New Weiss report from IBM Center lays out “A Framework for Improving Federal Program Management”

August 7, 2018

“When something goes wrong in a federal program, it makes the news,” says Janet Weiss. Sometimes, that is the only picture that people see of such programs.

That reality and the “crucial stake” that the public, Congress, and executive branch each have in federal program management is part of what she explains motivated Congress to pass the 2016 Program Management Improvement Accountability Act (PMIAA)—a measure to create government-wide and agency-level standards, define key competencies, and conduct progress reviews geared toward improvements.

In a new report released today by the IBM Center for the Business of Government, Weiss offered 11 practical recommendations for how the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and agencies can improve federal program management. A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, she looked to both the program landscape and the charge enumerated in PMIAA, putting forward a framework for developing those standards and competencies. With a number of case examples from federal program managers, the framework is designed to help agencies understand “the full range of skills and experiences needed across the range of program management needs in government.”

Read the full report here.


Janet Weiss is the Mary C. Bromage Collegiate Professor of Business and Public Policy, former dean of U-M's Rackham Graduate School, and founding director of the Nonprofit and Public Management Center. Janet has served as a consultant to local, state, and federal agencies on policy design and evaluation for children, education, mental health, and social services.