B&G REPORT.

In a surprising number of conversations in recent months, we find that political tensions are depressing our friends and giving them a sense that government has ceased to function in a way that gives them hope for the future. And that’s when we try to cheer them up ( at least a little bit). We point out that cities, counties and states are doing a good number of positive things – in both red and blue portions of the country. Sometimes, this takes a little convincing. The page

For well over 30 years, we’ve been researching, analyzing and writing about state and local government for a whole variety of publications and organizations. Our most significant foray into this field began when we were covering management issues for Governing Magazine from 1997 to 2019. We left Governing at a time when it briefly appeared that it was going to cease publication, to do similar coverage for Route Fifty. We held onto that gig until 2024, at which point it cut ba

When we think about timeliness in police, fire and EMS, we often think of response times. And even though it’s recently been pointed out to us that there are other important measures, like timely evidence processing and timely release of information on high-profile events, ultimately response times are the metric you’re most likely to hear about – and the ones that are primarily the difference between safety and tragedy. For emergency services, particularly, every moment can

A couple of months ago at a large social gathering we had the opportunity to spend some time with a person who has dedicated his life to...

Many years ago, when we were first introduced to the world of performance management, we became zealots, believing that cities and states...

A few months ago, at the American Society for Public Administration conference in Washington D.C., the Center for Accountability and...

Last week’s B&G Report included the second in a series of lists, compiled by experts, about managing performance. The first such list,...

Good day, Last week we were talking to an inquisitive person who is rising in the local public sector world. The conversation turned to...

When we attend social gatherings like weddings and are seated with people who don’t know us, one of the obligatory first questions...

We’re not scared of AI. It doesn’t take much historical memory to know that pretty much any new technology brings out fear and...

About a year ago, we wrote a B&G report titled “ Is Speedy Government Good Government? ” in which we made the case that the pressure for...

When it comes to many vital public services, including police, fire and EMS, one of the primary – and sometimes the only – performance...

Back in 2020, then President Donald Trump proclaimed that “The murder rate in Baltimore and Detroit is higher than El Salvador, Guatemala...

As the federal government hands out money to states and localities for broadband services (and other infrastructure as well), one...

“Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been called the gold standard for identifying the impacts of public service-delivery...

A little over two years ago, as we were researching an IBM Center for the Business of Government report about lessons learned from the...

Aristotle had it right when he wrote, “The more you know, the more you know you don't know.” We’ve come across this idea repeatedly over...