Why should government agencies conduct quality assessments? The answer is simple: in this era of budget constraints, taxpayer dissatisfaction and "smaller government," today's government agencies must do more with less. The public is demanding it. The Presidents Quality Award Program Self-Assessment Process for Federal, State and Local Government can help you identify areas of waste, cut costs dramatically, and increase efficiency and productivity. Not convinced? Recently, the City of Union, Georgia, used the methodology contained in this workbook to cut costs 15 percent and speed up the budget process from 6 months to 30 days. The methods outlined in The Presidents Quality Award Program Self-Assessment Process for Federal, State and Local Government can also increase your organization's competitiveness, increase your service quality, and most importantly, change people's attitudes about working with government agencies. It's no secret that the vast majority of Americans are currently dissatisfied with the way the government does business. Isn't it time you changed their minds?

Calls for performance measures and metrics sound good, but public sector organizations often lack the tools required to assess the organization as a whole and create true change.In order to implement an integrated cycle of assessment, planning, and improvement, government agencies at all levels need a usable framework for organizational assessment that speaks to their unique needs. Organizational Assessment and Improvement in the Public Sector provides that framework, an understanding of assessment itself, and a methodology for assessment focused on the public sector. The book introduces the concept of organizational assessment, its importance, and its significance in public sector organizations. It addresses the organizational theory that underlies assessment, including change management, organizational and individual learning, and organizational development. Building on this, the author focuses on the processes and demonstrates how the communication that results from an assessment process can create a widely accepted case for change. She presents a model grounded in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program criteria but adapted for the culture of government organizations. She also addresses the criteria that form the basis for assessment and implementation and provides examples and best practices. Facing decreasing budgets and an increasing demand for services, government agencies must increase their capabilities, maximize their available fiscal and human resources, and increase their effectiveness and efficiency. They often operate in an atmosphere that prizes effectiveness but measures it in silos assigned to individual programs and a structure that encourages people to do more with less while systematically discouraging efficiency. Stressing the significant and important differences between a business and a government, this book supplies the knowledge and tools necessary to create a culture of assessment in government organizations at all levels.

Public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels are realizing just how important it is to assess and improve their current performance and to convey information on their achievements and opportunities to staff, leaders, and decision makers as well as externally to constituents. Organizational Assessment and Improvement in the Public Sector Workbook provides public administration practitioners, at all levels of government, with practical advice and tools they can use in planning and conducting an assessment of their organization and creating usable action plans for implementing the results. This workbook addresses how to: Determine whether an organizational assessment would benefit a particular organization Evaluate organizational readiness for assessment, in terms of leadership support, organizational priorities, timing, staff engagement, time and energy, and financial resources Select an assessment tool and method Influence decision makers and identify organizational champions Communicate effectively to internal and external constituents Engage employees in the process The book guides decision making about assessment by creating awareness of the available options and considerations, and by providing a framework for discussions that will determine the right approach for an agency. Each chapter consists of both information and tools, including surveys, exercises, and worksheets which can be used by agencies at all levels to determine whether and how to conduct a meaningful organizational assessment, and how to turn the results of that assessment into organizational improvements. Designed specifically to meet the needs of government organizations, using language and examples that illustrate the challenges and the realities of working in the public sector, this workbook provides the tools to help practitioners "do more with less" and promote a culture of assessment.