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B&G REPORT.
The B&G Report features newsy items relating to a wide variety of state and local government management topics, including state and local performance audit, state and local performance management, government budgeting, state and local human resource issues, and a variety of other public sector issues.
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TEN TIPS FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Many years ago, when we were first introduced to the world of performance management, we became zealots, believing that cities and states...
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3 min read
DO YOU SPEAK DATA?
Nearly every city, county or state gathers huge quantities of data for a variety of purposes. Some of it is effectively used, some is...
greenebarrett
4 min read
GOVERNMENT IS MORE THAN RED VS BLUE
We’re looking forward to participating in a panel at the upcoming annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration...
greenebarrett
3 min read
WHAT DO – OR DON’T – THE FEDS DO?
Over the course of time, we’ve written repeatedly about the confusion many Americans have about which level of government provides which...
greenebarrett
2 min read
GENERATION Z: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
In conversations that we’ve had lately with people in human resources and elsewhere in government, we’ve found ourselves repeatedly...
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3 min read
NINE TIPS FOR IMPROVING MEETINGS
Over more than 30 years of covering state and local government, we can’t recall ever talking to a public sector manager who loved going...
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3 min read
"Disaggregate to Manage"
Our late friend and colleague Harry Hatry long insisted that data is far more valuable when it’s disaggregated. In a January 2022 paper...
greenebarrett
4 min read
Let’s Talk Performance!
A couple of weeks ago, we were invited by the National Center for Public Performance to be the inaugural panelists in its series of...
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2 min read
THE B&G Reading List
Periodically, we make a request in the B&G Report for recommendations of books that provide worthy reading for people who are interested...
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2 min read
Please Recommend a Book
We’ve recently been reading an advance copy of a book by Bill Leighty, former chief of staff under Governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of...
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2 min read
FIGHTING FRAUD: ADVICE FOR SMALLER CITIES
Whatever their size, all state and local governments must contend with the possibility that federal grant money or taxpayer revenues will...
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2 min read
The Non-Tech Problems with Public Sector Apps
With the advent of mobile apps and easily accessible web portals, there’s growing potential for improved communication between...
greenebarrett
2 min read
The Fight for Independent Oversight
In 2018, a regional ballot measure in nine counties in the San Francisco area dedicated $500 million of $4.5 billion in increased...
greenebarrett
3 min read
Lagging Inspections: Will We Never Learn?
We are, as readers of the B&G Report know, regular users of performance audits. In so doing, we're sometimes reminded about the Greek...
greenebarrett
2 min read
Getting Feedback From Residents: A New Survey
Increasingly, the old days of town hall meetings is giving way to electronic means for getting input from residents. Though this means of...
greenebarrett
2 min read
New, Up-to-date GUIDE TO BUDGET RESOURCES
Several years ago, we worked with the Volcker Alliance to created a guide to resources about state budgeting intended for use by public...
greenebarrett
1 min read
Why hide from data?
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been doing research into the challenges municipalities face when they want to hire a diverse workforce....
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3 min read
Bringing Context to Quality of Life Ratings
Yesterday afternoon, at the #ICMA’s annual conference in Columbus Ohio, an announcement was made about an exciting collaboration to...
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1 min read
Measuring Principals (not Principles)
Over the years in which we’ve been covering the evolution of performance management, it’s always been abundantly clear to us that great...
greenebarrett
2 min read
Praise in a Remote World
We’ve repeatedly heard the phrase: “People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.” This comment has been supported by loads of...
greenebarrett
2 min read
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