Political scientist Donald Kettl has told federal managers that they need to change tactics if they want to keep winning White House support for their programs on performance reforms, GovExec reported Tuesday.Eric Katz writes that Kettel, dean at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told participants at a GovExec event that the time has come to adopt indicators that do a better job of measuring performance improvement.
Kettl said federal executives often try to play up the cost savings angle when marketing an initiative, a move that he said “undermines†the goal of boosting public service.
“At some point, you have to have something that gets the president excited,†Kettl said, noting that the current political climate presents favorable conditions for feds.
“The battle between the West Wing and Congress is creating enormous opportunity for federal managers,†he added.
