Selective Service System: Implementation of Agile Government (In Progress)

SSS

BACKGROUND

When the Grand Challenges in Public Administration were announced in November 2019, the Academy established the Agile Government Center (AGC) in partnership with the IBM Center for the Business of Government. Agile government applies the lessons of agile software development to how public organizations are managed. The AGC’s purpose is to serve as the hub of a network that brings together governments, nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions, and private sector partners to assist in developing and disseminating agile government principles and case studies of agile policies and programs. Since the AGC’s establishment, it has produced significant thought leadership, including reports on how to build a more agile federal government and how regulatory agencies can become more agile. The Selective Service System (SSS) has now engaged the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to help support its strategic transformation and agile journey. If authorized by the President and Congress, SSS would rapidly provide personnel to the Department of Defense and provide an Alternative Service Program for conscientious objectors.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

To ensure the success of its national security mission, the Selective Service System has been undertaking a strategic modernization and transformation process. Current issues include how to institutionalize new processes, how to adapt to changes in the external environment, how to improve the customer experience and journey, how to automate and increase user-friendliness, and how to strengthen internal communication practices. The Academy will assist by:

• Assessing SSS’s current agile management practices

• Identifying additional opportunities for agile management

• Developing an agile action plan for its use in the ongoing transformation

Study Fellows