Growing Good in Government Initiative - A Recap from the University of Maryland Project Management Symposium

The government’s ability to deliver value to its citizens is critically dependent on the holistic integration and alignment of its policies, goals, and objectives to its portfolios, programs, and projects. However, in its current state, there appears to be a pervasive misalignment and lack of coordination of roles and responsibilities across the Federal Performance Framework. The implementation of crucial legislations such as Evidence Act, FITARA, PMIAA, and Data Act, appears to be often executed in isolation, leading to redundancy, inefficiency, and the underutilization of resources. Moreover, the absence of a consolidated approach to program and project management, data and analytics, and limited access to critical knowledge and expertise within the organization, appears to further exacerbate the issues.

Over time, lack of coordination has led to a degradation of internal capabilities and appears to have fostered a pervasive culture of reliance on contractor support to manage many aspects of programs and projects. This has resulted in an erosion of institutional knowledge and the ability to execute core functions, often inherently governmental work, independently.

The absence of a holistic understanding of the inventory of benefits we are required to deliver as well as the requirements (capabilities) needed to deliver them leads to increased siloed development of solutions. Without clear metrics and accountability for measuring the actual benefits delivered through various initiatives, these initiatives risk becoming self-serving, rather than being focused on tangible outcomes for the citizens.

The combination of these factors has led to a sub-optimal environment where the government struggles to keep pace with the evolving demands and expectations of the public. This disjointed approach has far-reaching consequences, including reduced public trust in government, failure to effectively address emerging challenges, and missed opportunities for innovation and improvement.

The G3I seeks to address these multifaceted problems by instituting a coherent and integrated approach that unifies and optimizes the various elements of government operations to ensure that they collectively contribute to delivering sustainable benefits to the American public. Through G3I, the goal is to reinvigorate our organization’s ability to collaborate in fulfilling its mandate in the most impactful and enduring way possible.