leading change ch 4
DESCRIPTION
Series of Leading Change slides illustrate an aspect of my resume, namely a range of early professional experiments related to advancing--in small ways--sources of government innovation: transparency, collaboration, public participation and organization design.TRANSCRIPT
Experiment No. 4 Champions of Participation (2009)
www.americaspeaks.org (leadership in action)
Champions of Participation Feedback from Agency Leaders and Managers
on the Open Government Directive
Champions of Participation
Solicit input on the Open Government Directive from those who have had the greatest experience working to make federal government more open
Follow up from 2006 conference
Convened 34 federal managers and staff on March 30-31, 2009
Convened 19 senior agency leaders on May 12, 2009
Facilitated by four leaders in the field of public engagement and electoral reform
Participating Agencies Army Corps of
Engineers EPA GAO NOAA
Centers for Disease Control
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission GSA Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
Dept of Defense Federal Highway Administration
Institute for Enviro. Conflict Resolution
Office of Nanotechnology
Dept of Energy FEMA National Mediation Board
Office of the Fed. Coord. for Gulf
Coast Rebuilding
Dept of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service
National Park Service
Transportation Security
Administration
Dept of Labor Forest Service NEA Veterans Administration
General Observations Significant excitement among agency leaders who have championed
participation, transparency, and collaboration for years
Some healthy skepticism that adequate resources, support and commitment will be devoted to advancing OGD values
Hope that the Directive will be a living document that is iterative and systematically “marbled” into the government
Concern that the Directive will overemphasize pilot projects over systemic, scaled, and lasting changes
Concern that web-based, ICT approaches will over-shadow proven face-to-face participation and collaboration methods
Major Recommendations 1. President’s Management Council as implementation vehicle
2. Communicate commitment to OGD to all Federal staff through personal statement from President, resources, and reporting
3. Require agencies to state how they will incorporate OGD goals into major agency systems such as HR, planning, budget
4. Provide training and other support to assure that federal workforce possesses public engagement skills
5. Establish systems of reporting and measurement
6. Create communities of practice to foster innovation and diffusion
7. Create incentives through awards, recognition, & funding
8. Demonstrate the value of participation through highly visible presidential initiatives
9. Address legal and statutory barriers to Open Government
President’s Management Council as OGD Implementation Vehicle
PMC effectively engages Deputy Secretaries to provide top-level management support for the Open Government Directive
Chief Performance Officer should direct the overall Open Government Directive
Add independent agencies who do not currently sit on PMC
Create three inter-agency work groups to carry out the directive:
OMB should chair a work group to oversee implementation and measure progress
OPM should chair a work group to build the capacity of federal employees
CTO should chair a work group on the use of technology to support open government goals across agencies
Communicate Administration’s Commitment to Open Government
President Obama’s deep, personal commitment to Open Government must be clearly communicated
Send a physical letter to every employee from the President explaining the importance of open government
Produce a video and send email with link to every federal employee
The principles of open government should be repeated often and consistently
Congressional leaders should join the President in communicating the priority of open government
Adequate new funding and regular reporting requirements should reinforce the importance of the directive
Incorporate Open Government into All Major Agency Systems
Require all agencies to submit plans for how they will incorporate Open Government goals into their missions within 120 days
Require all agencies to submit plans for how they will incorporate Open Government goals into all major systems, including human resources, budget, planning and management, within 180 days
Require Federal Executive Boards to implement collaborative partnerships to involve the public and report their plans within 180 days
Require each agency to designate a senior leader as an Open Government champion and support designated champion with appropriate resources
Building Capacity & Training Define the skills required for all federal employees to take
responsibility for creating a more open government
Enable each agency to customize training programs to individual circumstances and needs
Pay special attention to groups that will have a significant role in the success of the directive, including political appointees and OMB budget examiners
Help citizens better understand the workings of government so that they know where, when, and how to engage
Measurement & Performance Build mandatory reporting about progress towards Open
Government goals into the Performance and Accountability Reports that every agency must submit each year
Integrate Open Government goals into individual performance measures and contracts
Publicize dates by which agencies must make specific progress on open government goals
Ensure that measures are outcome-based, well defined, and consistent across government
Communities of Practice and Other Supports
Establish online resource base that will enable sharing of best practices in participation, collaboration and transparency
Create a cross-agency team of internal consultants who are available to support agencies that need assistance
Establish a federal institute for public engagement to gather research on best practices, offer training, develop a knowledge base, and institute the community of practice.
Leverage the expertise of non-governmental practitioners and experts through a roundtable or advisory board on public engagement
Recognition, Morale, & Incentives
Establish a highly publicized and prestigious award for Open Government
Establish an Open Government Conference at which the award will be presented
Create a competitive innovative fund for Open Government intiatives
Demonstrate the Value of Participation and Collaboration
Convene a national policy discussion on health care reform in which more than 1 million Americans participate; demonstrate potential of participation and government commitment to OG
Initiate a federal agency intergovernmental collaboration on an issue like food safety
Initiate a cross-jurisdictional collaboration between multiple levels of Federal, State, ad Local and/or Tribal government on an issue like a national disaster recovery plan
Initiate individual agency problem solving on a major issue with public collaboration at every stage on an issue like dam safety
Conduct and disseminate research that communicates the value that participation and collaboration can offer
Address Legal and Statutory Barriers to Open Government
Provide guidance to agencies on policies and interpretations of statutes (e.g. FACA, FOIA, APA, and NEPA) through a White House Office/Council on Public Engagement
Create a venue through which legal staff from agencies communicate about interpretations of Federal statutes that may inhibit participation, collaboration and transparency
Initiate a government-wide review of department, agency and government statutes, regulations and rules that may inhibit open government. Develop plans for addressing these barriers.