Author Archive
Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
Management
How collaboration is changing North Carolina, one project at a time
States that want to tap universities and philanthropies to find solutions to policy challenges using the best research, evidence and data should look at how one state mastered the communications and logistics essential for effective partnerships.
Management
Emergency alert: States confront EMS shortages
Minnesota declared an “EMS emergency” last month, but it’s far from alone. An outdated approach to funding the service is largely to blame, says experts.
Management
Trust in government, and opportunities to rebuild it
Confidence in state and local government may have been waning in recent years, but there are ways communities can help to bolster their resident’s faith in them.
Management
How trusted are state and local governments?
Confidence in lower levels of government may be better than in the federal government, but it’s still not nearly good enough. And that stands in the way of state and local leaders’ ability to get things done.
Workforce
The future of government jobs: Post generative AI
In the wake of dramatic technological advances, the workplace of the future will be far different than was envisioned a year ago.
Management
Mental health funding is fast becoming “the bipartisan issue of our time”
States from California to Texas are increasingly investing in mental health as a recognition takes hold that the status quo isn’t working.
Workforce
Data literacy: the drive to educate the public sector workforce
As data-based decision-making becomes ever more important, data academies begin to blossom in local government.
Workforce
Apprenticeship programs are growing as the public sector faces workforce shortages
Registered apprenticeships, infrequently used by state and local governments in the past, are gaining the attention of staff-starved agencies.
Management
Access to public records is 'deteriorating terribly'
In a time when trust in state and local government is under siege, public access to information is particularly vital.
Workforce
Understanding Gen Z in the public sector
Managers can benefit by better engaging and communicating with the newest generation of workers in cities, counties and states.
Finance
Are tax incentives boons or boondoggles?
Though there’s lots of evidence that the economic development tool may not be effective, it is still in wide use. Fortunately, there are ways to control the potential waste of taxpayer dollars.
Featured eBooks
Workforce
How improvements in onboarding can lower employee turnover
One of the greatest challenges confronting state and local governments is a badly understaffed workforce. Here’s one technological and personal way to confront that problem.
Finance
How one city is looking to future-proof its budgeting process
Nationwide, cities are attempting to improve their budgeting. But none appear to be taking more dramatic steps than fast-growing Fort Worth, Texas.
Management
‘IGNITE’ing an educational fire in U.S. jails
An initiative launched in a Michigan county jail has been embraced as a national model for reducing jail violence and inmate recidivism.
Cybersecurity
An underused approach to fighting cyberattacks
The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center offers free services to help localities with cybersecurity. Why aren’t more governments using them?
Workforce
Solving the problem of understaffed jails and prisons
State and local governments are working to attract and retain corrections workers. But it’s not easy, and the task is complicated by high burnout rates due to understaffing.
Workforce
A Model for Reducing Female Incarceration and Breaking the Generational Cycle
A program in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been changing lives for addicted women and their children. Here’s how it works.
Management
Will States Force Localities to Build Affordable Housing?
The need for more housing in America is undeniable. But with localities unlikely to change zoning laws to create more, states are stepping in.
Management
How One State Is Confronting PTSD Among Police Officers
Concerns abound about post-traumatic stress disorder in law enforcement. Minnesota, where the problem is acute, has ideas about how to curb the costs and keep more police working in the field.
Workforce