Management Lab

From September 2008 through June 2010, Pew Center on the States created a Management Lab to actively foster management reform and implement the Pew recommendations from the Grading the States 2008 report. The Management Lab provided states with a range of support including access to best practices to recruit and retain a highly-qualified workforce, improvements in transparency and accountability in budgeting and policy decision-making. The key components of the Management Lab included:

  • Lab States — Over the course of 2010, Pew staff and advisors worked closely with state teams from three states—Georgia, Ohio and West Virginia—that had committed to strengthening service to the public by significantly changing how they do business. The states received a planning stipend and a year's worth of consultation from Pew and access to state-to-state learning opportunities. In addition, participating states are sharing the tools, analyses and other products that emerge from their efforts to benefit other states in their own improvement efforts. The three states worked on the following specific projects:

    • Georgia built a system to analyze spending data for all state agencies, universities and colleges that could save millions. "In the current economic crisis, states have to do more with less," said Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. "This initiative will continue Georgia’s efforts to ensure we are providing maximum value for our citizens." Learn more about the Georgia Spend Management Analytics tool and request a copy of the user's manual.
    • Ohio created new human resources guidelines to ensure that personnel are effectively deployed throughout the state. "This work will help us make the best use of existing state talent to deliver for taxpayers in this tough economy," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.  During this project, the state and its agencies have been evaluating their business needs and aligning the workforce accordingly.  The workforce planning tools are enabling agencies to use their limited resources in areas that are mission critical. 
    • West Virginia will establish a new pilot planning and budgeting system.  "We know we can and must do better to improve our planning and budgeting process," said West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III.  "We are pleased to have this opportunity to save taxpayer dollars while delivering better service to our hard-working West Virginians." 
  • Future States Council — Governors of states that received the highest grades in Pew’s 2008 assessment were invited to participate in a council and identify two senior-level management officials to actively advise and support Pew's work. The governors and state officials supported the other Management Lab components by advising transition teams and supporting the year-long Lab States projects.

 

Promising Practices

manual   The Management Lab Manual highlights promising management practices identified through the Grading the States 2008 analysis.