A new approach to government
Holzer's methods tested in towns and countries
Archived article from Feb 8, 2002
By Irene O'Brien
Wanted: Highly skilled, self-motivated individuals who can solve extremely complex problems with minimal resources while reducing costs. Must also be capable of explaining to a broad audience how and why these problems were addressed, and how they can be solved more effectively in the future.
These might well be the requirements for future leaders in government -- on the local, state and national levels. Throughout history, government has worked at solving many of society's most complex problems. At the same time, citizens continue demanding reduced taxes, and now they also expect their local, state and federal governments to be held accountable for performance. So how can these seemingly conflicting goals be accomplished?
According to Marc Holzer, chair of the graduate department of public administration on the Newark campus, government leaders -- both elected and nonelected officials -- must break out of the traditional ways of thinking and take a new approach to the business of government.
"Many of our students work in local, state and national government offices and agencies as well as nonprofit organizations. Our goal is to equip them with the skills they will need to succeed in an increasingly complex environment," he said. In this vein, Holzer and the department are conducting several research projects and innovative curriculum reforms to better educate future leaders.
Center for Public Productivity
One of the most significant changes in the past decade is the requirement for federal agencies to measure their annual performance. The public now expects that state and local governments also will be held accountable for how well they do. In response to this demand, several organizations have turned to the National Center for Public Productivity (NCPP). Based in the public administration department on the Newark campus, the center is working with several governments, including that of Montclair, to help them improve their productivity.
"Montclair and several other cities were looking for effective ways to measure the success of the services they provide, so we developed the Citizen-Driven, Results-Oriented Government Performance project," said Holzer, who is executive director of the center. "The project is based on the concept that citizens have a right to know how well their community provides municipal services and value for their tax dollars."
The project, funded by an $875,000 multiyear grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, began in 1997. The goal was to involve community stakeholders in assessing and improving government performance, and ultimately to influence how government services could be made more responsive to community needs and priorities.
During a weekend retreat, citizens, citizen groups, elected officials and municipal managers envisioned what they wanted Montclair to look like 20 years hence. Through this visioning process they developed a set of "aspirational goals." These goals reflected the ideals that Montclair citizens value, including diversity, an excellent educational system, a safe environment and an affordable, high-quality way of life. Performance indicators were then identified based on these ideals, and a citizen satisfaction survey was designed to gauge public opinion.
According to Holzer, there was a 25 percent return rate for the survey, which serves as a baseline for future evaluations. The responses were positive on most issues concerning public safety, public works, parks/recreation, senior citizen services and the library system. Overall, 63 percent of respondents would recommend Montclair as a place to live and 74 percent rated Montclair as a good to excellent place to raise children. "A critical part of this will be providing continuous feedback so that citizens understand where their tax dollars are being spent," he added.
The information gleaned from the Citizen-Driven, Results-Oriented Government Performance project will be used to create and disseminate curricula for schools of public administration and other organizations that train people for public service careers in city and county governments. An additional $530,310 from the Sloan Foundation is supporting this three-year initiative. "This longsighted approach to teaching measurement for performance will ensure that future public service professionals will be comfortable with the concept, and will know how to effectively incorporate it into their organizations," Holzer said.
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