 13, 2013
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.
October 3, 2012
'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.
May 23, 2012
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.
March 14, 2012
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.”
January 18, 2012
The Public Sector, Disrupted
Government needs the kind of innovation that allows us to really get more for less.
October 12, 2011
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.
August 17, 2011
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.
July 6, 2011
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.
June 15, 2011
The Power of Cross-Boundary Collaboration
It helps government officials create public value by connecting, innovating and executing.
March 22, 2011
Designing for Success
Lawmakers can steer clear of costly and politically embarrassing boondoggles while devoting scarce funds to their most promising new programs.
February 23, 2011
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.
January 31, 2011
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 26, 2011
Cutting Education Costs, Not Education
A few promising approaches to finding cost savings without cutting student services.
January 26, 2011
How to Save Education
Cost-savings ideas that don't come at the expense of a good education.
January 12, 2011
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.
November 10, 2010
The Secret to Successful Change
It involves resolving the political leadership's and the bureaucracy's different appetites for change.
August 25, 2010
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
Overload: Streamlining Governments
Too much government? Maybe. Too many governments? Definitely.
August 18, 2010
Tips for Serious Cost Cutters
Learn how to make structural changes that will bend the cost curve of government down.
August 18, 2010
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.
July 28, 2010
A Terrible Thing to Waste
The saying may have its merits, but getting out ahead of a crisis is more sustainable and attainable.
Sustainable Government is Attainable Government
Don't wait for a crisis to drive change, make change a constant feature of government.
July 8, 2010
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.
July 1, 2010
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.
March 10, 2010
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...
Navigating the Journey to Sustainable Government
The road to fiscal sanity requires the kind of big changes that our current democratic system makes difficult.
February 25, 2010
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 9, 2010
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...
The Promise of Open Government
How the Obama administration's Open Government Directive can unlock government and open it up to citizens as never before.
Groundhog Day for Government: Avoiding the Same Old Traps
Successful public-sector initiatives follow a predictable path.
November 17, 2009
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 1, 2009
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...
ARRA: Going Beyond Compliance
The stimulus law's transparency requirements are an opportunity for governments to transform themselves permanently.
July 20, 2009
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...
Failing the Right Way
Government innovators need to encourage a culture of innovation in which failure is not a four-letter word.
Government 2.0's Inauguration
What the Obama campaign taught us about collaboration.
Financial Insight: Key for Tough Times
Knowledge is power: State and local officials are handicapped by their lack of good financial data.
Innovation: Beyond the 'Big Bang'
Even those organizations doing some of the most creative work in government haven't necessarily created a culture of innovation, writes William D. Eggers. So how does government innovate more consistently?
No More One Size Fits All
Breaking down the larger customer population into subgroups that share similar characteristics allows organizations to service the unique needs of each group more efficiently and effectively, writes William D. Eggers.
Improving the Government Brand
The training grounds for our future public servants, William Eggers writes, are producing lots of future consultants, lobbyists and nonprofit executives.
Serving the Aging Citizen
In less than two decades, the number of Americans 65 and older will more than double in at least 20 states.
A Window of Opportunity for New State Leaders
States are more agile than the federal government in their ability to experiment with new solutions and to overcome partisan hurdles.
Bold Ideas and the Real World
Good ideas alone take you only so far. The policy world, after all, is littered with big ideas, badly executed.
Paying for Tomorrow
Public retirement systems are vastly underfunded, and the fix is quite simple: Costs must either be reduced to solve the problem or deferred to postpone the problem.
Harnessing the Wisdom of the Crowds
Experts don't come up with the best ideas. A large group of people is better at solving complex problems than an expert, no matter how brilliant.
Medicaid Management Makeover
Management matters: The manner in which Medicaid is administered significantly affects its performance.