Washington finalist for Harvard 'Innovation in Government Award'

For Immediate Release: April 20, 2005

Washington state government�s Priorities of Government (POG) approach to budgeting was named a finalist today in competition for Harvard University�s �Innovations in Government Award.�

Washington�s pioneering budgeting method�which follows a process to prioritize state services within available resources�is among 18 government initiatives from across the nation to emerge as finalists out of an initial field of more than 1,000 applicants. The awards program is in its 18th year.

�I�m very pleased to see that our Priorities of Government method continues to be recognized and honored,� Gov. Christine Gregoire said. �I used the POG process to prepare the budget I proposed, and we continue to refine it to make it even more effective. The process helps us make sometimes difficult choices for the benefit of all our citizens.�

Under POG, the governor appoints a guidance team comprising public- and private-sector executives. The team oversees cross-agency �results-teams� who use various criteria to determine spending priorities and make choices for funding based on what citizens need most. Finally, available resources are allocated and a purchase plan is created across results areas based on value to citizens, not past expenditures.

�Washington is taking a novel approach to management and governance by concentrating on core services and creating a more consistent, transparent process to achieve statewide results and serve citizens� needs,� said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in American Government Awards at Harvard�s Kennedy School of Government.

�The program rejects traditional incremental budgeting and focuses on statewide results and strategies that achieve results in a more effective way,� added Patricia McGinnis, president and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government.

In the last stage of competition for what has been called the �Oscars� of government, each of the 18 finalists will deliver a public presentation before the National Selection Committee at Harvard University on May 11. The committee is chaired by David R. Gergen of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard and includes former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Maria Echaveste and former Congressman William Clinger.

After a full day of presentations, the committee will select five winners of the Innovations in American Government Award. The winners will be announced July 27, 2005, at the 2005 Excellence in Government Conference, in Washington, D.C.