B&G REPORT.

A few weeks ago, we wrote a special feature titled “Using Data to Lead More Effectively.” The focus moved swiftly from data experts to the employees who work with data across government and increasingly use it to make real-time decisions. That point was clearly made by Elena Boyd, Managing Director in Accenture’s Public Service Practice, who said. “Historically government data use was retrospective and siloed. There was a lag between when things were happening and when they

We’ve heard repeatedly about the frustrations felt by leaders in towns, cities, and counties that regularly hold public meetings to get resident input only to find that the opinions voiced frequently come from the same small portion of the population that has time and interest to show up at meetings – often called by civic leaders, the “usual gang of suspects”. This can often leave out people who are working multiple jobs; parents who can’t afford the expense of childcare; po

“Open your eyes. This horrible mess is your life. There is no sense in waiting for it to get better. Stop putting it off and live it,” wrote Robin Hopp in “The Mad Ship”, a book that was published in late 2003. Though the wording is kind of extreme, we think that a somewhat similar sentiment applies to city, county and state government. As good ideas wend their way to fruition, they’re going to encounter the unexpected, like it or not. If leaders expect a neat predictable una

In January 2022, a little more than a year before his death at the age of 92, we had the honor of working with Harry Hatry on an Urban Institute report titled “ Dos and Don’ts Tips for Strengthening Your Performance Management Systems. ” While we’d been writing about this broad topic for years, what made this special was that we were working once again with one of the giants in the realm of performance management. Contributions to this report were also made by well-known figu