Call for Research Proposals 2015-2016

The IBM Center for The Business of Government connects research to practice, merging real world experience with practical scholarship. The intent is to spark the imagination—crafting new ways of thinking about government by identifying trends, new ideas, and best practices in public management that can help government executives respond more effectively to their mission and management priorities.

More than two years ago, the IBM Center for The Business of Government put forward a research agenda that identified six trends driving change in government:

1. Performance
2. Risk
3. Innovation
4. Mission support
5. Efficiency
6. Leadership

We shaped this agenda by collaborating with government, academic, and nonprofit leaders to identify key areas of need for the public sector to transform. Since launching the six trends agenda, the Center has worked with leading public management researchers, publishing reports outlining practical, actionable recommendations that address many of the pressing challenges government executives face in their efforts to transform government operations and enhance services.

Looking forward, the IBM Center is beginning to assess the next set of research priorities in anticipation of the key management challenges facing the next presidential administration. To that end, we are collaborating with the Partnership for Public Service in the development of a management roadmap intended to help the next administration drive sustained improvement in government’s capacity and effectiveness. Along with the six trends driving change agenda, the Center also seeks proposals for research in areas related to the evolving management roadmap:

• Developing and managing leadership talent in government
• Harnessing innovation to improve outcomes and productivity
• Strengthening decision making processes
• Enhancing government integration to achieve mission outcomes

We encourage you to review our research areas closely in selecting a topic on which to prepare your proposal. We look forward to receiving proposals in response to this research announcement and to continuing our work with the world’s leading researchers. Since the creation of the Center, it has been our goal to document and better understand the transformational activities and initiatives now being undertaken by innovative government leaders across the world. It is an exciting time to witness the continued transformation of government as it becomes more citizen focused, results oriented, performance driven, and collaborative in nature.

We look forward to receiving proposals that continue our partnership with leading public management researchers. Our next deadlines are October 1, 2015 and April 1, 2016.

You can apply online here.