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1. Protecting Free and Fair Elections: The Vital Role of Public Administration

Author:
Steve Hagerty, Valerie Lemmie, and Nancy Tate
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
Free and fair elections are at the heart of American democracy, and running elections is a core responsibility of public administrators in the United States. The early decades of the 21st Century have been characterized by declining public trust in our nation’s elections, unnecessary barriers to voting, foreign interference, and widespread disinformation. These issues led the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to include “Protect Electoral Integrity and Enhance Voter Participation” as one of our field’s Grand Challenges in November 2019. To assist the nation with this Grand Challenge, the Academy commissioned a team to conduct a review of electoral practices that can ensure free and fair elections through effective public governance and management. The Academy team developed a shared vision of election administration and identified leading practices for consideration by elected officials and election administrators. The team concluded that effective election administration consists of 3 major pillars: Voter experience, Election security, and Election workforce. The report is offered with the greatest respect for the work that election administrators do in support of a vital part of American democracy. It has been written for a broad audience, including citizens, elected officials, and election administrators.
Topic:
Security, Elections, Voting, and Public Administration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

2. Ensuring Excellence: A Guide for Cultivating Healthy High-Performing Agencies

Author:
Lisa Coleman, Nicholas Hart, Peter Hutchinson, Kathryn Newcomer, and Sean O'Keefe
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
Many public agencies have long struggled to build their workforce given laborious and time-consuming hiring practices, limited salary flexibilities, and promotion rules that value longevity over expertise and performance. Effective recruitment and retention practices are especially critical with the current wave of public service retirements. This report is a playbook for agency leaders and managers with practical strategies and evidence-based practices to improve their agency’s organizational health in order to achieve meaningful and measurable results. The report underscores how important a strong internal culture focused on high performance is to the delivery of essential public services. Among other things, the playbook includes: Guidance on how to continually assess and adapt to evolving work environments, Practices to enhance organizational health to achieve results, and Resource links and case examples to support implementation of these strategies and actions.
Topic:
Recruitment, Implementation, Public Administration, and Organizational Assessment
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3. National Science Foundation Technology Innovation Partnership Evaluation

Author:
Barry Bozeman, Nick Hart, Randolph Lyon, Theresa Pardo, and Janet Weiss
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency established in 1950 by Congress "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense." NSF supports research and the fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences, and helps the United States drive leading discoveries. In March 2022, NSF established the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP). TIP was created to focus on significant challenges and opportunities across the entire science and engineering enterprise and to strengthen and scale the critical research that will drive future technologies and solutions. The NSF required an assessment of the organizational and management structure of the NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. The Academy: Evaluated and made recommendations to efficiently and effectively implement the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships; and Evaluated and made recommendations to ensure coordination of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships with other directorates and offices of the Foundation and other Federal agencies.
Topic:
Government, Science and Technology, Innovation, Management, Performance Evaluation, and Public Administration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

4. U.S. Department of Agriculture National Finance Center Modernization Assessment

Author:
Margaret Graves, Alan Balutis, Anthony Scardino, and Renee Wynn
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Finance Center (NFC) is an Office of Personnel Management-certified shared service center that provides payroll, human resources management, and financial services. The NFC assists the USDA and other government and quasi-government agencies in achieving cost-effective, standardized, and interoperable solutions that provide the functionality to support those agencies’ strategic financial management and human resource management direction. The NFC services more than 170 diverse agencies and provides payroll services to more than 600,000 federal employees. The NFC’s core operations are in New Orleans, LA, with additional sites in Washington, DC, and Denver, CO. The NFC’s backup facilities are in St. Louis, MO, and Shreveport, LA. The USDA NFC required an assessment of its mission and operations as a shared service provider and its organizational capacity to meet ongoing mission requirements efficiently and effectively going forward. The USDA contracted with the Academy to provide a modernization assessment of the NFC. The Academy Analyzed the NFC's governance and finance structures, supporting technology systems and processes, internal organization and infrastructure, and stakeholder engagement; Reviewed how the NFC evaluates and benchmarks its service levels and performance; Examined how the NFC budgets as a shared service provider—including workload forecasting, capital investment, operations and sustainment, and rate/fee setting—and considered the benefits of alternative funding structures; Examined the NFC's collaboration with its stakeholders, including customers, Congress, other USDA components and federal agencies, and the OMB; Reviewed the resources needed to support the NFC in its mission delivery; and Identified, with NFC, the "desired future state" of the NFC and what supporting functional changes are needed for the NFC to achieve that desired future state.
Topic:
Modernization, Information Technology, Financial Management, and Public Administration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

5. National Park Service: Land Acquisition

Author:
John Koskinen, Hannah Sistare Clark, Norman Dong, Ingrid Reed, and Yan Tang
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
This report offers an assessment of two National Park Service (NPS) programs connected with lands – the Land Resources Program and the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). The Land Resources Program is managed by the Land Resources Division (LRD) and is responsible for acquiring land within the authorized boundary of a park unit for visitor use and preservation of resources. The ABPP, on the other hand, is a financial grant-making program that assists external parties wishing to acquire battlefield lands for preservation purposes. The five-member Panel issued twenty-four recommendations to LRD leadership on the topics of policy, systems, human resources, communications, and appraisals. They issued an additional five recommendations on staffing, outreach and applicants, metrics, and transfers/conversations and congressional intent to ABPP leadership. The report includes an implementation plan with short, medium, and long-term suggestions for NPS to adopt the twenty-nine total recommendations.
Topic:
Public Administration, National Park Service, and Land Management
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

6. Missile Defense Study

Author:
William C. Greenwalt, Elliott Branch, Susan Kinney-Perkins, William Philips, and Joseph Westphal
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The Department of Defense (DoD) contracted with the Academy for an independent study of the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Defense components related to missile defense. Pursuant to the FY2022 NDAA Section 1675, the Secretary and the Academy entered into an agreement by which the Academy carried out a study regarding the roles and responsibilities of the various components of the Department of Defense as they pertain to Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD). The study includes: A comprehensive assessment and analysis of existing Department component roles and responsibilities for the full range of IAMD activities, including the establishment of requirements, research and development, system acquisition, and operations and sustainment. Identification of gaps in component capability of each applicability component for performing its assigned IAMD roles and responsibilities. Identification of opportunities for deconflicting mission sets, eliminating areas of unnecessary duplication, reducing waste, and improving efficiency across the full range of IAMD activities. Development of a timetable for the implementation of the opportunities identified above. Development of recommendations for such legislative or administrative action as the Academy considers appropriate pursuant to developing analysis of the above. The Academy assembled a five-member Panel of Academy Fellows to oversee and guide this study.
Topic:
Missile Defense, Public Administration, Organizational Assessment, and Department of Defense (DoD)
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

7. State Regulatory Compliance Processes: Lessons Learned From COVID-19

Author:
Neil Kerwin, Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, Stan Meiburg, Shelley Metzenbaum, and Courtney Phillips
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
Over the past 18 months, the nation’s economy and society have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. To protect public health while minimizing economic disruption, state and local governments took action to improve the regulatory compliance process, such as: Utilized additional online mechanisms for some regulatory compliance processes; Addressed business pain points and concerns about timeliness; and Improved sequencing and routing of regulatory approvals (for example, by allowing offices to do concurrent reviews) Supported by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Academy's Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships analyzed states' actions related to their regulatory standards. The report discovered several main steps state governments took regarding: Simplified permitting paved the way for business start-ups; New permissions allowed bars and restaurants to resume operations; Streamlined licensing allowed healthcare professionals to continue to practice; and The authorization of telehealth allowed millions of people to receive remote healthcare services. The report noted several important implications along these investigative lines and detailed additional opportunities for research into lessons learned and preparations for future crises. See Chapter 5 of the report to read the complete conclusions and recommendations.
Topic:
Regulation, Public Health, COVID-19, Compliance, and Public Administration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

8. NPS Park Cultural Resource Program Comprehensive Assessment Update

Author:
Sallyanne Harper, Stephen Ayers, Scott Cameron, Beth Gazley, and Janet Weiss
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
Established in 1916, part of the National Park Service (NPS) mission is to preserve the nations cultural heritage and serve as a steward and manager of cultural resources within the units of the National Park System. Currently, the NPS manages more than 420 individual units that contain a wealth of cultural resources ranging from historic structures to museum objects and archives. The Park Cultural Resource Programs (PCRP) represent the disciplines of archeology, cultural landscapes, historic and prehistoric structures, ethnography, park history, and museum management. The PCRP’s are responsible for research, planning, and stewardship so that those resources may be preserved unimpaired for future generations. The Academy assessed the current state and the desired state of the PCRP and developed findings and recommendations to support the program's efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the future. This project built off a previous Academy study for the PCRP published in October 2008, "Saving Our History: A Review of National Park Cultural Resource," and assessed the progress made on recommendations and provided additional guidance to improve NPS stewardship of park cultural resources.
Topic:
Culture, Public Administration, National Park Service, and Organizational Assessment
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America