Three years ago I wrote a piece for Municipal Magazine called Your IT Problem Is Not an IT Problem. The argument was simple: there's no such thing as an IT problem. IT is a potential solution. When a government buys software to fix something it hasn't bothered to understand first, it usually gets the same problem back, faster and more expensively. I used two examples. One was a clinic that spent months and real money moving to digital x-rays, then discovered the new system c

I don't think there are many problems out there that can't be solved. To me, every challenge is just a puzzle waiting for its pieces to be put together, and that’s the part of my job I love most. I've spent about nine years working my way through operations, client experience, and process improvement roles. I didn't set out with the intention of becoming a data analyst. What happened instead is that I kept ending up in situations where something was more difficult than it nee

And the belief about government that still drives the work After decades inside government, Ryan and Justine had seen what becomes possible when public servants get the space, structure, and support to fix what's broken. That conviction is what became Partners in Public Innovation. PPI's co-founders, Justine Hinderliter and Ryan Hunter, have spent their careers inside and alongside government, working across HR, labor and employment law, process improvement, crisis response,

Getting new ideas to stick in a large organization isn't easy. But sometimes the right framework, introduced at the right moment, can change how an entire team thinks about their work. That's exactly what happened when the City of Ontario's Community Life & Culture department discovered how Lean process improvement methodologies could be used for public sector teams. From Forum to Full Staff Meeting: How Ontario's Community Life & Culture Team Is Bringing Process Improvement

How West St. Paul stopped writing strategic plans and started building a system that actually runs one. Most strategic plans don't fail because they're poorly written. They fail because the operational side of a city runs on an entirely separate track, and nobody ever builds the bridge. The plan lives in a binder or a PDF, the real work lives in everyone's inboxes and department meetings, and by March of year one the document is already gathering dust while decisions get made

​What is a Huddle? You may have heard of it, you may be a huge fan, or a little skeptical. This visual management tool is a 15-minute stand-up meeting (yes, just 15 minutes!) that's used to drive accountability, align daily work with strategic goals, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Huddles provide regular opportunities for a team to check in, share updates, and discuss challenges. Every Huddle is accompanied by a Huddle Board, which is designed to meet the nee

There’s something oddly comforting about walking into a CALPELRA conference ballroom and knowing that almost everyone in the room has likely been through it: the 2 a.m. phone call, the “should we say something?” debate, the department head who’s burying their head in the sand, and the attorney who‘s convinced that silence is mandatory. Public sector HR doesn’t get to control when the next crisis hits, but we do get to decide how prepared we’ll be when it does. This year, I

Why This Project The Credentialed Government Leader (CGL) Program is a s elf-directed career development program offered through a collaboration between MMANC , MMASC , and ICMA . CGL is designed to build the management and leadership skills of analysts, mid-managers, and others preparing for the next step in their public service journey. Through coursework and coaching, the program helps participants develop the foundational tools, experiences, and connections they need to

We just got back from our latest conference in Palm Springs! This was PPI's first time at the Municipal Management Association of Southern California's (MMASC) annual conference, and we're still buzzing from the energy and already looking forward to next year's conference! There was a stacked line up of great speakers and keynotes, but the real value of a conference often shows up in the places that don’t appear on the agenda. Anyone who has been to enough conferences knows t

Camp Gov Life is here! And if we are to lean into the be a kid again theme, then what’s more classic than a lemonade stand? This year, Partners in Public Innovation (PPI) set up a Lemonade Stand - not to sell you sugar water, but to show how you can take the sour lemons of government work and turn them into sweet wins. What Are “Government Lemons”? You know the ones: Hiring that takes forever. Procurement that needs 40 signatures before you can even post an RFP. Permitting w

In early September, I went to Washington, DC for the Abundance Conference. It’s only in its second year, but the rooms were packed with...

The SFUSD Warehouse team moving supplies in preparation for the school year The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Warehouse...

Governments everywhere are being asked to deliver an abundant future: more housing, more childcare, more opportunity. But outdated...

How San Diego employed no-cost changes to reduce time-to-hire Today's post comes from guest writer Darren Keenaghan , Deputy Personnel...

When you can’t get $175M out the door... Last year, Pierce County Human Services (PCHS) faced a growing problem. Contracts were piling...

Ineffective hiring compromises city services In 2022, the City of San Diego faced growing concern about their vacancy rate and time to...

For every three kids there's only one childcare slot A 2022 report revealed that Boise had over 14,000 children under age six with...

By focusing on improving process and leveraging their human capital, Pierce County Human Services has set a plan to drastically improve...

Learning and development (L&D) efforts often begin with the best of intentions—fulfilling staff requests, responding to urgent needs, or...

Honestly, it's the best thing we do. Now you can signup whenever you want, for half the price as before. This could be you! Tl;dr:...