Recently in Public Administration Category

Source: Barry Bozeman, Public Administration Review, Volume 70, Issue 4, July/August 2010
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Does the public administration research from the late 1970s and 1980s on managing decline contain useful lessons for today's Great Recession? Do these studies serve our current research needs? Why has decline continued to be a major focus of research in generic management, but not in public administration? The answers to these questions give some clues as to a possible new, revitalized research agenda for our field. Whereas public administration often viewed organizational decline as a self-contained set of problems requiring remedial action, generic management and sociology research on decline tended to view the topic as part of organizational phases and life cycles, linking decline to growth, stability, and change. Viewing decline as part of the organizational life cycle encourages researchers to take a longer view of organizations and their management, and thus its orientation is more strategic than reactive. Three areas of decline studies are identified as relevant irrespective of sector: (1) implications of decline for human resources management, (2) effects of decline on organization structure and design, (3) the relation of strategy and decline.

Source: Pam Greenberg, State Legislatures, Vol. 36 no. 1, January 2010

The digital age has complicated the definition of what's a public document.

What's public some of the time, private some of the time, and potentially confusing almost all of the time?

If you're a state legislator, it's probably your e-mail.

Source: Lynn Langton and Donald J. Farole, Jr., U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ 228538, November 2009

In 2007 nearly 1,000 public defender offices in 49 states and the District of Columbia provided defense services for indigent clients. (Indigent defense services were provided by private attorneys in Maine.) The public defender offices received nearly 6 million cases in 2007, employed more than 17,000 full-time equivalent litigating attorneys, and reported operating expenditures of more than $2.4 billion.

Highlights:
• In 2007, 964 public defender offices across the nation received nearly 6 million indigent defense cases.
• Misdemeanor cases accounted for about 40% of all cases received by state-based public defender offices and about 50% of the cases received by county-based offices.
• Half of all state-based public defender offices had formal caseload limits in place in 2007.
• Total expenditures in public defender offices exceeded $2.4 billion in 2007.

See also:
DOJ Report on Public Defenders' Caseloads
Source: American Constitution Society blog, December 1, 2009

Source: Philip H. Jos, Mark E. Tompkins, Public Administration Review, Vol. 69 no. 6, November/December 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Notwithstanding the persistence and proliferation of calls to serve "customers," these relationships incorporate distinctively public priorities and performance expectations--priorities and expectations often shaped by a desire to reduce customer vulnerabilities and prevent seller strategies that are deemed unacceptable. The authors examine these distinctively public relationships--between professionals and clients, guardians and wards, facilitators and citizens, and regulators and subjects. By acknowledging that public administration often involves relationships with multiple constituencies and that opportunities to serve them are bounded by particular legal and institutional contexts, this essay provides a pragmatic account of strategic opportunities to defend public service values.

Source: Denise F. Gregory Wyatt, State and Local Government Review, Vol. 41 no. 2, 2009
(subscription required)

The intention behind the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to stimulate the economy by providing states with specific grants. With the grants comes the need to provide a significant amount of oversight and monitor the grant money as part of the act's promise to be transparent and show a high level of accountability. This article reviews some of the challenges that states are encountering in implementing these responsibilities including the need to create Web sites, adjust internal accounting procedures, notify potential grantees, and determine when funding will be released to each state.

Source: National Association of State Procurement Officials, Research Brief, September 2009

Most states' central procurement offices are funded via appropriation, self-funding, or a combination of the two. The 2009 NASPO Survey of State Purchasing Practices indicate that twenty-six (26) of forty-five (45) respondent states have central purchasing functions that are either all or partially self-funded. Some states have begun increasing their use of administrative fees as a method for funding central procurement offices. These fees can be imposed on vendors or on customer agencies depending on the structure of individual states' fee systems, and are collected in a variety of ways.

Source Public Works, 2009

Almost 20% of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be spent on improving the nation's infrastructure.The editors of Public Works have assembled a sector-by-sector guide to how much is available and under what conditions. The site includes: News & updates, Fleet services, Public grounds and facilities, Solid waste, Streets, roads, and bridges, Technology and equipment, Water, wastewater, and stormwater, and Other resources.

Source: Anne Phelan, American City and County, August 1, 2009

When residents call 911 for non-emergency help, it's mostly a minor annoyance, but those types of calls during large disasters can jeopardize rescue efforts. To reduce the crush of calls flooding into 911 systems, some local governments are using their non-emergency 311 service to manage administrative and informational needs so 911 centers can devote their resources to life-threatening situations.

Source: Evelina Moulder, International City/County Management Association, 2009

From the summary:
Philadelphia set a goal to be a national leader in customer service, and recognized that in order to achieve that goal, it would have to do a better job of engaging its citizens. Both Mayor Michael Nutter and Managing Director Camille Barnett, an ICMA member, envisioned a 311 system as an essential component to improving citizen engagement and customer service.

The city launched Philly311 in December 2008, which can be accessed by phone, e-mail, Web, or walk-in. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Customer service representatives are viewed as ambassadors of the city and have a major role in the relationship between the government and its citizens.

Despite its marketing budget being cut two months prior to the launch, Philly311 received 3,576 calls on its first day of operation, according to the new report Philly311: Engaging Citizens, Serving Customers. High-call volume continues with most calls for information (71%), for referrals to a particular department (14%), and service requests (12%). Citizens have been requesting service related to abandoned cars, street light outages, potholes, vacant properties, exterior maintenance, trash pick up, among other issues. Service requests receive a tracking number so that customers can track progress on the 311 Web site.

Source: Zachary Tumin, Better, Faster, Cheaper, Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, August 4, 2009

We caught glimpses of 311's powerful future last year in a Harvard report called "311: The Next Wave." 311 stood at the intersection of individual need, community engagement, and government action. A host of personal digital devices was blazing new trails of connectedness. Networks promised new and more powerful collaboration.

Since our report, a number of new trends have emerged. Pressed for budgets, for example, some jurisdictions are simply rolling back 311 services. But elsewhere cities are smartly holding 311 steady, investing in capabilities which lessen operator workloads. Examples include self-service 311 websites, and "Reverse 311" notifications where a city might make outgoing calls with reminders of on-street parking or sanitation schedules.