Sylvia Mathews Burwell

Five Recommendations to Improve Veterans Healthcare During the Second Term of the Obama Administration

Introduction The looming epidemic in chronic diseases, accelerated by aging populations and increasing prosperity, is threatening to overwhelm healthcare budgets and economic growth across the

Implementing Enterprise Risk Management in Government

Introduction A recent Commentary in this series, Implementing Performance Management in Government, recommended that political appointees develop ways to track performance in their organization.

Implementing Innovation in Government

Indtroduction In our recent Commentary, Implementing Performance Management in Government, we discussed that effective political appointees need to develop ways to track performance in

Managing the Risks in the Retained Organization: A Priority for New Leaders

Introduction The movement to shared services should continue to be a priority for the new leaders of our government. Shared services bring operational effectiveness, cost

Academy Fellow Arnold Fields Speaks at Africa Security Symposium

Academy Fellow Major General Arnold Field, U.S. Marine Corps (RET), NAPA Chairman of NAPA’s Standing Panel on International Affairs, was Conference Chair

Transforming Infrastructure Investment for America’s 21st Century Economy

Introduction There is political consensus around the need to renew and rebuild America’s infrastructure, and President Trump has identified this as an Administration

Broadening and Deepening Ethics Standards and Training for Federal and State Officials

Introduction On the surface, there appears to be a great deal of attention to ethics by government administrators. Ethics laws are fairly universal at all

Can We Finally Link Foresight To Policy?

Introduction We are entering a season when many groups are thinking about how to advise the next Administration on matters of policy, organization, or both.

The Federal Appointments Process: The Problem and Our Proposed Solutions

Introduction Governing the United States of America does not pause during presidential transitions. Pressing matters – such as the financial crisis, two wars and threats

Progress Under Pressure: Shining Light on Leadership, Transformation Planning, and Positive Outcomes at the Veterans Benefits Administration

Background On April 8, 2013, the National Academy of Public Administration hosted the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Under Secretary for Benefits, Allison Hickey, as part

Drowning in Paperwork May Soon Be a Thing of the Past

Introduction Dysfunctional…burdensome…ineffective…onerous…duplicative. These are all words that have been used to describe the massive amount of paperwork

Five Recommendations to New Political Executives on How to Effectively Use Auditors

Introduction After a long career as a financial statement auditor in the corporate sector, I accepted an opportunity to broaden my experiences to include auditing

Advice for New Political Executives: Three Questions to Ask your Chief Information Security Officer

Background If you have previously served in government, most of the job titles you encounter will be somewhat familiar. There will be one exception. In

Questions to Ask About Your Tenured Workforce

Introduction  As new executives come to Washington at the end of the Obama Administration and the start of the next Administration, they will need

An Introduction to Shared Services

Background In preparing to govern and lead their agencies, new political appointees will be exposed to the term Shared Service Provider (SSP). They will hear

Practical Advice for Federal Executives Looking to Transition to a Shared Service Provider

Introduction This commentary offers practical guidance to political appointees whose agencies are interested in transitioning to a Shared Service Provider (SSP), whether for financial systems,

Advice to New Appointees: How to Influence the Policy Agenda

Introduction A strong motivation for political appointees in coming to Washington is the opportunity to positively influence policy – to make a difference.  Senior

Appointments, Vacancies and Government IT: Reforming Personnel Data Systems

Memos to National Leaders Capstone

Overview The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) launched this project to inform incoming national leaders about

Report from the Workshop on “Appointee Politics and the Implications for Government Effectives”

Strengthening Administrative Leadership: Fixing The Appointments Process

A Half-Empty Government Can’t Govern

Ready to Govern: Improving the Presidential Transition

A Bipartisan Plan To Improve The Presidential Appointments Process

Twentieth Century Fund Task Force of the Presidential Appointment Process

Report of the President’s Commission on the Federal Appointment Process

The Executive Presidency: Federal Management for the 1990s

Leadership in Jeopardy