Archive
National Partnership for Reinventing Government
An Information Sheet for Federal Communicators,Managers, Workers, and Their Partners--Pass It On
BELOW:
* SENATE AWARD GOES TO NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
* INNOVATIONS AWARD CEREMONY ON SATELLITE
* HEARINGS ON CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
* REINVENTION LAB CONFERENCE IN MARCH
In a ceremony on October 17, Senators Barbara A. Milkulski and Paul S. Sarbanes presented the U.S.
Senate Productivity Award for Maryland to the National Security Agency's Installation and
Logistics Organization. The award was accepted by Chief Chuck Faughnan. Criteria are similar to the
Baldrige National Quality Award. Impact on state and local community is also a judging factor.
The Installation and Logistics Organization supports NSA in a variety of service areas. Among
the award-worthy accomplishments were: recovering precious metals from used micro-chips,
resulting in $2million returned to the U.S. Treasury; transferring excess computers to local schools;
and recycling 65 tons of newspapers, 6 tons of aluminum and 198 tons of cardboard. For more
information, contact NSA Public Affairs at (301) 688-6524.
End story.
IT'S AWARD TIME!
The wait is almost over for the ten federal programs that are among thirty finalists for the prestigious
1995 Innovations in American Government Awards sponsored by the Ford Foundation and the Harvard
University John F. Kennedy School of Government. On Thursday night, October 26, Vice President Gore is
scheduled to present awards to the winners at a ceremony in Washington, DC.
Delayed Satellite Broadcast of Awards Ceremony Will Be Available
The NPR has arranged a free delayed satellite feed of the awards ceremony from 2:30 PM to 4 PM ET,
Friday, Oct. 27. For information, call Michael Messinger, (202) 632-0150, ext. 152.
KU-BAND: G-Star 1, transponder/channel 3, Orbital location 103 degrees West, Downlink frequency
11852.0 Mhz, Horizontal polarity, Audio 6.2 and 6.8.
C-BAND: Galaxy 7, transponder/channel 21, Orbital location 91 degrees West, Downlink frequency
4120 MHz, Horizontal polarity, Audio 6.2 and 6.8.
Federal finalists are:
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration's "Maine 200" program
* Veterans Affairs' Re-engineering Ambulatory Care Program in Northport, New York
* Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Early Warning Program
* Navy's Multimedia Medical Language Translator
* Defense Personnel Support Center in Philadelphia Establishment Survey Data Collection Program
A reminder...nominations for the 1996 Innovations in American Government award are due
by Jan. 10, 1996. For information call (617) 495-0558.
End story.
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
HEARINGS
The House Subcommittee on Civil Service held the first two in a series of hearings on civil service
reform on October 12 and 13. Representatives from government, federal employee unions, managerial
associations, veterans associations, academia, and other policy experts testified.
The witnesses differed on specifics, but all agreed on the need for reform. Dr. Ronald P. Sanders of
Syracuse University may have said it best. He sees the current civil service system as "...bogged down
by the silt and sediment of bureaucratic rules." One of the problems raised repeatedly to the
subcommittee was the difficulty in removing poor performers, particularly the multiple avenues of
appeal. Other concerns were the inflexible "one size fits all" set of rules, a system that is process-
driven where results are a by-product, not a measure of accountability, and rigid pay scales and position
classification standards.
Diverse Solutions Offered
Many diverse solutions were offered, including pay banding, a "block grant" approach, and greater
employee empowerment. John N. Sturdivant, National President of the American Federation of Government
Employees noted, "AFGE has a new vision for federal service that speaks directly to the urgent need for
change. In the new government workplace, we believe that front-line workers must be empowered to
participate meaningfully in workplace decisions, and must be free to do the right thing, rather than
compelled to do the prescribed thing."
Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director John A. Koskinen promised the Administration's civil
service reform bill soon. GAO strongly endorses the concepts behind the bill. (See GAO publication
GAO/T-GGD-96-31.) Congressman John L. Mica, subcommittee chair, said he would hold additional
hearings on the need for civil service reform, and would recall some of the same witnesses to further
explore their views. NPR contact for civil service reform is Mary Ellen Dix, at (202) 632-0150, ext.
131.
END STORY
REINVENTION LABS WILL HOLD CONFERENCE IN MARCH
The National Performance Review will co-sponsor a federal reinvention laboratory conference at the
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on March 25- 27 next year. Other sponsors are
Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Government Executive magazine,
and the Council for Excellence in Government. In addition to the more than 200 current labs, the
target audience is other government innovators, reinvention "wannabes," and government officials in
a position to help remove some of the barriers to innovative, entrepreneurial government.
Vice President Gore has asked cabinet secretaries and heads of independent agencies to support the
conference. "If our labs are to continue to thrive," the Vice President wrote, "they must begin to learn
from each other. Common problems, successful solutions and strategies, and even mistakes can
teach the rest of us how to change government."
For more information, contact Laszlo & Associates, Inc., (202) 393-7022; FAX, (202) 393-7027; or E-mail
to govexec@laxzlo.smart.net or http://www.npr.gov. NPR contacts are Jeffrey Goldstein at (202) 632-
0150, ext.158 and Linda Walker at (404) 331-4762.
____________________________________________________
For more information, contact Pat Wood or Steve Earle, National Performance Review, 750-17th St.,
NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 632-0150; FAX: (202) 632-0390; email: pat.wood@npr.gsa.gov.