Center For American Progress Kicking Off Government Performance Effort

"It appears that government reform is a sexy topic these days," Sarah Rosen Wartell, an executive vice president at the Center for American Progress just joked at a panel I'm attending at the liberal think tank's headquarters in Washington. Her point was that government management and efficiency issues are at the heart of the issues we face today, and for progressive advocacy groups, the public's lack of faith in government presents a significant challenge in their efforts to build support for government's work. For those of us who cover--or work in--the federal management community, that's an obvious point. But it's significant that one of the progressive think tanks is taking this on as a major research area. I'll be curious to see their approach, how they define the problems, and what kinds of partners they seek out. I think it's interesting, for example, that Anna Burger, the chair of the labor federation Change to Win is here, along with Nancy Killefer, Obama's first choice to be his Chief Performance Officer. I wouldn't think of Burger as an obvious expert on the subject--but getting her, and other major political players like her, on board for a focus on management, is a significant step.