| Contract Period: 2001 - 2007
For a complete description of the Iowa Transformation Partnership, download the Transforming Iowa booklet.
Summary of Engagement:
PSG and the State of Iowa have formed a partnership like no other. Under a novel and high-risk agreement, PSG is helping Governor Tom Vilsack and his top management team lift the state government into the Post-bureaucratic Era. Everything about the partnership is reinventive. PSG’s CEO, Armi Armajani, has a seat in the governor’s cabinet and a strong voice in every strategic management decision.
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PSG reinvention experts are working hand-in-hand with front-line teams and mid-level managers. The goals of the partnership are sweeping and right on the money:
- customer-driven service
- cost savings at all levels across the enterprise
- rewarding improvement and achievements by state employees
- nurturing an entrepreneurial culture
- shifting decision making away from upper management and toward
- individual work units and governmental partners
And speaking of money, PSG is charging Iowa an unprecedented amount for all this consultation and redesign work: Nothing. That’s right. Quoting from the actual contact language:
“PSG’s direct compensation for the Reinvention Services provided under this Master Agreement will be zero ($0). Reinvention Services are PSG’s investment in creating opportunities for government improvement in Iowa state government. PSG anticipates capturing a return on this investment through Project Services.”
So what’s a “Project Service” and how can PSG capture a return? Let’s say, as a result of our free consulting work, the governor decides to get entrepreneurial and create a new product or service that could generate income for the state treasury -- perhaps a state-wide public employee health insurance pool that could save city and county governments some money and produce a profit for the state. Under the contract, PSG has right of first refusal to help set up and market the new product for a negotiated portion of the new revenue. The same opportunity exists for projects to save money – PSG would work for a negotiated percent of the savings.
“It’s a huge gamble, but Governor Vilsack and his Director of Management, Cindy Eisenhaur, are fabulous partners – both natural reinventors.” says Armi Armajani. “So this should be a great success in all three ways that PSG measures success: revolution, money, and fun.”
Results Achieved:
A few key results are outlined below. Click here to download a more complete list of results achieved thus far, or download the complete Transforming Iowa booklet.
- Created six Charter Agencies that have bureaucracy-busting authority they can use to get better results. Together, Charter Agencies contributed more than $20 million in extra savings and revenues to help balance the 2004 budget. The Charter Agency program was a recipient of the Council of State Governments’ 2004 Innovation Award for a new solution that changed the face of state governments.
- Created a new Department of Administrative Services. The state’s “back office” is saving $12 million a year while continuing to meet the needs of government agencies and of Iowans. Operations and information technology are now managed collaboratively between all state agencies, creating more efficiency and better communications. The department runs like an entrepreneurial business, with flexibility and responsiveness to customers.
- Developed Flexible Performance Agreements between all Iowa State department directors and the Governor. These agreements are updated annually and focus on outcomes and accountability for results.
- Seven teams from Iowa state government participated in a three-part program to dramatically improve results through work process redesign and business process analysis. Teams took part in an intensive process to reduce backlog, turn-around time, errors and job set-up time. The goal of these teams is to produce better results for government’s customers.
Iowa Veteran’s Home: Dropped the incident report turn-around time from 54 days to two days. During the first meeting, the team discovered one signature, not seven is required.
Public Health: redesigned a four-page form into two pages. Created a web-based license renewal system. Reduced turn-around from three weeks to two days.
Human Services: Child Support Services increased the number of cases examined by 60 per week.
Iowa Commission for Civil Rights: Increased the number of investigations completed by over 40%. Closed 60 cases in one month – 18 more than in any month in the past two years.
Iowa Finance Authority: The three-month backlog steadily decreased to now just seven days – with more improvements planned. Processed 65 more certificates each week.
Woodward Residential Facility: Residents now have daily access to account information, versus access only one day per month.
Civil Rights investigators cut complaint-processing time by 50% by closely examining their front-line processes and sharing timesaving ideas throughout the agency.
- Worked with the Department of Management and the Office of the Governor and Lt. Governor to establish the foundation for the Purchasing Results budgeting process that was implemented for the FY06 budget recommendation. This process worked to close an approximate $350 million budget gap.
PSG was Iowa’s Reinvention Partner from 2002 to 2007.
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