B&G REPORT.

Not long ago we were at a presentation by an academic about a topic that was of genuine interest to us. As is often the case, she had many interesting slides, showing all of the data she had gathered over months of research.   But when one of the members of the audience inquired about the meaning behind the data, her answer was simple. “I don’t know. I only know the numbers.”   This was frustrating to us, and we suspect other folks in the audience. But it’s been our experienc

Late last year, Bill Eggers, executive director of Deloitte's Center for Government Insights, wrote on LinkedIn that "Over my decades working on government reform, my one major complaint has always been that think tanks have focused so much time and resources on policy and too little on policy execution and the nitty-gritty of government operations He was playing our song, and we’d like to add that we find the same unfortunate phenomenon doesn’t just exist in think tanks but

When people talk about the high cost of state and local government, they often miss an important distinction: between costs and investments. People understand in their own lives that when they put money into bonds or the stock market, these aren’t really costs but money put aside in hopes that they will get a return on this cash in years to come. Yet they miss that same phenomenon when it’s in place for their tax dollars. There are lots of examples of this phenomenon, Trainin

For some time, we’ve been fascinated by the relationship between executive branch managers and their legislatures or city councils. Not...

More than ten years ago, leaders in West Haven, Connecticut (where the Greene of Barrett and Greene grew up), began planning a fabulous...

We’re looking forward to participating in a panel at the upcoming annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration...

Picture this: You’ve gotten off the interstate highway, and are trying to get to your destination of choice. Your car runs into a big...