Memos to National Leaders

Memos Event Archive

Watch Video and Read News Coverage from each Memos Event held at the National Academy

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Ed Deseve

Former Deputy Director of Management for OMB

Speaker at the National Academy of Public Administration, 11/9

11/9 Release Event

Managing Big Initiatives, Improving Performance, and Public-Private Partnerships

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Christopher Mihm

Managing Director, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office

Speaker at the National Academy of Public Administration, 11/9

Welcome to the Memos to National Leaders Project

By Dan Blair, President of the National Academy of Public Administration and Toni Samuel, Executive Director of the American Society for Public Administration

On behalf of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), we are pleased to welcome you to the Memos to National Leaders Project website. This website is based on a series of memoranda created by NAPA and ASPA experts to inform incoming national leaders about the policy and management challenges facing the nation.

The website has several key objectives:

• To share current discussions about improving the Presidential and Congressional transition process. We hope to serve as a forum for this important discussion.

• To produce a series of focused memoranda outlining the policy and management challenges and recommending solutions. This will represent a consensus of the best thinking by public management practitioners and researchers across the country.

• To focus on both Presidential and Congressional positions, reflecting the joint ownership of problems and solutions for major challenges.

Working Together on America’s Challenges

At times, it seems we are managing the most powerful and complex government in the world based on the twenty-four hour news cycle. Now, more than ever, instead of “sound bites,” we need sound management to address the backlog of important but ever more challenging problems on the nation’s agenda. Nothing less than a revitalized public service will be required to meet the expectations that we all have for our government. Government must fulfill such promises as affordable health care, education that makes a difference and an economy that provides opportunities for those who can work. Progress on these critical issues will require far greater collaboration than we have seen recently. Our nation’s leaders must find ways to meet emerging public goals while making hard choices to achieve a more sustainable fiscal future.

As we approach another presidential transition, whether it is a transition to a second term of a sitting President or the start of a new administration, our leaders have the opportunity to take stock of what is working and what is not – an exercise that is critical to enhancing our collective capacity to deliver public service priorities with fewer dollars. A more strategic and far sighted budget process, expedited leadership selection, greater focus on results and improved intergovernmental collaboration are among the governance reforms that are essential to moving forward, as one nation.

Memos to National Leaders

Welcome to the Memos to National Leaders Project

Working Together on America’s Challenges

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Welcome to the Memos to National Leaders Project

Working Together on America’s Challenges