Next Event:
September 17, 2008
Leading Large Scale Change Executive Briefing
The Challenge of Large-Scale Development: Managing City/State Mega-Projects
Perhaps not since the time of the “master builder” Robert Moses has the City aspired to and undertaken so many grand plans to shape the built environment of New York City. While the scale of change may be similar to that past era the challenges facing those who lead and manage the complex (Mega) projects, for examples, World Trade Center, Hudson Yards, Howland Hook/New York Container Terminal, are different and greater in many ways. To review the City’s experience in meeting these challenges we will convene several of the key City, State and Multi-State actors in this urban drama to share the lessons they have learned.
The panel will include:
Timothy J. Gilchrist, Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Infrastructure, New York State Office of the Governor
Robert Lieber, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Office of the Mayor
Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Moderator: Robert D. Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association
September 17th, 7:45a.m. – 9:45a.m.
The Woolworth Building
15 Barclay Street, 4th Floor, Room 430
RSVP: wagner.dialogue@nyu.edu
Look for important pre- and post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
Past Events:
May 22, 2008
Leading Large Scale Change Executive Briefing
Doing More With Less: How to Navigate Cutback Management
Finding the resources necessary to support large scale change in government is challenging enough in times of expanding budgets, but managing transformations in periods of budget retrenchment is even more complex. The question is how to do more with less money. Veterans of periods of cutback management in the past will discuss their experiences and give advice on how to maintain momentum.
The panel will include:
John H. Banks, Vice President of Government Relations, Con Edison, former Deputy Director, City Council Finance Division
John J. Doherty, Commissioner, Department of Sanitation
Michael P. Jacobson, Director, Vera Institute of Justice, former Corrections Commissioner and Deputy Budget Director
Jeffrey A. Kay, Director, Mayor’s Office of Operations
Alair Townsend, Columnist, Crain’s New York Business, former Budget Director and Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development
Moderator: Professor Charles M. Brecher, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, NYU
May 22nd, 7:45a.m. – 9:45a.m
The Woolworth Building
15 Barclay Street, 4th Floor, Room 430
RSVP: wagner.dialogue@nyu.edu
Look for important pre- and post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
February 26, 2008
Leading Large Scale Change Executive Briefing
Building What It Takes To Manage Large Scale Change: Leadership Development in City Government
It is impossible to achieve large scale change without the right leadership. This briefing will focus on leadership development in City government. It will look at various programs within New York City and how several agencies are addressing the challenge of leadership development.
Michael J. Farrell, Deputy Commissioner, Strategic Initiatives, New York Police Department
Martha K. Hirst, Commissioner, Department of Citywide Administrative Services
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor, Department of Education
Edward Skyler, Deputy Mayor for Operations, Office of the Mayor
Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner, Department of Small Business Services
Moderator: Dr. Robert J. Thomas, Executive Director of Accenture's Institute for High Performance Business and author of several books on leadership development, including most recently The Talent Powered Organization.
December 5, 2007
Leading Large Scale Change Executive Briefing
The Challenge of City/State Collaboration: Implementing Universal Pre-Kindergarten
The broad topic is City/State collaboration – a vital component in the successful implementation of many City policies and programs. We’ve selected Universal Pre-Kindergarten as an example. One of the few well established facts in education is that early childhood is critical to later learning. Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer have each made Universal Pre-Kindergarten a high priority policy. Since the City is home to such a large portion of the Pre-K population, State success depends on successful implementation of the program in the City.
Pre-school children are the special concern of the City's education and human services agencies and provider nonprofit agencies. The City in turn depends on the State Legislature, the State Education Department, community based agencies, and the support of the City Council to carry out its mission. The focus of our next Executive Briefing will be the management challenges faced in harnessing all these diverse forces to produce successful educational outcomes.
With opening remarks by Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, and Deputy Secretary for Education Manuel Rivera, and closing remarks by Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs the panel included:
Evelyn Castro, Executive Director, Office of Early Childhood Education, Department of Education
Alan Gartner, Chief of Staff, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development
Melanie Hartzog, Deputy Commissioner, Child Care and HeadStart, Administration for Children’s Services
Jennifer Jones-Austin, Family Services Coordinator, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Kristin Proud, Deputy Director for State Operations, New York State Executive Chamber
Moderator: Assistant Professor Christine McWayne, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University
September 18, 2007
Greening the Big Apple: Implementing PlaNYC
Earlier this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC, a comprehensive plan to improve New York City's environment by 2030. Transcending departmental and traditional sector boundaries, this large-scale change program aims to achieve a bold outcome for NYC - a sustainable future. One of many ambitious components, congestion pricing has already received a lot of attention and is on its way toward becoming a reality. Several of the city leaders central to creating and implementing the plan will join us to discuss the challenges they face in collaborating across organizational silos, prioritizing programs in a fluid environment, and measuring success to green New York City.
With an introduction by Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, the panel included:
Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, Department of Parks and Recreation
Emily Lloyd, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner, Department of Transportation
Rohit Aggarwala, Director of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, Office of the Mayor
Shaun Donovan, Commissioner, Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Moderator: Marcia Bystryn, League of Conservation Voters
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
June 6, 2007
Policing A Changed City - A conversation between NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly, CBS News 60 Minutes Correspondent, Lesley Stahl, and you.
The management challenges of policing a changed city include:
- Organizing police to play a leading role on the home front of the fight against terrorism.
- Controlling and reducing crime with declining resources when crime has already been reduced to historically low levels.
- Confronting new technology based crime while also using new technologies in fighting crime and terrorism
- Adapting policing to the always changing demography of the City, and the corresponding issues of police community relations.
Participants in previous briefings identified Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly as the speaker they would most like to hear.
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
March 7, 2007
Leveraging Technology for Advanced Service Delivery Results
From NYC 311 to ACCESS NYC and NYCAPS, customer-focused service delivery models enabled by innovative enterprise technologies are transforming how government agencies connect with citizens, businesses—and with each other. Agencies across the city are moving from siloed systems to integrated technology solutions that are breaking down traditional organizational barriers. The result? Better citizen access to government, cross-agency collaboration and coordinated service delivery, greater accountability for outcomes, and measurable cost and process efficiencies. Our March 7th Executive Briefing will explore the next wave of enterprise technology and the opportunities and challenges involved in making the transition to using enterprise capabilities for enhanced citizen service, satisfaction and high performance.
With an introduction by Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff and closing remarks by Commissioner Paul Cosgrave, Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
Panel:
Robert Doar , Commissioner Human Resources Administration
Martin Horn, Commissioner, Department of Correction
Patricia Lancaster, Commissioner, Department of Buildings
Martha Stark, Commissioner, Department of Finance
Moderator: Dall Forsythe, Professor, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service/NYU, and former New York State Budget Director.
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
December 12, 2006
Managing Poverty Reduction in NYC: Using Multi-Agency Measures to Track and Manage Poverty Reduction Initiatives
This past summer the Mayor’s Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO) report emphasized that any effort to successfully tackle poverty must include a comprehensive management strategy that uses multi-agency measures to track and manage poverty. It is evident that it is not possible for one agency alone to tackle poverty, but rather it is the responsibility of a wide range of agencies requiring the leadership of a wide range of city agencies, some obvious and some not so obvious. This next briefing will explore the strategies for and challenges of coordinating a management approach for measuring, monitoring and managing the City’s anti-poverty agenda.
The panel opened with remarks by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and closed with remarks by Linda Gibbs, Deputy Mayor, and Health and Human Services.
Moderator: Lawrence Aber, Professor New York University, and Member, and Co-Chair, Data and Evaluation Sub-Group, Commission on Economic Opportunity.
Discussants:
Thomas Frieden, Commissioner Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Jonathan Mintz, Commissioner, Department of Consumer Affairs
Jeanne B. Mullgrav, Commissioner, Department of Youth and Community Development
Martha E. Stark, Commissioner, Department of Finance
Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner, Department of Small Business Services
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
October 24, 2006
Weathering the Storm: Planning for and Managing a Crisis in NYC
Hurricane Katrina reminded this country of the destructive potential and unpredictability of nature. It caused government agencies across the map to reassess their ability to react to natural disasters. Without advance notice of when and where a disaster may strike, however, this is a daunting task. Effective planning is the foundation of success in any large scale operation, but it poses unique challenges when the timing, scope and even likelihood of an event are uncertain. Using the sheltering strategy of the City of New York’s Coastal Storm Plan as an example, this session focused on how to plan for the unexpected, while balancing competing resources and bottom lines across multiple agencies.
Moderator: Peter Madonia, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and current Chief Operating Officer at the Rockefeller Foundation.
Discussants:
Joseph Bruno, Commissioner, Department of Emergency Management
Edward Skyler, Deputy Mayor for Administration, Office of the Mayor
Kathleen Grimm, Deputy Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Department of Education
Robert Hess, Commissioner, Department of Homeless Services
Theresa Bischoff, CEO of the American Red Cross in Greater New York
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
June 22 , 2006
Solving the Talent Challenge: Brain Drain or Magnet for Excellence?
Over the next five to ten years, it is estimated that as many as sixty percent of government workers will be retiring from the workforce. This will result in a major exodus of talent and experience, complicating the on-going challenge of government competing with other sectors, both private and nonprofit, to recruit and retain talent. Further complicating this long-term challenge is concern about a possible second term impact on staff commitment. An additional challenge in sustaining a workforce is assuring that staff skills keep up with the changing nature of jobs, as technology and other factors influence job design.
These issues require both short-term responses and long-term strategies. This briefing looked at specific approaches to grappling with this looming predicament by taking a close look at successful tactics and programs, with an eye towards the future and further opportunities.
Moderator: Barbara Gunn, Senior Vice President for Operations and Government Relations at the American Museum of Natural History, and former Director of Operations for the Mayor’s Office, and First Deputy Commissioner, Department of Transportation, and Deputy Commissioner, Department of Parks and Recreation.
Discussants:
Dr. Elizabeth Arons, Chief Executive of the Division of Human Resources, New York City Department of Education
Peter Cannito, President, MTA Metro-North Rail Road
Peter Goldmark, Program Director, Climate and Air, Environmental Defense Fund, and former Executive Director of the Port Authority, New York State Budget Director, and New York City Assistant Budget Director
Ann Williams-Isom, Deputy Commissioner and Special Counsel to the Commissioner, New York City Administration for Children’s Services
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
March 28 , 2006
Working Together: A Close-in Look at Inter-Agency Collaboration
Large scale change initiatives often require effective inter-agency collaboration. The next Leading Large Scale Change Executive Briefing session will focus on the major leadership challenges of inter-agency collaboration. We look in depth at two case studies of inter-agency collaboration: the homeless housing working group and the solid waste management program working group. Both are comprised of a wide range of agencies all of which have come together in intense collaboration with an approach and focus on holistic problem solving.
Moderator: Gordon Campbell, CEO Safe Horizon, former Commissioner, Department of Homeless Services, and Chief of Staff to the First Deputy Mayor
Discussants:
John Doherty, Commissioner, Department of Sanitation
Kate Ascher, Executive Vice President, Economic Development Corporation
Susan Kath, Environmental Law, Chief, Law Department
Haeda Mihaltses, Director, Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Maryanne Schretzman, Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Planning, Department of Homeless Services
Peter Cantillo, Assistant Deputy General Manager of Operations for Support Services, N.Y.C. Housing Authority
Harold Shultz, Special Counsel, Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Patricia M. Smith, First Deputy Commissioner, Human Resources Administration
December 6, 2005
Second Terms: Leveraging Victory
Second terms offer great opportunities and unique challenges. A second term is a renewed mandate with institutional knowledge already secured. Steep learning curves of a first term, especially for those new to city government, are no longer a barrier. Established relationships with internal contacts and external stakeholders serve as a strong base on which to solidify projects. And with acquired and earned credibility, an administration has the leeway to move on to even more challenging and ambitious initiatives.
Moderator: Linda Gibbs, Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services
Discussants:
Stanley Brezenoff, CEO and President Continuum Health Partners Inc., First Deputy Mayor in the Koch Administration, former President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, and former Administrator of the New York City Human Resources Administration
Michele Cahill, Senior Counselor to the Chancellor for Education Policy, New York City Department of Education
Shaun Donovan, Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
October 19, 2005
Leading Without a Mandate: Strategies for Building Momentum
How can large scale change occur when no single organization owns the proposed solution and when the interested institutions are in the public, nonprofit and corporate sectors? How does one mobilize interested parties and build momentum for change? What are the strategies for "jump-starting" large-scale change when responsibility and accountability is diffused across multiple levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors?
Discussants:
Farzad Mostashari, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Epidemiology Services and Chair of the Primary Care Information Task Force, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Dennis Whalen, Executive Deputy Commission, New York State Department of Health
Pamela S. Brier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Maimonides Medical Center
Rachel Block, Project Director, Quality Strategies Initiative, United Hospital Fund
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.
May 18, 2005
Managing in a Fishbowl: The Press as Stakeholder
The press is an unpredictable stakeholder. How should public officials leading large scale change include the press in their strategy for stakeholder management? Is it possible to develop a strategy that leads to positive media interest? And how can such a strategy help you react to unexpected coverage – either when the press breaks news of your initiative before you're ready or covers other agency news that diverts attention from your goal. How does knowing that any initiative may be exposed to public scrutiny at any time affect how you manage large scale change?
Moderator:
Colleen Roche, Principal, Managing Director at Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, Inc
Discussants:
James Anderson, Associate Commissioner, Dept. of Homeless Services
Douglas Apple, General Manager, New York City Housing Authority
Joseph Calderone, Dir. of Communications, Office of Public Relations, for John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Sandra Mullin, Associate Commissioner, Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents .
March 31, 2005
Defining Success: Peril or Power
Leaders often consider the role of outcomes primarily as an evaluative tool for understanding organizational impact. Measured outcomes can be forceful agents for change, clarifying organizational mission and garnering stakeholder support. Lessons learned in the process can affect both enterprise wide and individual level initiatives. On the other hand, defining outcomes aligned with agency goals is a difficult task. Public organizations often are charged to produce results using imperfect technologies in complex and dynamic environments, where success is far from guaranteed.
Moderator:
Diana Fortuna, President, Citizens Budget Commission
Discussants:
Alan Aviles, Acting President, Health and Hospitals Corporation
Shaun Donovan, Commissioner, Housing Preservation and Development
Nicholas Scoppetta, Commissioner, Fire Department
Iris Weinshall, Commissioner, Department of Transportation
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents .
December 9, 2004
Capstone Briefing: A Case Study - Prisoner Reentry in New York City
The final executive briefing of 2004 examined efforts to facilitate effective prisoner reentry. Several of the key stakeholders involved – from senior city officials to prison wardens, to nonprofit executives discussed, in the context of this case, the key principles and ideas explored throughout the series, including:
• strategic challenges in defining the scope and pace of change
• approaches to managing cross agency collaboration
• internal and external stakeholder roles in leveraging buy-in and
building innovation
• crisis as a catalyst to innovation
• challenges to sustaining innovation and maintaining accountability
• organizational culture and processes as vehicles for reinforcing
innovation
Moderator:
Arthur Miller, Harvard Law School Professor
Discussants:
Linda Gibbs, Commissioner, Department of Homeless Services
Martin Horn, Commissioner of Correction
John Feinblatt, Criminal Justice Coordinator, Office of the Mayor
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents .
September 22, 2004
Introducing Innovation: Sources of New Thinking
How can we best bring new thinking to old problems? How can we learn to reframe challenges so we see more possibilities? What are the advantages of relying on outside "panels" or "task forces"? What are the trade-offs that are implicit in these choices about where we turn for new ideas? These questions and others like them will be explored at this breakfast.
Moderator:
Diana Fortuna, President, Citizens Budget Commission
Discussants:
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor, Department of Education
Katherine N. Lapp, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Thomas R. Frieden MD, MPH, Commissioner, Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene
Gino P. Menchini, Commissioner, Dept. of Information Technology and Telecommunications
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents .
June 8, 2004
Managing Stakeholders and Allies: Balancing Collaboration and Autonomy While Maintaining the Pace of Change
Complex change initiatives require effective partnerships across multiple agencies, sometimes at different levels of government or across non-profits and private sector organizations. Such partnerships can add complications while they increase the scope of what is possible. This breakfast explored successful strategies for enrolling agencies and other stakeholders in designing and managing new initiatives and for addressing resistance to collaboration. It also looked at the role that data and outcome management can play in facilitating collaborative efforts.
Moderator:
Carl Weisbrod, President, Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.
Discussants:
Marc V. Shaw, Deputy Mayor for Operations
Michael J. Farrell, Deputy Commissioner, New York Police Department
Christopher O. Ward, Commissioner, Dept. of Environmental Protection
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents .
April 20, 2004
Defining the Pace of Change: How Much/How Fast?
Large Scale change initiatives are often spurred by public controversy over services that are perceived to be failing - concern over a dramatic increase in cases of resistant tuberculosis or long and cumbersome lines for drivers licenses, for example. They may also be driven by sweeping regulatory changes, such as the reform of the Welfare system. Sometimes they are triggered by the capability of new technologies. In many of these cases the public definition of the problem may be either significantly ambitious or, in some instances, too narrowly defined.
A critical set of decisions that can set the stage for the success of a new large scale change effort concern what the scope of the undertaking should be, and how rapidly it needs to be achieved. This breakfast explored the central tactical, strategic, and managerial questions that were considered in specific examples from public sector change efforts to shed light on this important question.
Moderator:
Deborah Wright, President and CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank
Discussants:
Peter J. Madonia, Chief of Staff to the Mayor
Linda Gibbs, Commissioner, Department of Homeless Services
Patricia J. Lancaster, Commissioner, Department of Buildings
Look for important post-event materials in Briefing Documents.