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

There are many important routes to heighten the likelihood of developing successful programs and policies in the public sector. But over the years, in dozens of conversations, we’ve had one factor that comes up repeatedly: It’s critical to be willing to take risks. Naturally we’re not talking about gambling with the public dollars without ample consideration, study and the search for evidence. Instead, we’re thinking about a truly calculated approach to entering new territory

Every government makes mistakes from time to time. Sometimes, leaders acknowledge that a decision made in the past has gone awry and other times this news comes out through a performance audit or a press report. But as Robert Half, the late founder of the eponymous giant recruiting firm once said, “Not admitting a mistake is a bigger mistake.” We agree and yet we frequently see state and local governments and their leaders take that unfortunate path. Consider citizen surveys.

This male-dominated 1953 photo of a National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) annual meeting would not have been a surprise...

by Marty Benison, Industry Executive Director for State and Local Government, Oracle ​ While the move to “Software as a Service” (SaaS)...