IBM Center, NAPA Release Report on Agile Government Principles; G. Edward DeSeve Quoted

The IBM Center for The Business of Government and the National Academy of Public Administration have released a report that outlines 10 Agile government principles and offers examples of how they could help improve government performance. 

The principles listed and explained in the report “The Road to Agile Government – Driving Change to Achieve Success” are mission, metrics for success, customer-driven behavior, external networks, speed, cross-functional teams, innovation, persistence, evidence-informed solutions and organizational leaders. 

They were developed by the Agile Government Center, which was formed by NAPA and the IBM Center in November 2019.

The report also offers four recommendations for government leaders and stakeholders, including analyzing and determining the strengths and weaknesses of an organization and applying agile principles at project, program and enterprise levels of government. 

“Governments at every level are dealing with urgent and unprecedented challenges right now,” said G. Edward DeSeve, the author of the report, a fellow of the academy and a visiting fellow of the IBM Center. “Addressing them requires fast, flexible, inclusive, and mission-centric responses that involve networks of government, not hierarchies. Agile government provides a pathway to drive such change.” 

DeSeve also serves as head of AGC.