Project Management Principles for Use in the Public Sector: Tools for the Everyday Project Manager

As demand for government services becomes greater and more complex and the nature of work
continues to change, there is increasing interest in project management. In many public organizations, however, the term “project management” evokes images of highly specialized private
sector project professionals working in project-based industries such as engineering, power,
pharmaceuticals, and tech companies. Project management also has modern roots in government. In the 1950s, the Navy used project management methods in its Polaris project. During
the 1960s and 1970s, the Department of Defense and NASA—not just large engineering and
construction companies—employed project management philosophies and tools to direct largescale, schedule-driven projects.1
What does a project manager do, exactly, and who could benefit from sound project management principles? The purpose of this bulletin is to briefly answer those questions, to define the
concept of project management, and to highlight key principles and universal lessons anyone in
charge of managing a project in the public sector can draw from to run successful projects.

Cite as:

Jacobson W. S. “Project Management Principles for Use in the Public Sector: Tools for the Everyday Project Manager”

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Preparing for Tomorrow: A Case Study of Workforce Planning in North Carolina Municipal Governments

Local governments are poised for a workforce crisis. Many will be faced with the impact of a mass exodus of baby boomers from their ranks at the same time the skills and knowledge required to continue to provide quality services increases. Governments will compete with private and non-profit organizations, as well as with each other, for talented workers. However, this crisis is likely to be felt by governments first because of their older employee base and high demand for knowledge workers. Individuals with needed skills and knowledge will become harder to recruit and retain, especially if governments are not clear about the skills they seek. Workforce planning can help governments act and perform strategically in the face of increasingly complex governmental demands made even more challenging by this impending human capital crisis. The 2002 International Personnel Management Association report, Workforce Planning Resource Guide for Public Sector Human Resource Professionals, found that “Workforce planning is the most critical human resource management challenge in the public sector today.” This paper examines the state of workforce planning in North Carolina municipalities. Survey data from medium and large size municipalities in North Carolina with populations over 15,000 is analyzed to determine the current state of their workforce planning efforts. An overview of current practices, identified needs, pressing concerns, and primary barriers to implementation and success are presented.

Cited as:

Jacobson, W. S. (2010). Preparing for Tomorrow: A Case Study of Workforce Planning in North Carolina Municipal Governments. Public Personnel Management, 39(4), 353–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102601003900404

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Creating a Motivated Workforce: How Organizations Can Enhance and Develop Public Service Motivation (PSM)

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To Post or Not to Post: Employee Rights and Social Media

In line with the theme of this year’s APSA conference, this paper examines issues of
public employee rights as they relate to social media policies. This paper employs an
interdisciplinary approach to examine the issue of employee rights in relationship to social media
actions both on and off the job. The proliferation of the use and forms of social media in the last
five years has been extensive. Significant efforts are being made to capture the power of this
medium as a resource for government while at the same time governments are struggling to
create appropriate, legal, and meaningful policies related to employee usage and behavior.
Stories abound of public employees’ misuse of social media both at and away from work.
Misconduct has led to not just disciplinary action but substantial media attention. Issues of First
and Fourth Amendment rights, human resource policies, and technology policies are all critical
to this topic.

This paper reviews social media policies for public employees with attention to the
employees’ rights. Content analysis of state government policies provide an overview of the
current state of practice and highlight issues of public employee rights. The paper includes a
discussion of key issues of employee rights, recommendations for practice, and future research
needs.

Cited as: 

Jacobson, Willow S. and Tufts, Shannon H.“To Post or Not to Post: Employee Rights and Social Media,” Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol.33, No. 1. 84-107.

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Municipal Human Resource Management: Challenges and Innovative Practices in Turbulent Times

Municipal governments experienced many challenges brought on by the great recession of the late 2000s. Drawing on data from human resource directors in Colorado and North Carolina municipalities, this article examines the real-world implications of the economic recession on human resource management (HRM) practices, including the workforce-related challenges municipal governments face in a difficult economic climate and what HRM innovations were developed to respond. For challenges, funding was consistently the top response as well as recruiting and maintaining a motivated workforce. The bulk of the innovations were internally focused and reactionary in terms of responding to an immediate or current condition. Implications for practice are provided.

Cited as:

Jacobson, W. S., & Sowa, J. E. (2016). Municipal Human Resource Management: Challenges and Innovative Practices in Turbulent Times. State and Local Government Review, 48(2), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X16658696

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Chapel Hill 2020: An Assessment of Public Participation — Analysis and Recommendations for Near- and Longer-term Public Involvement

In 2011-12, the Town of Chapel Hill tried something big: using the goal of updating the town’s
comprehensive plan to experiment with a wide range of public information and engagement
methods. The goal was “to touch 10,000 people” in this community of about 55,000 permanent
residents.
In order to learn from the Chapel Hill 2020 (CH2020) initiative, selected public participation and
staff roles are evaluated. This formative evaluation provides:
a) Summary feedback from key participants and stakeholders
b) Recommendations for concerned residents, civic leaders, and town government elected
officials and staff on near-term and longer-term public involvement strategy and tools.

Cite as:

Chapel Hill 2020: An Assessment of Public Participation — Analysis and Recommendations for Near- and Longer-term Public Involvement. http://www.townofchapelhill.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=15998 ,  Pages: 62 

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Learning from Your Neighbor: The Value of Public Participation Evaluation For Public Policy Dispute Resolution

Public policy dispute resolution [PPDR] and public participation [PP] are closely related fields of
practice. Despite many similarities, we identify gaps in most evaluation studies conducted in the two
fields. Evaluators of PPDR can better draw upon PP evaluations.

The values, concepts, objectives, and practices of PP and PPDR are compared for similarities and
differences. Focusing on the last 15 years, PPDR and PP evaluation literature is analyzed, with attention
to four PP evaluation studies of special relevance to PPDR. Five ways that PPDR evaluation can be
improved by drawing on PP evaluation studies are identified. Two promising works that begin to bridge
the PPDR-PP evaluation gap are summarized.

Cite as:

John B. Stephens and Berner, M. (2011). “Learning from Your Neighbor: The Value of Public Participation Evaluation for Public Policy Dispute Resolution,” Journal of Public Deliberation. 22 pages.

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Strategic Planning: What Difference Does It Make? A Snapshot of Experience in North Carolina

This bulletin reports findings of a 2017 School of Government survey of all municipal
and county managers and elected officials in North Carolina to discern their views on the
importance of strategic planning and to determine what difference, if any, it has made in their
roles and relationships. Also included are quotes by local officials who agreed to follow-up
interviews.

Cite as:

Altman, L., Curry H., Stenberg, C.”Strategic Planning: What Difference Does It Make? A Snapshot of Experience in North Carolina.”

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Creating Their Own Futures: Community Visioning and North Carolina Local Governments

This article addresses how elected and appointed local government leaders can help develop an authentic and comprehensive community vision to steer their communities during times of upheaval or relative calm. We discuss community visioning and strategic planning as tools that help communities understand current realities and trends, articulate desired conditions for the future, and develop and implement strategies for achieving those conditions. We begin by defining “community visioning,” its relationship to strategic planning, and the place of these ideas in a broader stream of collaborative governance concepts. Then, drawing on the experiences of three North Carolina communities, we outline general principles of successful community change, highlighting how they specifically relate to community visioning and strategic planning. Finally, we suggest some issues for local government leaders to bear in mind as they consider how their community might benefit from visioning.

Cite as:

Altman, L., S. More, R. “Creating Their Own Futures: Community Visioning and North Carolina Local Governments.”

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Hiring a Director for a Nonprofit Agency: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hiring an executive director is one of the most important actions that the governing board of a nonprofit
agency takes. The board depends on its director for day-to-day operation to achieve the agency’s purposes and objectives within the constraints of its budget—not an easy task to accomplish year in and year out. Also, the working relationship between the director and the board, the staff, volunteers, clients, funding organizations, and other service agencies can significantly influence the agency’s effectiveness and reputation in the community. This article suggests a process designed to help ensure that, in selecting its next director, a board will meet its own needs and those of its constituencies. We have used and refined the process over more than ten years of assisting local elected and appointed government and nonprofit boards. It should be equally applicable whether a board is hiring its first director or it is replacing one who has resigned or been fired. If a clearly agreed on successor already is working for the organization, the board might want to proceed directly to negotiations with and appointment of him or her. However, even in such a case, the board may want to use part or all of the process that we suggest in order to be certain that it has given this important choice the most careful deliberation. To illuminate our description of the process with real examples, we include materials used in the Orange County Rape Crisis Center’s recruitment of a new director in 1999. Whether the board conducts the hiring process itself or secures outside assistance, it might use the steps described in
this article as a framework for planning and arranging its search and as a checklist for ensuring that it has completed all
the essential tasks.

Cite as:

“Hiring a Director for a Small Community-Based Nonprofit Agency: A Step-by-Step Guide,” by Margaret F. Henderson and Kurt Jenne, Summer 2000, Popular Government.

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