Strive Toward Excellence in Performance: Minnesota - 1986 Innovations Winner

On February 13, 1984, Minnesota Commissioner of Administration Sandra J. Hale told a group of some 200 state managers that her department would soon launch a program to improve the "effectiveness and productivity" of state government. Hale and many other government leaders believed that past initiatives -- usually focused either on cost-cutting or on management schemes developed by private sector executives -- had failed to generate significant, lasting change in the performance of state government. She christened the new program "STEP" (Strive Toward Excellence and Productivity, later renamed Strive Toward Excellence in Performance) specifically to distinguish it from a 1971 productivity initiative called "LEAP" (the Loaned Executive Action Program), which was still remembered bitterly by many state workers. STEP would rely on ideas generated within the bureaucracy, Hale told the managers, and would create more cooperative partnerships between the public and private sectors. This decision-forcing case focuses on administrators charged with the task of designing the STEP program and challenges students to consider how to institutionalize innovation in government. Students will be asked to identify the political and institutional obstacles to innovative management and to consider what it would take to authorize -- and galvanize -- managers to approach their divisions in fresh, creative ways. More»

Strive Toward Excellence in Performance: Minnesota - 1986 Innovations Winner

When Denise Fleury left the insurance industry to become head of the Minnesota Office of State Claims in June 1984, she knew the job would be challenging. Recent changes in state law had changed and broadened the mission of the state claims office, which administered workers' compensation benefits for all state employees. Fleury soon found herself scrambling to cope with day-to-day crises while trying to take on a host of new tasks. Through Fleury's eyes, students will see the dilemmas that confronted the young manager and how she tackled them during her first year. This part of the case is a good introduction to how a manager creates organizational capacity. They will also see that at the end of her first year--despite significant progress-internal office procedures remained frustrating and confusing. The case ends here, giving students the chance to discuss what Fleury should do next, and how she might use various resources strategically in State Claims. This case provides an interesting counterpart to Striving Toward Excellence in the State of Minnesota (C16-87-737.0). In the Denise Fleury case, from the perspective of a mid-level manager, students can take another look at STEP as it was actually developed, to see whether it looks like a useful and attractive resource. More»

Case Management for At-Risk Children in Detention: New York, NY - 1986 Innovations Winner

This "Innovations in State and Local Government" case begins in January 1983, when Ellen Schall is appointed commissioner of New York City's Department of Juvenile Justice, an agency in upheaval. DJJ was established to detain seven- to fifteen-year-old children between arrest and adjudication. Most of DJJ's charges are held in a 25-year-old secure detention facility called "Spofford," a notoriously violent and dilapidated facility in the South Bronx.The case describes the situation as Schall walks into it. In addition to internal tensions and significant operational problems in every division, the agency has a history of bad press and feuds with City Hall. The department is also struggling with deep-seated racial and class tensions among employees, and with great confusion over its mission. The case ends with Schall planning to speak to a new group of juvenile counselors, trying to articulate her vision for the agency.The case offers students the chance to diagnose the ills of the agency and to chart a strategic course of action. Among the topics for debate: How should Schall go about assembling an executive team? How should she address the confusion over agency mission? What should she do about racial tensions? How involved should she get with the nitty-gritty operational problems of her agency's divisions? More»

Wetland Wastewater Treatment: Arcata, CA - 1987 Innovations Winner

In 1974, the small city of Arcata, California, learned that a new state policy would soon forbid the release of its treated wastewater into Humboldt Bay unless it could prove that the wastewater "enhanced" the bay. That same year the Humboldt Bay Wastewater Authority was formed to devise a federal- and state-funded regional approach to wastewater disposal. By 1976, Arcata realized it had a serious problem on its hands: if the city hooked up to the proposed HBWA treatment plant, sewer bills would double in the near future and would probably continue to climb. Moreover, the huge sewage pipes mapped to run between Arcata and Eureka and under the bay's shipping channels could allow unwanted strip development of the rural area between the cities and might even lead to an ecological disaster. But if Arcata decided to go its own way, it would be subject to a building moratorium and other penalties unless it could overcome the undefined "enhancement" requirement. The case tells the story of Arcata's long political struggle to derail the planned regional sewage treatment plant and force federal and state regulators to accept its own, unconventional local alternative. It raises questions as to how to recognize innovation and the nature of bureaucratic cultures which discourage innovation. It also raises the question of whether community based opposition might be too heavily weighted in the political process. More»

Wetland Wastewater Treatment: Arcata, CA - 1987 Innovations Winner

In 1974, the small city of Arcata, California, learned that a new state policy would soon forbid the release of its treated wastewater into Humboldt Bay unless it could prove that the wastewater "enhanced" the bay. That same year the Humboldt Bay Wastewater Authority was formed to devise a federal- and state-funded regional approach to wastewater disposal. By 1976, Arcata realized it had a serious problem on its hands: if the city hooked up to the proposed HBWA treatment plant, sewer bills would double in the near future and would probably continue to climb. Moreover, the huge sewage pipes mapped to run between Arcata and Eureka and under the bay's shipping channels could allow unwanted strip development of the rural area between the cities and might even lead to an ecological disaster. But if Arcata decided to go its own way, it would be subject to a building moratorium and other penalties unless it could overcome the undefined "enhancement" requirement. The case tells the story of Arcata's long political struggle to derail the planned regional sewage treatment plant and force federal and state regulators to accept its own, unconventional local alternative. It raises questions as to how to recognize innovation and the nature of bureaucratic cultures which discourage innovation. It also raises the question of whether community based opposition might be too heavily weighted in the political process. More»

One Church/One Child Minority Adoption Campaign: Illinois - 1986 Innovations Winner

In 1980, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services faced a crisis. Over 700 black children in Cook County, including 69 infants, waited for adoption while the agency was unable to find black parents. Director Gregory L. Color, with his deputy gordon Johnson, approached Father George Clements, a black activist Chicago priest in the Baptist community. From those meetings came One Church, One Child, a plan to use pastors of the black churches as spokesmen to reach the community. Coler and Johnson faced several hurdles as they asked a private religious institution to help solve a public agency's problem. They had to change negative attitudes both in the black community; which had grown to distrust the state agency, and among a staff suspicious of change who would implement the black adoption program. They had to revamp state laws that inhibited the adoption process. And they had to change bureaucratic procedures that had proven ineffective. The accompanying video exhibit brings to life the successful strategy of the One Church, One Child program, focusing on a presentation in a black church designed to encourage adoptions. In addition, the video includes retrospective comments from the program's administrators and vignettes of families who have adopted children as a result of the program. This case will challenge students to examine the assumptions that limit bureaucracies. Available in Spanish translation. More»

One Church/One Child Minority Adoption Campaign: Illinois - 1986 Innovations Winner

In 1980, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services faced a crisis. Over 700 black children in cook County, including 69 infants, waited for adoption while the agency was unable to find black parents. A supplement to the case (856.0), this video exhibit brings to life the successful strategy of the One Church, One Child program, focusing on a presentation in a black church designed to encourage adoptions. In addition, the video includes retrospective comments from the program's administrators and vignettes of families who have adopted children as a result of the program. This case will challenge students to examine the assumptions that limit bureaucracies. More»

Family Learning Center: Ingham County, MI - 1988 Innovations Winner

During the 1978-79 school year, the state of Michigan turned down Jean Ekins' application for model-site designation of her Leslie, Michigan Family Learning Center. Ekins had started the program four years earlier within the Leslie public school system to provide an appropriate high school setting for teen-aged parents. Designation carried a $60,000 grant, about twice the center's current annual budget. Ekins believed the money as well as the designation would have lent legitimacy to the center's existence, which the conservative community of Leslie frequently questioned on practical and moral grounds. At the time of Ekins' application, the center provided services to about 20 students, but many more young parents were on the waiting list, denied services because of a lack of funds. It had become clear to Ekins that, without more money, the center would remain a small, relatively ineffective weapon in the fight to provide educational services to Leslie-area school-aged parents. The case describes Ekins' efforts to establish the program and focuses on the issues confronting the administrator of a small, financially strapped program on the frontiers of service delivery. The case also addresses the question of how best to expand a successful but limited program: how to gauge degrees of support and opposition; how to balance demands for resources; and where and how to look for potential allies. More»

Family Learning Center: Ingham County, MI - 1988 Innovations Winner

During the 1978-79 school year, the state of Michigan turned down Jean Ekins' application for model-site designation of her Leslie, Michigan Family Learning Center. Ekins had started the program four years earlier within the Leslie public school system to provide an appropriate high school setting for teen-aged parents. Designation carried a $60,000 grant, about twice the center's current annual budget. Ekins believed the money as well as the designation would have lent legitimacy to the center's existence, which the conservative community of Leslie frequently questioned on practical and moral grounds. At the time of Ekins' application, the center provided services to about 20 students, but many more young parents were on the waiting list, denied services because of a lack of funds. It had become clear to Ekins that, without more money, the center would remain a small, relatively ineffective weapon in the fight to provide educational services to Leslie-area school-aged parents. The case describes Ekins' efforts to establish the program and focuses on the issues confronting the administrator of a small, financially strapped program on the frontiers of service delivery. The case also addresses the question of how best to expand a successful but limited program: how to gauge degrees of support and opposition; how to balance demands for resources; and where and how to look for potential allies. More»

Family Learning Center: Ingham County, MI - 1988 Innovations Winner

During the 1978-79 school year, the state of Michigan turned down Jean Ekins' application for model-site designation of her Leslie, Michigan Family Learning Center. Ekins had started the program four years earlier within the Leslie public school system to provide an appropriate high school setting for teen-aged parents. Designation carried a $60,000 grant, about twice the center's current annual budget. Ekins believed the money as well as the designation would have lent legitimacy to the center's existence, which the conservative community of Leslie frequently questioned on practical and moral grounds. At the time of Ekins' application, the center provided services to about 20 students, but many more young parents were on the waiting list, denied services because of a lack of funds. It had become clear to Ekins that, without more money, the center would remain a small, relatively ineffective weapon in the fight to provide educational services to Leslie-area school-aged parents. The case describes Ekins' efforts to establish the program and focuses on the issues confronting the administrator of a small, financially strapped program on the frontiers of service delivery. The case also addresses the question of how best to expand a successful but limited program: how to gauge degrees of support and opposition; how to balance demands for resources; and where and how to look for potential allies. More»

Case Management for At-Risk Children in Detention: New York, NY - 1986 Innovations Winner

The latest in a long string of directors of New York City's toughest juvenile detention facility confronts a staff which is both demoralized and resentful of authority. As the jail's first black director, she must cope with a predominantly black staff long accustomed to "getting over"-giving less than full effort and rationalizing its attitude in terms of the perceived indifference of a "downtown" white power structure. Battles over child abuse, insubordination and union power ensue. More»

Racial Integration Incentives: Cleveland, OH - 1998 Innovations Winner

Should an Ohio state agency provide low-interest loans to home buyers moving into areas in which they are "racially under-represented"-even if they are whites in affluent suburbs moving into neighborhoods which might otherwise "tip" to become all-black? The Ohio Housing Finance Agency confronts the questions of whether racial underrepresentation should be defined in percentage terms-and whether racial integration per se represents progress for black homebuyers. The case explores the history of efforts to manage racial integration in suburban Cleveland and highlights competing philosophies regarding the role of government in influencing residential racial patterns. It allows for discussion of ways in which public values evolve through the policymaking process. More»

Single Room Occupancy Resident Hotel Program: San Diego, CA - 1988 Innovations Winner

When the destruction or conversion of single-room occupancy hotels, or SROs, in San Diego's downtown seemed to lead to an increase in homelessness, a private real estate developer argued that he could build profitable new SROs if the city would waive or modify key safety and construction standards. In the ensuing debate over the first such SRO, the Baltic Inn, core public housing issues came to the fore: whether regulation was effective and equitable, whether deregulation would serve the poor, and what minimum quality of life society should demand for even the poorest housing consumers. For a different treatment of this issue, see Housing's Bottom Rung: Single Room Occupancy Hotels in San Diego (C18-95-1293.0 and 1294.0).Housing's Bottom Rung, the abridged version of Building the Baltic (C16-89-928.0), leaves the dilemma of how best to solve the city's housing problems to students, rather than describing the route which San Diego actually pursued, as is done in the original case. It describes the decline in single room occupancy hotels for poor single people and early proposals for a preservation ordinance to halt their demolition. The use of the A case first in class, followed by the handout of B, is meant to prompt the realization that careful and imaginative policy analysis can lead in politically unanticipated directions. More»

Computer Assisted Report Entry: St. Louis, MO - 1988 Innovations Winner

This case examines a specific technological innovation and tracks its effect on the procedures of an organization. The Computer Assisted Report Entry (CARE) system adopted by the St. Louis County Police Department is designed to replace what is viewed as a cumbersome, if vital, procedure: the filing of written reports by individual police officers involved in responses to calls and in arrests. CARE replaces what the department believes to be an inefficient system of written reports with a system of telephone reporting. Although viewed positively in the text, the case also invites scrutiny of the long-term, perhaps unforeseen, consequences of such a technological change. More»

Computer Assisted Report Entry: St Louis, MO - 1988 Innovations Winner

This case examines a specific technological innovation and tracks its effect on the procedures of an organization. The Computer Assisted Report Entry (CARE) system adopted by the St. Louis County Police Department is designed to replace what is viewed as a cumbersome, if vital, procedure: the filing of written reports by individual police officers involved in responses to calls and in arrests. CARE replaces what the department believes to be an inefficient system of written reports with a system of telephone reporting. Although viewed positively in the text, the case also invites scrutiny of the long-term, perhaps unforeseen, consequences of such a technological change. More»

Xport, The Port Authority Trading Company: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - 1990 Innovations Winner

This case takes its place in the ongoing debate over privatization: which functions are best performed by the public sector, which should be reserved to private enterprise? In this instance, a newly-appointed executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must decide whether or not to continue a fledgling "public sector trading company"-a program designed to nurture small business exports by identifying overseas customers and acting as middleman in the transaction-all for a fee. Early sales figures are disappointing; organized private opposition has surfaced in the state legislature. But a strong-willed program director is convinced that small exporters are not served by private trading firms and that increasing the volume of small exports will help keep the Port Authority's facilities busy. More»

Xport, The Port Authority Trading Company: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - 1990 Innovations Winner

This case takes its place in the ongoing debate over privatization: which functions are best performed by the public sector, which should be reserved to private enterprise? In this instance, a newly-appointed executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must decide whether or not to continue a fledgling "public sector trading company"-a program designed to nurture small business exports by identifying overseas customers and acting as middleman in the transaction-all for a fee. Early sales figures are disappointing; organized private opposition has surfaced in the state legislature. But a strong-willed program director is convinced that small exporters are not served by private trading firms and that increasing the volume of small exports will help keep the Port Authority's facilities busy. More»

Kentucky Video Courts: Kentucky - 1988 Innovations Winner

When a shortage of court reporters threatens to delay trials and back up the appeals process, Kentucky's Administrative Office of the Courts considers new technology as a solution to its problem. Video "transcripts" of court proceedings hold the potential to sidestep the labor problem plaguing the courts. The use of video cameras to record court proceedings raises questions, however. Would a video record truly provide as useful a product as a written transcript? Would judges-and the courts themselves-accept video as a legal record? Director Don Cetrulo of the Administrative Office of the Courts, intrigued by the promise of video, must ponder both its implications-and the fact that no proven automatic camera technology existed in the mid-1980s that could adapt to the multiplicity of speakers and locations. Before he can reach the point of considering the legal impact of video court reporting, Cetrulo must decide whether to go so far as to award state funds to a local manufacturer who believes he can devise such a system. More»

Kentucky Video Courts: Kentucky - 1988 Innovations Winner

When a shortage of court reporters threatens to delay trials and back up the appeals process, Kentucky's Administrative Office of the Courts considers new technology as a solution to its problem. Video "transcripts" of court proceedings hold the potential to sidestep the labor problem plaguing the courts. The use of video cameras to record court proceedings raises questions, however. Would a video record truly provide as useful a product as a written transcript? Would judges-and the courts themselves-accept video as a legal record? Director Don Cetrulo of the Administrative Office of the Courts, intrigued by the promise of video, must ponder both its implications-and the fact that no proven automatic camera technology existed in the mid-1980s that could adapt to the multiplicity of speakers and locations. Before he can reach the point of considering the legal impact of video court reporting, Cetrulo must decide whether to go so far as to award state funds to a local manufacturer who believes he can devise such a system. More»

Kentucky Video Courts: Kentucky - 1988 Innovations Winner

When a shortage of court reporters threatens to delay trials and back up the appeals process, Kentucky's Administrative Office of the Courts considers new technology as a solution to its problem. Video "transcripts" of court proceedings hold the potential to sidestep the labor problem plaguing the courts. The use of video cameras to record court proceedings raises questions, however. Would a video record truly provide as useful a product as a written transcript? Would judges-and the courts themselves-accept video as a legal record? Director Don Cetrulo of the Administrative Office of the Courts, intrigued by the promise of video, must ponder both its implications-and the fact that no proven automatic camera technology existed in the mid-1980s that could adapt to the multiplicity of speakers and locations. Before he can reach the point of considering the legal impact of video court reporting, Cetrulo must decide whether to go so far as to award state funds to a local manufacturer who believes he can devise such a system. More»

Kentucky Video Courts: Kentucky - 1988 Innovations Winner

When a shortage of court reporters threatens to delay trials and back up the appeals process, Kentucky's Administrative Office of the Courts considers new technology as a solution to its problem. Video "transcripts" of court proceedings hold the potential to sidestep the labor problem plaguing the courts. The use of video cameras to record court proceedings raises questions, however. Would a video record truly provide as useful a product as a written transcript? Would judges-and the courts themselves-accept video as a legal record? Director Don Cetrulo of the Administrative Office of the Courts, intrigued by the promise of video, must ponder both its implications-and the fact that no proven automatic camera technology existed in the mid-1980s that could adapt to the multiplicity of speakers and locations. Before he can reach the point of considering the legal impact of video court reporting, Cetrulo must decide whether to go so far as to award state funds to a local manufacturer who believes he can devise such a system. More»

Electronic Benefit System: Ramsey County, MN - 1990 Innovations Winner

When banks in Ramsey County (Saint Paul), Minnesota decide to stop cashing welfare checks, the county faces a crisis. It must continue to provide a way for welfare recipients to receive their benefits. Yet it has exhausted the standard means of doing so. This Innovations in State and Local Government case follows the course of Ramsey County's decision to adopt a radically different benefits delivery system-the use of an ATM (automatic teller machine) card which will allow welfare recipients to draw down their account at a variety of locations, at their own convenience. Officials in the Community Human Services Department gain acceptance of this idea, however, not because of its innovative quality but because they convince county officials it will provide the service at no increase in cost. This case provides a vehicle for discussion of the nature of public sector innovation and the forces that drive or constrain it. It raises the following question, as well: At a time when information technologies are making everything from mail orders to credit card replacement "user friendly," will government find ways to adapt these technologies to aid in delivering its services? More»

Electronic Benefit System: Ramsey County, MN - 1990 Innovations Winner

When banks in Ramsey County (Saint Paul), Minnesota decide to stop cashing welfare checks, the county faces a crisis. It must continue to provide a way for welfare recipients to receive their benefits. Yet it has exhausted the standard means of doing so. This Innovations in State and Local Government case follows the course of Ramsey County's decision to adopt a radically different benefits delivery system-the use of an ATM (automatic teller machine) card which will allow welfare recipients to draw down their account at a variety of locations, at their own convenience. Officials in the Community Human Services Department gain acceptance of this idea, however, not because of its innovative quality but because they convince county officials it will provide the service at no increase in cost. This case provides a vehicle for discussion of the nature of public sector innovation and the forces that drive or constrain it. It raises the following question, as well: At a time when information technologies are making everything from mail orders to credit card replacement "user friendly," will government find ways to adapt these technologies to aid in delivering its services? More»

Seattle Recycling Program: Seattle, WA - 1990 Innovations Winner

The closing of two landfill sites creates a municipal crisis in Seattle, forced to find new disposal options for the 2,000 tons of garbage it produces each day. Political concerns over what appears to be the most practical disposal option-construction of a major municipal incinerator-prompts the city's Solid Waste Utility to undertake an innovative study to examine the extent to which recycling could minimize the city's trash disposal needs. This case broadly examines the "Recycling Potential and Disposal Options" study with an eye toward understanding the relationship between the political process and the techniques of public policy analysis. The case is designed to frame questions as to the proper relationship between policy analyst and elected official, and the ways in which analysis is constrained, properly or improperly, by political considerations. More»

Seattle Recycling Program: Seattle, WA - 1990 Innovations Winner
The closing of two landfill sites creates a municipal crisis in Seattle, forced to find new disposal options for the 2,000 tons of garbage it produces each day. Political concerns over what appears to be the most practical disposal option-construction of a major municipal incinerator-prompts the city's Solid Waste Utility to undertake an innovative study to examine the extent to which recycling could minimize the city's trash disposal needs. This case broadly examines the "Recycling Potential and Disposal Options" study with an eye toward understanding the relationship between the political process and the techniques of public policy analysis. The case is designed to frame questions as to the proper relationship between policy analyst and elected official, and the ways in which analysis is constrained, properly or improperly, by political considerations. More»

Seattle Recycling Program: Seattle, WA - 1990 Innovations Winner

When the Seattle Solid Waste Utility, the department responsible for trash pick-up and disposal, moved during 1988-90 to introduce curbside recycling and other dramatic changes in garbage collection, director Diana Gale believed presentation of the utility's plans to the press would be crucial to their prospects for public acceptance. This case recounts the elaborate but successful strategies Gale employed, ranging from training sessions for utility employees run by former television news anchors, to the advent of the utility's own weekly newsletter to track problems and changes in the new garbage program. The case is designed both to allow for discussion of what makes for effective or ineffective relations between the public manager and the press, and to raise questions about the relative motivations of each party. In addition, the case can be used to pose the question of what methods are appropriate for a public agency to use in presenting its program initiatives to the public-and whether it is a necessary or proper use of funds when public agencies employ public relations and advertising tactics. More»

Groundwater Management Code: Arizona - 1986 Innovations Winner

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, increasing demands for water threatened to lead to a crisis in Arizona. The growth of the desert state's cities posed a conflict with its agricultural and mining interests. Its main source of water-groundwater extracted from beneath the arid surface-was threatened with depletion. This case frames the challenge faced by Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt to resolve the conflict in a way satisfactory to all three of the major interests: cities, farmers and mineowners. The case details the history of the Arizona groundwater dispute and the situation faced by Babbitt as he prepares to try to mediate it. The case invites discussion of mediation/negotiation techniques which can be employed by an elected official. In addition, it can be used as a policy exercise calling for proposals to develop an Arizona water policy that both serves and satisfies all players. More»

Project Match: Illinois - 1988 Innovations Winner

Located in one of the most troubled housing projects in Chicago, the job training program known as Project Match has an unusual approach to the task of bringing welfare recipients into the world of work. Rather than trying to broker a simple job placement, the program tries to encourage long-term change in the habits and living style of its hard-to-place population, in part by creating a social atmosphere in which work and ambition are valued. But because it receives funds from the Illinois Department of Public Aid, Project Match finds itself under pressure to produce job-placement results which demonstrate its success. The program itself urges authorities to find ways to quantify success besides simply finding someone a job-and places a premium on keeping track of those it's trying to help, long after a first job placement. The case highlights the challenges of social service program evaluation, as well as the problems an innovative agency has explaining itself to traditional bureaucracies with which it must deal. More»

Project Match: Illinois - 1988 Innovations Winner

Located in one of the most troubled housing projects in Chicago, the job training program known as Project Match has an unusual approach to the task of bringing welfare recipients into the world of work. Rather than trying to broker a simple job placement, the program tries to encourage long-term change in the habits and living style of its hard-to-place population, in part by creating a social atmosphere in which work and ambition are valued. But because it receives funds from the Illinois Department of Public Aid, Project Match finds itself under pressure to produce job-placement results which demonstrate its success. The program itself urges authorities to find ways to quantify success besides simply finding someone a job-and places a premium on keeping track of those it's trying to help, long after a first job placement. The case highlights the challenges of social service program evaluation, as well as the problems an innovative agency has explaining itself to traditional bureaucracies with which it must deal. More»

Single Room Occupancy Residential Hotel Program: San Diego, CA - 1988 Innovations Winner

When an idea for which she's had responsibility wins a major national award, a San Diego planner must, under the terms of the award, take responsibility for alerting other jurisdictions to the merits of the idea: new, privately funded single room occupancy "hotels" for the working poor. At first, Judy Lenthall plans a conference to which she intends to invite interested planners from other cities. When the mayor of San Diego disapproves, Lenthall must figure out a variety of strategies that will actually spread the word and lead to "replication." More»

Single Room Occupancy Residential Hotel Program: San Diego, CA - 1988 Innovations Winner

When an idea for which she's had responsibility wins a major national award, a San Diego planner must, under the terms of the award, take responsibility for alerting other jurisdictions to the merits of the idea: new, privately funded single room occupancy "hotels" for the working poor. At first, Judy Lenthall plans a conference to which she intends to invite interested planners from other cities. When the mayor of San Diego disapproves, Lenthall must figure out a variety of strategies that will actually spread the word and lead to "replication." More»

CityWork: Louisville KY - 1995 Innovations Winner

This is a public sector total quality management (TQM) case. Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Jerry Abramson, early in his second term, finds himself dissatisfied with what is ostensibly a significant string of accomplishments-among them economic development, housing and urban beautification projects. He finds himself wanting to do more than cut ribbons on new initiatives, though, and seeks, in addition, to change the way the ongoing, core departments of city government serve the public. In an effort to bring a customer orientation to such agencies as Louisville's public works department, Abramson recruits a major local private employer-General Electric-to design a training program to bring its "total quality" approach to the public sector. The case tells the story of the origins and effects of the GE/Louisville partnership. More»

Environmental Cleanup Program: Wichita, KS - 1992 Innovations Winner

Long-undetected groundwater contamination, discovered in 1990, by the Kansas Department of Health and Environmental Protection, has a potentially catastrophic economic impact on downtown Wichita, Kansas. The four-mile long, one-and-a-half-mile wide site centered at the corners of Gilbert and Mosley Streets lies in the heart of Wichita's central business district. Although it did not provoke health concerns, the newly discovered contamination prompted lenders to cease making any financial commitments in the district. This case focuses on the strategic approach to this crisis taken by Wichita's city manager. Initially faced with two bad alternatives-forcing hundreds of businesses to share in the clean-up cost, or face designation of the area as a federal Superfund site, portending perhaps a decade of legal wrangling-Wichita creates a more palatable way out of the crisis. The case can be useful both for discussions of constituency-building and political strategy, and for discussions of US federalism. More»

Environmental Cleanup Program: Wichita, KS - 1992 Innovations Winner

Long-undetected groundwater contamination, discovered in 1990, by the Kansas Department of Health and Environmental Protection, has a potentially catastrophic economic impact on downtown Wichita, Kansas. The four-mile long, one-and-a-half-mile wide site centered at the corners of Gilbert and Mosley Streets lies in the heart of Wichita's central business district. Although it did not provoke health concerns, the newly discovered contamination prompted lenders to cease making any financial commitments in the district. This case focuses on the strategic approach to this crisis taken by Wichita's city manager. Initially faced with two bad alternatives-forcing hundreds of businesses to share in the clean-up cost, or face designation of the area as a federal Superfund site, portending perhaps a decade of legal wrangling-Wichita creates a more palatable way out of the crisis. The case can be useful both for discussions of constituency-building and political strategy, and for discussions of US federalism. More»

Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network: Philadelphia, PA - 1991 Innovations Winner

When Wilson Goode becomes the first African-American mayor of Philadelphia, he must find ways to fulfill a particularly visible campaign pledge: elimination of the graffiti which mar public buildings throughout poorer sections of the city and particularly in the North Philadelphia black wards crucial to Goode's victory. This tells the story of a series of quite different compliance strategies pursued by a new city agency specifically created to curtail graffiti and housed within the mayor's office. The anti-graffiti effort first conceives the problem in social terms and initiates a series of efforts to deal with the "roots" of the graffiti problem, specifically the alienation and joblessness which may affect graffiti writers. Public pressure builds, however, for the city to adopt a more aggressive enforcement posture, viewing graffiti as a criminal act which must be swiftly punished. The case allows for discussion of the nature of public compliance and how it is achieved. More»

Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network: Philadelphia, PA - 1991 Innovations Winner

When Wilson Goode becomes the first African-American mayor of Philadelphia, he must find ways to fulfill a particularly visible campaign pledge: elimination of the graffiti which mar public buildings throughout poorer sections of the city and particularly in the North Philadelphia black wards crucial to Goode's victory. This tells the story of a series of quite different compliance strategies pursued by a new city agency specifically created to curtail graffiti and housed within the mayor's office. The anti-graffiti effort first conceives the problem in social terms and initiates a series of efforts to deal with the "roots" of the graffiti problem, specifically the alienation and joblessness which may affect graffiti writers. Public pressure builds, however, for the city to adopt a more aggressive enforcement posture, viewing graffiti as a criminal act which must be swiftly punished. The case allows for discussion of the nature of public compliance and how it is achieved. More»

The Blackstone Project: Preventing Pollution Before it Happens - 1991 Innovations Winner

This case examines the origins and follows the implementation of a radical restructuring of the way the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection conducts inspections of industrial facilities. Specifically, it tells the story of a pilot program designed both to change the way in which inspections were carried out and the purpose of inspections. The Blackstone Project moved to replace inspections conducted by technical specialists in specific areas-air, water, hazardous waste-with "cross-media" inspections, in which one inspector would consider an industrial operation as a whole. The project represented a radical departure for a department in which technical specialists had their own culture and history. At the same time, it represented an attempt to replace traditional law enforcement with pollution prevention-single inspectors acting as much as advisors for firms as law enforcers. This meaty case allows for analysis of the ways in which an organization's internal structure relates to its overall mission. More»

The Blackstone Project: Preventing Pollution Before it Happens - 1991 Innovations Winner

This case examines the origins and follows the implementation of a radical restructuring of the way the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection conducts inspections of industrial facilities. Specifically, it tells the story of a pilot program designed both to change the way in which inspections were carried out and the purpose of inspections. The Blackstone Project moved to replace inspections conducted by technical specialists in specific areas-air, water, hazardous waste-with "cross-media" inspections, in which one inspector would consider an industrial operation as a whole. The project represented a radical departure for a department in which technical specialists had their own culture and history. At the same time, it represented an attempt to replace traditional law enforcement with pollution prevention-single inspectors acting as much as advisors for firms as law enforcers. This meaty case allows for analysis of the ways in which an organization's internal structure relates to its overall mission. More»

Info/California: California - 1993 Innovations Winner

The growth of the kind of new interactive technologies promise to make it more convenient and less expensive for government, like private providers of consumer goods and services, to serve its customers-whether they seek a driver's license or unemployment compensation. Incorporating such technologies implies change, however, and, as this case makes clear, requires decisions about when and how automated transactions should be the norm. The story of the Info/California decision focuses on competing visions of a new, interactive system which promises to allow Californians to obtain records, licenses and program information of all sorts. For its champion within state government, it makes most sense for a scarce number of interactive terminals to be placed in public areas-supermarkets, malls and the like. He must, however, face a demand by a state agency that a terminal be used to make up for laid-off employees in a place where the public has been accustomed to going for records and licenses. Developed for the Kennedy School's Program on Strategic Computing, this case allows for discussion of the relationship between mission and technology. More»

Monroe Maternity Center, Inc.: Monroe County, TN - 1991 Innovations Winner

The combination of East Tennessee poverty and a lack of obstetrical facilities in Monroe County lead a US public health officer, Dr. Barbara Levin, to seek different ways to provide prenatal and delivery services to women of the county. This case tells the story of the slow but successful effort to use nurses and midwives to staff a free-standing "maternity center" which ultimately led to the maternity center delivering fully a quarter of all the county's babies. It examines the strategies which Levin employed to build local support, overcome opposition in the medical profession and build a customer base. In addition, it frames a strategic question of whether and how Levin should attempt to transplant her idea to a far different region of the state. More»

Friends of the Family, Inc.: Maryland - 1991 Innovations Winner

It has become standard practice for major social service agencies to contract with non-profit organizations to deliver tax-supported services. In Maryland, however, the state Department of Human Resources went a step further. It believed in the need for a program, statewide, to provide support for low-income parents with children under three. To get such programs going, however, the Department turned to a non-profit group both to establish "family support centers" and administer grants directed to them. This case allows for discussion of the appropriate role of government and the non-profit sector in administering and delivering human service programs. More»

Community Voice Mail: Seattle, WA - 1993 Innovations Winner

The staff of a Seattle non-profit employment and training agency come to a sudden realization in late 1990: the homeless with whom they deal are handicapped not only by a lack of a permanent residence but their lack of a phone. They lack the means to receive calls, schedule interviews and, ultimately, obtain employment. The insight leads the Seattle Worker Center to seek state and, over time, private funds which permit it to set up a successful "community voice mail" system, through which the "phoneless" can store and send messages. The case is designed for students of social policy and allows for examination of those factors which led outside funders and, ultimately, the community at large, to embrace the voice mail idea. Additional description of an attempt to replicate the program in Minnesota portrays a less immediately hospitable situation which a non-profit leader must negotiate. More»

Community Voice Mail: Seattle, WA - 1993 Innovations Winner

The staff of a Seattle non-profit employment and training agency come to a sudden realization in late 1990: the homeless with whom they deal are handicapped not only by a lack of a permanent residence but their lack of a phone. They lack the means to receive calls, schedule interviews and, ultimately, obtain employment. The insight leads the Seattle Worker Center to seek state and, over time, private funds which permit it to set up a successful "community voice mail" system, through which the "phoneless" can store and send messages. The case is designed for students of social policy and allows for examination of those factors which led outside funders and, ultimately, the community at large, to embrace the voice mail idea. Additional description of an attempt to replicate the program in Minnesota portrays a less immediately hospitable situation which a non-profit leader must negotiate. More»

Move Information, Not Property: U.S. Department of Defense - 1999 Innovations Finalist

This government re-engineering case focuses on the agency responsible for procuring goods and services (other than weapons) for the Department of Defense. New leadership at the DLA must deal with a sharply changed system. Rather than receiving an annual appropriation, the mammoth agency must bill its multitude of customers-the various military services-for performing procurement tasks. In trying to make itself a customer-focused operation, DLA considers changing both the management structure of its headquarters and the relationship between its headquarters and field offices. More»

Move Information, Not Property: U.S. Department of Defense - 1999 Innovations Finalist

This government re-engineering case focuses on the agency responsible for procuring goods and services (other than weapons) for the Department of Defense. New leadership at the DLA must deal with a sharply changed system. Rather than receiving an annual appropriation, the mammoth agency must bill its multitude of customers-the various military services-for performing procurement tasks. In trying to make itself a customer-focused operation, DLA considers changing both the management structure of its headquarters and the relationship between its headquarters and field offices. More»

Low-Income Assisted Mortgage Program: West Virginia - 1993 Innovations Winner

When a local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity organization learns that a state-chartered development fund might be able to provide it with financial help, the non-profit organization faces a decision. Should it accept funds from a public agency? Would doing so jeopardize its independence and push the organization in directions it might not want to go? So, too, does the Development Fund face decisions as it contemplates aiding the non-profit, which builds small homes for the near-poor, in part through the use of volunteer labor. Should Habitat's religious affiliation bar the Fund from helping it? Should Habitat be allowed to retain control over who gets to purchase the homes it builds? This case focuses on the intersection of the public and non-profit sectors and raises questions about when they should or shouldn't overlap. More»

Low-Income Assisted Mortgage Program: West Virginia - 1993 Innovations Winner

When a local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity organization learns that a state-chartered development fund might be able to provide it with financial help, the non-profit organization faces a decision. Should it accept funds from a public agency? Would doing so jeopardize its independence and push the organization in directions it might not want to go? So, too, does the Development Fund face decisions as it contemplates aiding the non-profit, which builds small homes for the near-poor, in part through the use of volunteer labor. Should Habitat's religious affiliation bar the Fund from helping it? Should Habitat be allowed to retain control over who gets to purchase the homes it builds? This case focuses on the intersection of the public and non-profit sectors and raises questions about when they should or shouldn't overlap. More»

Info/California: California - 1993 Innovations Winner

New, computer-based technologies offer the prospect of new ways for government to provide services for citizens. That was the hope of the director of the data center of California's Health and Welfare Agency when, in 1991, he developed a new interactive "kiosk" that would allow citizens to transact business with the state government without going to a government office. Licenses, permits and answers to questions could be obtained through a service which director Russell Bohart believed should "go where the people are, as opposed to making everybody come to government." In introducing the new system, however, Bohart found himself under pressure from state agencies which wanted to interactive technology to be located not at shopping malls and strip centers but in their own offices, as a means of replacing or supplementing employees. Bohart would have to decide which vision of his interactive kiosk was the right one and, if he stuck to his original concept, how to cope with the demands in conflict with it. More»

Info/California: California - 1993 Innovations Winner

New, computer-based technologies offer the prospect of new ways for government to provide services for citizens. That was the hope of the director of the data center of California's Health and Welfare Agency when, in 1991, he developed a new interactive "kiosk" that would allow citizens to transact business with the state government without going to a government office. Licenses, permits and answers to questions could be obtained through a service which director Russell Bohart believed should "go where the people are, as opposed to making everybody come to government." In introducing the new system, however, Bohart found himself under pressure from state agencies which wanted to interactive technology to be located not at shopping malls and strip centers but in their own offices, as a means of replacing or supplementing employees. Bohart would have to decide which vision of his interactive kiosk was the right one and, if he stuck to his original concept, how to cope with the demands in conflict with it. More»

Competition and Costing: Indianapolis, IN - 1995 Innovations Winner

During his successful 1991 bid for the indianapolis mayoralty, Stephen Goldsmith is clear about his preference for privatizing city services. Once in office, however, Goldsmith decides on a different, more complex approach. The inefficiency of publicly-provided services, he reflects, may not be the result of their being public but rather a reflection of the lack of competition over who will provide them. In that light, Goldsmith undertakes a bold experiment: to force city departments to bid against private providers. This case focuses on the first stages of the Goldsmith experiment, a time in which city public works crews must, for the first time, compete against private firms for a pothole repair contract. The case raises core questions as to how to structure public-private competitions to ensure that valid comparison will be possible, as well as how to determine the exact nature of public costs. In addition, it allows for discussion of more theoretical questions as to whether some functions must always be public, while others should be private and still others privately-provided but publicly-financed. More»

Competition and Costing: Indianapolis, IN - 1995 Innovations Winner

During his successful 1991 bid for the indianapolis mayoralty, Stephen Goldsmith is clear about his preference for privatizing city services. Once in office, however, Goldsmith decides on a different, more complex approach. The inefficiency of publicly-provided services, he reflects, may not be the result of their being public but rather a reflection of the lack of competition over who will provide them. In that light, Goldsmith undertakes a bold experiment: to force city departments to bid against private providers. This case focuses on the first stages of the Goldsmith experiment, a time in which city public works crews must, for the first time, compete against private firms for a pothole repair contract. The case raises core questions as to how to structure public-private competitions to ensure that valid comparison will be possible, as well as how to determine the exact nature of public costs. In addition, it allows for discussion of more theoretical questions as to whether some functions must always be public, while others should be private and still others privately-provided but publicly-financed. More»

Competition and Costing: Indianapolis, IN - 1995 Innovations Winner

During his successful 1991 bid for the indianapolis mayoralty, Stephen Goldsmith is clear about his preference for privatizing city services. Once in office, however, Goldsmith decides on a different, more complex approach. The inefficiency of publicly-provided services, he reflects, may not be the result of their being public but rather a reflection of the lack of competition over who will provide them. In that light, Goldsmith undertakes a bold experiment: to force city departments to bid against private providers. This case focuses on the first stages of the Goldsmith experiment, a time in which city public works crews must, for the first time, compete against private firms for a pothole repair contract. The case raises core questions as to how to structure public-private competitions to ensure that valid comparison will be possible, as well as how to determine the exact nature of public costs. In addition, it allows for discussion of more theoretical questions as to whether some functions must always be public, while others should be private and still others privately-provided but publicly-financed. More»

Washington State Workers' Compensation: Washington - 1992 Innovations Winner

Like many such systems, the Washington State Workers Compensation Administration was, in the mid 1980s, in deep financial distress. Worse still, its fiscal problems were matched by deep problems of efficiency and morale, particularly in its crucial Claims Administration Unit, which called into question the agency's ability to put its house in order. Under intense public and political pressure, a new team of administrators buys time through stopgap financial steps, before turning to the daunting task of internal structural reform, focused on the claims unit. The case provides rich detail of both the political and production operation issues which administrators confronted, including its strategy of breaking a claims log-jam by terminating a long-established "assembly-line" claims process. Adopted in its place is a new structure which encouraged employees to take holistic responsibility for compensation claims and worker rehabilitation. The case raises the complications of worker morale, union relations and political and business pressures with which administrators coped, knowing that the possibility of privatization was a real alternative. They struggled both to put the department on its feet and to demonstrate a raison d'etre for a public system. Ultimately, their efforts were recognized by an Innovations in American Government program award. More»

Washington State Workers' Compensation: Washington - 1992 Innovations Winner

Like many such systems, the Washington State Workers Compensation Administration was, in the mid 1980s, in deep financial distress. Worse still, its fiscal problems were matched by deep problems of efficiency and morale, particularly in its crucial Claims Administration Unit, which called into question the agency's ability to put its house in order. Under intense public and political pressure, a new team of administrators buys time through stopgap financial steps, before turning to the daunting task of internal structural reform, focused on the claims unit. The case provides rich detail of both the political and production operation issues which administrators confronted, including its strategy of breaking a claims log-jam by terminating a long-established "assembly-line" claims process. Adopted in its place is a new structure which encouraged employees to take holistic responsibility for compensation claims and worker rehabilitation. The case raises the complications of worker morale, union relations and political and business pressures with which administrators coped, knowing that the possibility of privatization was a real alternative. They struggled both to put the department on its feet and to demonstrate a raison d'etre for a public system. Ultimately, their efforts were recognized by an Innovations in American Government program award. More»

Competition and Costing: Indianapolis, IN - 1995 Innovations Winner

When the city of Indianapolis adopts a policy leading to head-to-head competition for contracts between public and private sector bidders, public departments such as the city's motor vehicle maintenance facility find themselves in a brave new world. This case examines the point-by-point construction of the Indiana policy Fleet Services bid for the right to perform both routine and non-routine maintenance on the city's motor vehicles and equipment, ranging from police cars to garbage trucks. It is designed to familiarize students with the process of understanding a public sector Request for Proposals (RFP) and developing a bid in response. It calls on students to understand the city's budget, its contractual relationship with organized labor, the potential use of employee merit pay and the variety of incentives, both for good or ill, that can arise by virtue of the way a contract is drafted. Thus the case is useful both for those interested in the public-private bidding process and for those interested in the drafting of public contracts. More»

CityWork: Louisville, KY - 1995 Innovations Winner

The belief of Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Jerry Abramson in improved service to citizen "customers" leads to the 1989 establishment of a centralized complaint/information system--a single phone number to which complaints or inquiries about any of the city's 25 departments can be made. But despite apparent success and a high public profile, managers of the "CityCALL" system become frustrated with what they view as inefficiencies in their relationships with other city agencies. Some are linked to CityCALL by computer; others show little apparent inclination to cooperate. The case calls for consideration of how CityCALL could be improved through the vehicle of Louisville's "CityWork" system, in which public employees, in a retreat-style setting, are called upon to offer specific suggestions for change. The case explores the evolution of an innovative program--its unexpected side effects and the sorts of resistance it encounters. It highlights, as well, Mayor Abramson's contention that a system of cooperative program evaluation--CityWork--can lead to efficiencies which rival public/private competitive bidding and other "privatization"-style strategies. More»

Maine Top 200 Experimental Targeting Program: U.S. Department of Labor - 1995 Innovations Winner

The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, created by Congress in 1970 to curtail what was viewed as a still-alarming level of industrial accidents, had, 20 years later, become a lightning rod for controversy. Its advocates viewed it as a bulwark of the defense of sale working conditions but opponents portrayed it as abusively intrusive, creating bureaucratic nightmares for employers. With that backdrop -- and with dwindling manpower and other resources -- OSHA officials in Maine, in 1991, try a radically different approach to their task, targeting 200 businesses which data has told them are the state's most important to bring into compliance. OSHA hopes both to avoid diluting the inspection capacity it has -- and to find ways to persuade, rather than to coerce through the law, business to make improvements. The apparent success of the Maine 200 program comes at a time when the new Clinton Administration is eager to find such government "reinvention" programs it can widely replicate. This case allows, first, for analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Maine 200 effort as an example of gaining compliance through a new form of enforcement, and, second, for discussion of the complications, and advisability, of taking a small program "to scale." More»

Maine Top 200 Experimental Targeting Program: U.S. Department of Labor - 1995 Innovations Winner

The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, created by Congress in 1970 to curtail what was viewed as a still-alarming level of industrial accidents, had, 20 years later, become a lightning rod for controversy. Its advocates viewed it as a bulwark of the defense of sale working conditions but opponents portrayed it as abusively intrusive, creating bureaucratic nightmares for employers. With that backdrop -- and with dwindling manpower and other resources -- OSHA officials in Maine, in 1991, try a radically different approach to their task, targeting 200 businesses which data has told them are the state's most important to bring into compliance. OSHA hopes both to avoid diluting the inspection capacity it has -- and to find ways to persuade, rather than to coerce through the law, business to make improvements. The apparent success of the Maine 200 program comes at a time when the new Clinton Administration is eager to find such government "reinvention" programs it can widely replicate. This case allows, first, for analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Maine 200 effort as an example of gaining compliance through a new form of enforcement, and, second, for discussion of the complications, and advisability, of taking a small program "to scale." More»

Maine Top 200 Experimental Targeting Program: U.S. Department of Labor - 1995 Innovations Winner

The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, created by Congress in 1970 to curtail what was viewed as a still-alarming level of industrial accidents, had, 20 years later, become a lightning rod for controversy. Its advocates viewed it as a bulwark of the defense of sale working conditions but opponents portrayed it as abusively intrusive, creating bureaucratic nightmares for employers. With that backdrop -- and with dwindling manpower and other resources -- OSHA officials in Maine, in 1991, try a radically different approach to their task, targeting 200 businesses which data has told them are the state's most important to bring into compliance. OSHA hopes both to avoid diluting the inspection capacity it has -- and to find ways to persuade, rather than to coerce through the law, business to make improvements. The apparent success of the Maine 200 program comes at a time when the new Clinton Administration is eager to find such government "reinvention" programs it can widely replicate. This case allows, first, for analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Maine 200 effort as an example of gaining compliance through a new form of enforcement, and, second, for discussion of the complications, and advisability, of taking a small program "to scale." More»

CityWork: Louisville, KY - 1995 Innovations Winner

The belief of Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Jerry Abramson in improved service to citizen "customers" leads to the 1989 establishment of a centralized complaint/information system - a single phone number to which complaints or inquiries about any of the city's 25 departments can be made. But despite apparent success and a high public profile, managers of the "CityCALL" system become frustrated with what they view as inefficiencies in their relationships with other city agencies. Some are linked to CityCALL by computer; others show little apparent inclination to cooperate. The case calls for consideration of how CityCALL could be improved through the vehicle of Louisville's "CityWork" system, in which public employees, in a retreat-style setting, are called upon to offer specific suggestions for change. The case explores the evolution of an innovative program - its unexpected side effects and the sorts of resistance it encounters. It highlights, as well, Mayor Abramson's contention that a system of cooperative program evaluation - CityWork - can lead to efficiencies which rival public/private competitive bidding and other "privatization"-style strategies. More»

Early Warning Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury - 1995 Innovations Winner

In this case, the federal entity responsible for both safeguarding and insuring the private pension systems of the United States (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) must deal with one of the nation's largest and arguably most troubled corporate pension systems -- that of the General Motors Corporation. When GM proposes to sell off its Electronic Data Systems subsidiary, regulators at PBGC face a decision. Should they permit the deal to go forward if GM does not address an estimated $20 billion unfunded pension liability? In considering the question, PBGC must decide the extent, and potential justification, for demonstrating regulatory flexibility. Insisting on the letter of the law might scotch a deal which could lead to a significant contribution to GM's pension liability. Too great a leniency, however -- for instance, by allowing the value of GM's own stock to be applied against pension liability -- might jeopardize the interests of thousands of retired auto workers. The case is meant both to raise the issue of public sector negotiations flexibility and to facilitate discussion of the dynamics of public-private negotiations. See also Part B (1386.0). More»

Early Warning Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury - 1995 Innovations Winner

In this case, the federal entity responsible for both safeguarding and insuring the private pension systems of the United States (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) must deal with one of the nation's largest and arguably most troubled corporate pension systems -- that of the General Motors Corporation. When GM proposes to sell off its Electronic Data Systems subsidiary, regulators at PBGC face a decision. Should they permit the deal to go forward if GM does not address an estimated $20 billion unfunded pension liability? In considering the question, PBGC must decide the extent, and potential justification, for demonstrating regulatory flexibility. Insisting on the letter of the law might scotch a deal which could lead to a significant contribution to GM's pension liability. Too great a leniency, however -- for instance, by allowing the value of GM's own stock to be applied against pension liability -- might jeopardize the interests of thousands of retired auto workers. The case is meant both to raise the issue of public sector negotiations flexibility and to facilitate discussion of the dynamics of public-private negotiations. More»

CompStat: New York, NY - 1996 Innovations Winner

The dramatic reduction in crime in New York City during the 1990s grabbed the attention of the U.S. and the world, seeming to provide evidence that new policy and management approaches could make an enormous difference for the better. This case tells the story of key management decisions that the New York Police Department itself credits with the successful attack on the city's crime rate. Specifically, it describes the approach of Police Chief William Bratton in assembling a core, reform-oriented management team and the development of a computerized crime tracking system used as the foundation for the targeting of police manpower. The epilogue raises the dramatic question of whether the goal of minimizing the misuse of force by police officers is also amenable to the measurement techniques successfully employed to the activity of criminals. This case, in addition to the questions it raises, provides a powerful telling of one of the most successful public sector management initiatives of recent times. More»

CompStat: New York, NY - 1996 Innovations Winner

The dramatic reduction in crime in New York City during the 1990s grabbed the attention of the U.S. and the world, seeming to provide evidence that new policy and management approaches could make an enormous difference for the better. This case tells the story of key management decisions that the New York Police Department itself credits with the successful attack on the city's crime rate. Specifically, it describes the approach of Police Chief William Bratton in assembling a core, reform-oriented management team and the development of a computerized crime tracking system used as the foundation for the targeting of police manpower. The epilogue raises the dramatic question of whether the goal of minimizing the misuse of force by police officers is also amenable to the measurement techniques successfully employed to the activity of criminals. This case, in addition to the questions it raises, provides a powerful telling of one of the most successful public sector management initiatives of recent times. More»

CompStat: New York, NY - 1996 Innovations Winner

This abridgement is based on the case "Assertive Policing, Plummeting Crime: The NYPD Takes on Crime in New York City" (1530.0). The abridgement of the case divides the story of the change in the New York Police Department into three, roughly chronological parts--the diagnosis of the crime and organizational problems, the development of a new system of practices and incentives and a description of the variety of impacts which the new "assertive policing" regime appeared to have. The three parts (1557.3, 1558.3, 1559.3) and Epilogue (1557.1) can be used individually or together. They should not be used along with the full case and sequel (1530.0, 1530.1) but should, instead, be considered a substitute approach. More»

CompStat: New York, NY - 1996 Innovations Winner

This abridgment is based on the case "Assertive Policing, Plummeting Crime: The NYPD Takes on Crime in New York City" (1530.0). The abridgment of the case divides the story of the change in the New York Police Department into three, roughly chronological partsthe diagnosis of the crime and organizational problems, the development of a new system of practices and incentives and a description of the variety of impacts which the new "assertive policing" regime appeared to have. The three parts (1557.3, 1558.3, 1559.3) and Epilogue (1557.1) can be used individually or together. They should not be used along with the full case and sequel (1530.0, 1530.1) but should, instead, be considered a substitute approach. More»

CompStat: New York, NY - 1996 Innovations Winner

This abridgement is based on the case "Assertive Policing, Plummeting Crime: The NYPD Takes on Crime in New York City" (1530.0). The abridgement of the case divides the story of the change in the New York Police Department into three, roughly chronological parts--the diagnosis of the crime and organizational problems, the development of a new system of practices and incentives and a description of the variety of impacts which the new "assertive policing" regime appeared to have. The three parts (1557.3, 1558.3, 1559.3) and Epilogue (1557.1) can be used individually or together. They should not be used along with the full case and sequel (1530.0, 1530.1) but should, instead, be considered a substitute approach. More»

Parents as Teachers: Missouri - 1987 Innovations Winner

In the early 1980s, Missouri’s director of early childhood education launched a novel parent education pilot project designed to increase children’s kindergarten readiness and support family wellbeing by sending specially trained educators on monthly home visits to help parents foster their babies’ early development. By 1985, when an evaluation touted strong results for the pilot, the Missouri legislature already had made the program—dubbed Parents as Teachers—a mandatory offering of school districts statewide. Soon after, the St. Louis-based Parents as Teachers National Center, formed to oversee the state program and respond to outside inquiries, became an independent nonprofit. From the start, the National Center staff built quality controls into program design and the training of parent educators while simultaneously embracing rapid growth; by 1999 Parents as Teachers programs served more than 500,000 children in the US and six foreign countries. But despite such quality control efforts, the flexibility and adaptability that aided fast replication left the National Center with no effective way to manage or monitor the more than 2,000 sites worldwide. As a result, the National Center was forced to take a hard look at its replication model, its oversight role, and at how the center could better monitor and improve program quality.

This two-case series allows discussion of key issues facing growing nonprofits, in particular, weighing the tradeoffs inherent in different replication strategies; managing the tension between rapid growth and quality control; and analyzing how political and funding constraints can impact program design. While the (A) case addresses replication, training, organizational structures, and program design, the (B) case focuses on questions around evaluation, program fidelity, and implementation of quality standards. More»

Parents as Teachers: Missouri - 1987 Innovations Winner

In the early 1980s, Missouri’s director of early childhood education launched a novel parent education pilot project designed to increase children’s kindergarten readiness and support family wellbeing by sending specially trained educators on monthly home visits to help parents foster their babies’ early development. By 1985, when an evaluation touted strong results for the pilot, the Missouri legislature already had made the program—dubbed Parents as Teachers—a mandatory offering of school districts statewide. Soon after, the St. Louis-based Parents as Teachers National Center, formed to oversee the state program and respond to outside inquiries, became an independent nonprofit. From the start, the National Center staff built quality controls into program design and the training of parent educators while simultaneously embracing rapid growth; by 1999 Parents as Teachers programs served more than 500,000 children in the US and six foreign countries. But despite such quality control efforts, the flexibility and adaptability that aided fast replication left the National Center with no effective way to manage or monitor the more than 2,000 sites worldwide. As a result, the National Center was forced to take a hard look at its replication model, its oversight role, and at how the center could better monitor and improve program quality.

This two-case series allows discussion of key issues facing growing nonprofits, in particular, weighing the tradeoffs inherent in different replication strategies; managing the tension between rapid growth and quality control; and analyzing how political and funding constraints can impact program design. While the (A) case addresses replication, training, organizational structures, and program design, the (B) case focuses on questions around evaluation, program fidelity, and implementation of quality standards. More»

Division of Youth Services: Missouri - 2008 Innovations Winner

In the early 1970s, the Missouri Division of Youth Services (DYS) took its first steps toward radically changing the way it dealt with youthful offenders remanded to its custody. For years, like most states, it had incarcerated juveniles convicted of felony or misdemeanor offenses in large quasi-penal facilities called “training schools.” Instead, DYS began establishing smaller “cottage-style” residential programs that emphasized rehabilitation over punishment and applied a therapeutic approach to its troubled young charges. Over the next three decades, DYS expanded this approach to encompass its entire juvenile offender population. By the mid-2000s, the “Missouri model,” as it became known, was perhaps the most admired—and, many considered, most effective—juvenile corrections system in the US.

This case describes the Missouri model—including the population it serves, the educational and therapeutic programs it offers, and the frontline staff of “youth specialists” it employs to work closely with young offenders. The case also provides an overview of Missouri’s impressively low recidivism figures and a brief discussion of the complexities of comparing such figures among states. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges the Missouri DYS has faced in sustaining its highly regarded, but demanding, approach over many years. The case can be used in classes on child welfare policy and criminal justice. More»

Division of Youth Services: Missouri - 2008 Innovations Winner

This 10-minute video is a companion to "Taking a Therapeutic Approach to Juvenile Offenders: The ‘Missouri Model,’" Kennedy School case number C16-09-1904.0. In it, Tim Decker, the director of the Missouri Division of Youth Services, lays out the philosophy and practice of the therapeutic process used by the department in its treatment of youth offenders. The video shows the young people as they explore the roots of their behavior and develop tools to process trauma, often by articulating and sharing their feelings and concerns in a group setting. The ultimate goal of the program, Decker explains, is to encourage internalized change and foster social competencies. Powerful testimony from some of the youth sheds light on the main challenges they experience as they struggle to rebuild their lives. More»

New York Acquisition Fund: New York, NY - 2008 Innovations Winner

This three-part case study presents the initial problem, the thinking, the politics, and the design negotiations that produced New York City’s “NYC Acquisition Fund” in August 2006. The case concludes with a brief round-up of performance data and commentary from the Fund’s first two and a half years of operation.

The NYC Acquisition Fund was created to deliver loans to small and nonprofit affordable housing developers, allowing them to compete with market-rate developers to buy property in New York City on the open market at a time of rampant speculation, rapidly rising prices, and fierce competition. It represented a groundbreaking effort to use public sector funds and authority, together with foundation capital, to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in loan capital from private lenders. In September 2008, the Fund was named a winner of the annual Innovations in American Government competition, sponsored by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, which declared it a “national model.”

The case is divided in three parts in the interest of maximum teaching flexibility. Teachers may want to assign their students to read one, two, or all three parts, depending on the nature of the class. Although the case includes finance concepts and terms, they are presented clearly and simply for the benefit of lay readers. Part One: Birth & Launch of an Idea, pp 1-16, describes the intellectual and political history of the Fund—how City Housing Commissioner Shaun Donovan came up with the idea, and how he and his allies made it a reality. Part Two: Portrait of the New York City Acquisition Fund LLC, pp 17-26, describes the structure and principles of the Fund and details the six toughest design questions, negotiated among the Fund’s partners over a 14-month period: what kinds of projects would be eligible? how firm a commitment would the City make to funding each project upfront? when and how would loan underwriting be delegated? how, exactly, would risk be allocated among the lenders, foundations, and City? and what loan terms would be available to borrowers? Part Three: Fund Performance, August 2006 to March 2009, pp 27-29, briefly sketches the Fund’s performance in its first two-and-a-half years. The case includes 11 exhibits, pp 30-58. More»

New York Acquisition Fund: New York, NY - 2008 Innovations Winner

This 9-minute video is a companion to "Buying Property in a Hot Market: NYC Creates a Fund to Keep Affordable Housing Developers in Play" (case number 1907.0). In it, Shaun Donovan, the former New York City Housing Commissioner, explains the genesis of the New York City Acquisition Fund, created in 2006 with the goal of delivering timely loans to small and nonprofit affordable housing developers so as to allow them to compete with market-rate developers at a time of rampant speculation, rapidly rising prices and fierce competition in the New York real estate market. The Fund represented a groundbreaking effort to use public sector funds and authority, together with foundation capital, to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in loan capital from banks and private lenders.
In this video, Donovan stresses the importance of correctly assessing the scope of a problem, and designing a solution that is “to scale.” He also notes that the creation of the NYC Acquisition Fund relied in part on a critical philanthropic contribution that funded the research and development stage of the initiative. More»

Info/California: California - 1993 Innovations Winner

The growth of the kind of new interactive technologies promise to make it more convenient and less expensive for government, like private providers of consumer goods and services, to serve its customers-whether they seek a driver's license or unemployment compensation. Incorporating such technologies implies change, however, and, as this case makes clear, requires decisions about when and how automated transactions should be the norm. The story of the Info/California decision focuses on competing visions of a new, interactive system which promises to allow Californians to obtain records, licenses and program information of all sorts. For its champion within state government, it makes most sense for a scarce number of interactive terminals to be placed in public areas-supermarkets, malls and the like. He must, however, face a demand by a state agency that a terminal be used to make up for laid-off employees in a place where the public has been accustomed to going for records and licenses. Developed for the Kennedy School's Program on Strategic Computing, this case allows for discussion of the relationship between mission and technology. More»