Christy Cook, co-host of the Going Zero podcast, is joined by Mike Wrathall, an sustainability strategist who’s helped organizations across sectors, from social housing to defense, navigate complexity and accelerate their impact on the environment. Mike shares his journey from a childhood passion for recycling to leading sustainability and climate strategy efforts at major firms […]
As process improvement consultants, we are used to dealing with profit margins, customer satisfaction, efficiency, yields and cycle times. But what happens when you step into the public sector, where success is measured in policy outcomes, equity, long term impact (years or decades into the future), transparency and compliance? Terra Vanzant Stern’s Government in Motion: […]
Written by Brion
Lean IT in Benin’s public administration reduces dropped calls and increases customer satisfaction
The Agency for Information Services and Systems (Agence des Services et Systèmes d’information – ASSI) is a government agency that has been engaged in the digital transformation of Benin since 2016. What were the problems? They struggled to develop clear objectives, standardize processes, better manage the different types of requests received, and measure the work […]
Written by Brion
An interview with Michael Areola, who is a Product Development consultant and Agile Coach at Cenmic Management in Katy, Texas (near Houston). He uses Agile processes and frameworks to streamline development processes, increase team efficiency, drive collaboration and reduce wasted time. He worked in large organizations like SAP and Bank of America, as well as government agencies […]
Written by Brion
Lean IT experts Steve Bell and Karen Whitley Bell provided some pro-bono work to help the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Grameen Foundation in Uganda scale a successful innovation to other developing countries in Africa. The innovation was called the Community Knowledge Worker Program (CKW), and it involved hiring locals with knowledge of farming and customs, and […]
Written by Brion
Agile methodology is a collaborative process that involves breaking large projects into incremental steps. During each cycle (or “sprint”), the team works toward a specific outcome, gathers feedback from the end-user and incorporates any requested features or changes in the next iteration. While agile might not make sense for every business, several members of Forbes NonProfit Council have […]
Written by Brion
Planners from the City of Madison, Wis., and the Sonoma County (Calif.) Transportation Authority discuss how new planning software solutions developed by UrbanFootprint are helping them better support their communities. Cities are struggling with no shortage of challenges: climate change, resilience planning, transportation gridlock, pollution, lack of resources, affordability gaps, health risks, and social instability […]
Written by Brion
The Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program (VACSP) Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center (the Center) is a federal government organization that supports multicenter clinical trials targeting current health issues for America’s veterans. While the Center focuses its efforts on improving the health of U.S. veterans, it also strives to be a leader and innovator in the […]
Written by Brion