Author Archive
Ideas
The Department Of Government Efficiency – What about government performance?
COMMENTARY | An important constituency for better government performance is actually among civil servants themselves.
Ideas
VA acquisitions asks vendors to show their work
COMMENTARY: The principle of "do, don't say" could be catching hold at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Ideas
A bittersweet birthday party for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Steve Kelman worries that the Biden administration is steering federal buyers away from best-value goals.
Ideas
An innovator at DHS
Steve Kelman spotlights digital transformation expert Scott Simpson of the Procurement Innovation Lab at the Department of Homeland Security
Ideas
Checking in on digital government in China
COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman writes that an online system for registering complaints and comments about government services has its roots in China's imperial past.
Ideas
Touching base with some young contracting officers
COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman connects with up-and-coming federal procurement officials.
Ideas
Getting better deals for the government
COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman explains that common sense has often had a tough time getting accepted in debates about procurement policy.
Ideas
Driving innovation from the middle
COMMENTARY | NASA's Jennifer Elkins is an example of how senior civil servants can affect change in large organizations.
Ideas
Remembering reinventing government 30 years later
Commentary | Steve Kelman remembers how Al Gore's Reinventing Government effort helped change federal procurement.
Ideas
Keep the focus in procurement on best value products and services for the government
Commentary | Steve Kelman argues that the current cornerstone of Part 1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation is the right one for taxpayers and agencies.
Ideas
From Shanghai to a Senate-confirmed government post
COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman presents the story of another fed who’s been around for years since leaving the Kennedy School.
Featured eBooks
Ideas
Great job, US Embassy in Beijing
COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman cheers an Independence Day message that touted American-style freedom to a Chinese language audience.
Ideas
We like to think we are best at digital, but maybe not
COMMENTARY: Steve Kelman thinks the United States could learn a few things about technology-enhanced infrastructure from Europe and China.
Ideas
The long-time civil servant on the front lines of the default battle
Dave Lebryk is not widely known to the public but the Treasury official occupies a critical spot when it comes to measuring the daily cash position of the federal government.
Ideas
From Harvard to Ukraine
Steve Kelman catches up with a former student whose work has taken him to the front lines of U.S. efforts to curb nuclear proliferation.
Ideas
Is the Biden administration's management agenda getting back on track?
On the federal contracting front, reforms seem to be working better in practice than in theory.
Ideas
Why formal government communications work better than informal ones
A study looks at how expectations of government style influence how citizens respond to messaging.
Ideas
Dissenting from our toxic political culture
Steve Kelman says it's important in this highly partisan era to find points of disagreement with one's own party.
