Summit Preview: Operations + Management

Why did we choose this topic? Why is it particularly relevant now?

We hope to showcase the breadth of operational excellence that helps deliver better government services, with examples from human resources, finance, and procurement, as well as cross-cutting topics like collaboration, innovation, and community engagement. Governments are often complicated systems with many stakeholders and competing priorities and interests. Navigating the complexities can make it tough to operate effectively, whether that is hiring talent, changing standard business processes, or innovating collaboratively. Understanding the role that management and operations has in effective service delivery is necessary no matter the level of government or program.  

So much of the promise of Human-Centered Government requires governments to work in new ways, by empowering public servants at all levels to take action and evolve their practices for better, more equitable outcomes, rather than sustaining the status quo. Much more important than any single technological product or method is the underlying operational ether that allows government teams to successfully deliver services for the people they serve. 

Can you give an example of a problem that could be solved by considering strategies that will be brought up by this track?

Governments often struggle to procure technology services in modular, agile manners that allow for flexibility, prevent vendor lock-in, and ensure best-of-breed solutions. This is driven by budget cycles that aren’t adaptable to rapidly changing needs and is exacerbated when IT, finance, procurement, and the program act in silos. These silos often lead to suboptimal outcomes that can’t support the implementation of the service to be delivered. Another example is hiring and supporting technology talent from diverse backgrounds while also scaling tech skills within the civil service. Or setting policy with technological implications in mind. All of these and more cross-functional operational and management challenges will be highlighted as part of this track.

What does “building the path forward, together” look like in the context of this track? 

It’s right there in the name, especially the word “together.” Managing and operationalizing effective services requires a level of togetherness across these disciplines that need to be reconnected. We hope this track highlights how different departments can work together to support a government that works for the people, by the people, in the digital age! 

Want to see more of the Operations + Management track? Browse through all our session descriptions here or check out a sample of sessions in this track below:

• What happens when the three-legged stool of product, design, and engineering adds the fourth leg of procurement?
• Attracting and hiring rockstar talent
• Building capacity from within: Inside/outside engineering collaboration to serve 250,000 people

Hear from speakers in government, non-profits, and the private sector, like: 

• Florence Kasule, Director of Procurement, US Digital Service
• Rick Klau, Chief Technology Innovation Officer, State of California
• Megan Seeds, Chief Digital Officer, Hennepin County, Minnesota
• Kisha Bwenge, Senior Community Building Manager, Open Contracting Partnership
• Sarah Nicoll, Co-Founder, CivStart