Which US government programs are managed well and why?

December 3, 2009 6:26 PM

What are the best well-written and scholarly (read: thoughtful and well-researched, not partisan or propagandistic) books or reports on which US government programs are managed effectively and which poorly, and why?
posted by shivohum to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Hmmmm, this is a very broad question. But I'll go ahead and make two recommendations:

The Last Colonial Massacre by Greg Grandin and The School for the Americas by Leslie Gill. Both address the CIA's missteps in attempting to bring "democracy" to Central and South America.
posted by cachondeo45 at 6:34 PM on December 3, 2009

How about publications and reports from the OMB or the CBO?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:14 PM on December 3, 2009

While Grandin's work is great, I think cachondeo misinterpreted the question, and the OP is looking for info on the efficiency of agencies. 2nd ZenMasterThis. Here are some older GAO evals I found.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:10 PM on December 3, 2009

And here, from the OPM
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:12 PM on December 3, 2009

Page 10 of this PDF for background/search terms. (I'll stop now)
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:18 PM on December 3, 2009

GAO is perfect for this stuff.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:19 AM on December 4, 2009

GAO high-risk list.
posted by massysett at 10:11 AM on December 4, 2009