ACADEMY NEWS

Building Powerful Leadership Teams for Transition and Beyond

On Thursday, November 20, the National Academy of Public Administration publicly released the results of recent surveys focusing on the transition experience and expectations of political and career government employees. Each survey considered challenges to the transition process and skills essential for success. Delays in the confirmation process were identified by both groups as a significant challenge. Political appointees highlighted leadership as the key to success in their roles while SES identified knowledge of the organization's policies and processes as important attributes for their positions.  Detailed results from both surveys are available below.  

View PAS presentation

View SES presentation

Saving Our Future:  A Review of National Park Cultural Resource Programs

The National Academy recently released a report entitled “Saving Our Future:  A Review of National Park Cultural Resource Programs.”  In this report, a National Academy Panel responds to a request from the National Park Service (NPS) to provide independent recommendations to improve stewardship of cultural resources in our national parks, including historic structures, archeological sites, museum collections, cultural landscapes, and park histories.  The Panel has identified ways that NPS can improve stewardship of these important national resources by strengthening performance-based management, ensuring park superintendent accountability, increasing flexibility in the use of funds, strengthening national leadership, and seeking additional funds and staff to reduce risks to cultural resources of national significance. 

Read the report

Academy Fellows Offer Lessons for the Next Administration on Improving Policy Outcomes

In a recently released paper, National Academy Fellows, Kathryn Newcomer and Steve Redburn, offer concrete recommendations to the next President on how to improve executive branch performance to achieve his desired policy outcomes.  The report proposes answers to two key questions:  Who should be responsible for guiding the federal government’s performance in the next Administration? And, how can the next President achieve real improvements in federal policy outcomes?  The guidance is based on their review of the experience over the last decade with efforts to bring performance information to bear in improving how programs are managed, and to improve decisions on policy design and use of resources.  

Read the report

National Online Dialogue to Examine Healthcare Privacy

The National Academy is hosting the National Dialogue on Health Information and Privacy - an online discussion among subject matter experts, interested stakeholders and the public seeking areas of common ground from which we can build new understanding to move the issue forward.  All are invited to visit the dialogue website in order to submit and vote on the most important challenges, breakthrough ideas, and core principles that should guide government's response to this critical issue. 

Participation is easy.  Just visit www.thenationaldialogue.org to read, comment, rank and post ideas.  You can also follow the conversation on Twitter http://twitter.com/natldialogue.

Read Dialogue Summary

Read Dialogue Advisor

Academy Panel Provides Recommendations to Support a National Imperative

The National Academy recently released a report entitled “Identifying the Workforce to Respond to a National Imperative: The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).” In this report, a National Academy Panel responds to a request from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Air Traffic Organization (ATO) to provide detailed recommendations on the competencies needed by ATO’s acquisition workforce to successfully deliver and integrate the many systems and procedures that are expected to transform the nation’s air transportation system.  The Panel also recommends strategies for acquiring the necessary competencies, to include building ATO’s internal capabilities in key areas.  Additionally, to help ATO overcome several implementation challenges that may impede success, the Panel urges the agency to: tailor the FAA leadership program to focus on the critical skills needed for the NextGen transition, complete detailed NextGen plans, ensure that there is a labor-management strategy to support NextGen, and review the structure and content of human resources management operations.

Read the report - Volume 1

Read the report - Volume 2

The National Academy is proud that many of its Fellows will play a significant role in Transforming Bureaucratic Cultures: Challenges and Solutions for Public Management Practitioners, a two-day conference to be held July 28-29 at Baltimore’s Renaissance Harborplace Hotel. The conference is sponsored by The Public Manager and the American Society for Public Administration.

This innovative event will showcase the knowledge and perspectives needed to deal with today’s dynamic, complex management challenges as drawn from an array of superlative professionals. Six tracks are featured: Performance, Accountability, Human Capital, Technology, Communication, and Governance. All are designed to offer a unique emphasis on direct interaction with expert practitioners who have achieved transformational change in their fields. The anticipated audience will include approximately 500 federal, state, local and international managers and executives, public service and non-profit professionals, and others interested in improving public sector management. Academy Fellows will make up approximately 20 percent of the panelists and moderators, and Academy President Jenna Dorn will moderate a capstone plenary session on Leading and Managing Change in a Multi-Sector Environment.

To learn more about the conference and register online, click here

New “Big Game” to Engage Young Adults on America’s Fiscal Future

National Academy and PETLab Partner to Create Game for Students to Play on College Campuses

The Academy recently announced that it will join forces with PETLab (an initiative of Parsons The New School for Design and Games for Change) to develop an innovative game to educate college students about America’s fiscal future.   The game will be played on college campuses, and will also take advantage of social media used by students.  Exploring difficult fiscal issues like unsustainable entitlement programs, rising health care costs, and investments in alternative energy sources the game will raise awareness, increase understanding of the underlying causes, and spark action on the looming fiscal problems facing America.  The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is funding development of this “Big Game,” which will launch in spring 2009.

Read the Press Release

Academy Panel Urges New Approach to Homeland Security Transition

In a recently released study requested by Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, a National Academy Panel has made important recommendations to reduce America’s vulnerability during the coming election and Presidential transition period.  The Panel advises DHS to complete its plans quickly, and urges DHS, other Federal agencies with homeland security responsibilities, the Presidential candidates of both parties, and Congress to take additional steps now to ensure a seamless transition.

Read the Press Release

Read the Report

Administration Directs Development of National Environmental Indicators in Response to Academy Panel Recommendation

On June 17, the Administration announced that a series of National Environmental Status and Trend (NEST) indicators would be developed, following up on recommendations that an Academy panel made late last year.

In December 2007, a National Academy report, “A Green Compass: Institutional Options for Developing a National System of Environmental Indicators”, recommended  practical steps for creating a national system of environmental indicators. The Study Panel, chaired by Hermann Habermann, worked closely with a federal interagency team to explore institutional options to select and regularly produce environmental indicators that are reliable, relevant and trusted.  

The Panel recommended that the five federal environmental and natural resources agencies forego organizational changes and instead use a pilot to engage states and other key players, broaden support and build momentum for a national system of indicators through the transition to the next Administration.

Read the White House Press Release

Read the report

Academy Fellow Paul Light releases "A Government ILL EXECUTED"

On Monday, June 9th, 2008, the National Academy hosted a book discussion centered on the release of “A Government ILL EXECUTED: The Decline of Federal Service and How to Reverse it” by Paul Light.  The author was joined by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Academy President Jenna Dorn.  The author and his esteemed guests discussed the breakdown of government organization, the appointee process and ways to revitalize Alexander Hamilton’s energetic federal service.  
 
Read the 2007 Elmer Staats Lecture by Paul Light at the Academy Fall Conference

Standing Panel on The Federal System Meets to Discuss Intergovernmental Management Issues

The May 2008 meeting of the Standing Panel on the Federal System featured a discussion on the intergovernmental management issues that the next Administration faces and potential roles that the Panel might play in the transition.  The Academy was pleased to have two guest speakers share their experiences working in the White House Intergovernmental Affairs Office: Marcia Hale, former Assistant to President Clinton and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Maggie Grant, former Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs in the George W. Bush Administration.  The meeting was also attended by senior leadership of the state and local government associations.
 
Listen to a recording of the meeting’s discussion by clicking here.

Academy Convenes Government Experts to Discuss Intragovernmental Transactions

More than 60 government executives joined a panel of government leaders on April 17 to discuss the problems associated with intragovernmental transactions.  The inability to reconcile interagency transfers has caused numerous difficulties, including generating clean audit reports.  The speakers and attendees also explored potential solutions to this critical public management challenge.
 
The Academy was pleased to sponsor the event with MasterCard Worldwide, Grant Thornton, and Kelly, Anderson & Associates.
 
Read more about the Forum on Intragovernmental Transactions

Collaboration Project 2.0!!!

The National Academy is excited to launch the second version of our Collaboration Project website. Featuring lighthouse studies and examples of leaders driving change, this site will become home to the ideas that help to solve the tough problems that government is facing.  See it now at www.collaborationproject.org.

FedPitch Announces 2008 Winner

Robyn K. Dingledine of Littleton, CO wins the first FedPitch competition, held on May 7th on the PSRW main stage on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The purpose of the FedPitch competition was to identify innovative ways to attract and recruit people to federal public service, as well as seek out new approaches for retaining, engaging, motivating, rewarding, developing, or leading the federal workforce.

The winning pitch was to create an online career quiz to help individuals find the Federal career that best fits their interests.

The following were finalists for FedPitch 2008:

Jacqueline E. Bell (Upper Marlboro, MD), Sharon S. Gunselman (Washington, DC), John T. Bersentes (McLean, VA), James W. Herman (Reston, VA), Martha G. Buck (Winterville, NC), John C. Kunkel (Mechanicsburg, PA), Rose M. Bynum (Philadelphia, PA), Darryl A. Perkinson (Chesapeake, VA), Ray M. Crawford, Jr. (Washington, DC), Jane E. Petkofsky (Arlington, VA), Elizabeth M. Cuda (Chicago, IL), Joshua Russin (Walkersville, MD), Aparna Darisipudi (Arlington, VA), Debra L. Schweikert (Washington, DC), Robyn K. Dingledine (Littleton, CO), Karen E. Simpson (Washington, DC), Steven D. Genson (Washington, DC), Leonard A. Sipes (Baltimore, MD), Emily L. Grantner (Battle Creek, MI), Mark A. Stelzner (Washington, DC)

Go to http://www.FedPitch.org/ for more information.

The Collaboration Project Featured in The Public Manager

The interactive Web is forcing change across society, and the public sector is no exception.  In the current issue of The Public Manager, Academy Fellows and Staff discuss a few of the opportunities available to government leaders to collaborate in order to better meet challenges in governance.
 
See how Virtual Networks bring stakeholders and peers together, by Frank Di Giammarino and Lena Trudeau. Read the article

Learn more about the Collaboration Project

Read Summaries of articles by Academy Fellows

The Next President’s Management Agenda
Introduction and Overview—Part II  
Alan P. Balutis
 
Inherently Governmental Functions: At a Tipping Point?
Allan V. Burman
 
The President, Outcomes, and Performance
Robert Tobias
 
Now Is the Time for Collaboration
Robert J. O’Neill Jr. and Elizabeth K. Kellar
 
The Challenge of Managing across Boundaries
Mark A. Abramson and Alan P. Balutis

National Academy Introduces its Conference Facility

The National Academy is now making its state-of-the-art conference facility available for lease to outside parties. We offer a variety of rooms and configurations, along with staff support, to suit most any business need---from small office settings, to large gatherings of up to 100 people. Facilities are available on an hourly or daily basis.  

Click here for more information

National Academy Co-Sponsors 2008 National Public Service Awards

The National Academy of Public Administration and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) announce the winners of the 2008 National Public Service Awards, the premier awards for excellence in public service at all levels of government.

Read the press release

National Academy Releases New Report on Award and Pay Programs at HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The National Academy has released a Panel report on employee recognition and compensation programs at the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study involved close collaboration with CDC and HHS human resources staff and input from over 200 employees, managers, and labor union representatives. Recommendations include implementing a budgetary and accountability framework for awards, work-based criteria for senior-level pay, and expanded use of information technology to communicate and manage awards programs.

Read more

Read the panel report

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