Public Sector

Defense outlook 2015: A global survey of defense-industry executives

April 2013—Today's leading defense executives offer their insights.more

Managing a downturn: How the US defense industry can learn from its past

April 2013—Companies that assertively managed their portfolio thrived in the last budget downturn. The same strategy will work again today, but companies must be mindful of the new context.more

Preserving combat power when defense budgets are falling

April 2013—Defense ministries can cope with austerity. Here's how.more

Risk-based resource allocation

Government is increasingly called on to protect the public from harm and to shield society and the economy from volatility, but to do so as efficiently as possible. Adopting good practices in risk-based resource allocation is a powerful way for regulators and enforcement agencies to meet their missions efficiently and effectively.

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Education to employment

Young people can’t find jobs. Yet employers can’t find people with the right entry-level skills. How to close this gap?

• Read more on the McKinsey on Society site

Delivery 2.0: The new challenge for governments

Governments globally are under pressure to deliver better outcomes for citizens, faster, and with less money. Drawing on case examples from around the world, this article shows how well designed and executed delivery programs can meet the challenge and identifies seven best practices.

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Unleashing government’s ‘innovation mojo’: An interview with the US chief technology officer

June 2012—Todd Park explains how he has partnered technology with open-data initiatives to tap into the many talented innovators and entrepreneurs across the government.more

Mission-driven mobility

A new report from McKinsey and the Partnership for Public Service examines mobility within the US federal government's Senior Executive Service. 

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Innovation in government: Indonesia and Colombia

February 2012—To become more responsive and effective, governments are experimenting with the way they monitor services (Indonesia) and work with the private sector to expand the economy (Colombia).more

Strengthening risk management in the US Public Sector

Discusses the barriers to risk management in the US public sector and presents five recommendations to help government institutions overcome those barriers and strengthen their risk management to better prevent, detect, and mitigate instances of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.

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McKinsey on Government: Change Under Pressure

All over the world, governments are facing enormous fiscal challenges—and embarking upon a crash program of doing more with less. This edition of McKinsey on Government is about how governments can change under pressure.more

Summit on Public Sector Productivity

Summit held in Washington, DC on March 15, 2011, focusing on two important questions governments around the world face. more

Making it work in government: Perspectives on transforming performance in the public sector

This report, developed in collaboration with the Center for American Progress,  highlights our initial findings in three areas that we know to be particularly critical to efficiency and effectiveness: performance management, talent management, and IT.  

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Change under pressure

Insights based on our thinking and that of experts in the field, drawing on real examples from around the world. more

Driving federal performance

The first survey to benchmark public sector management practices relative to the private sector shows federal leaders have the opportunity to prioritize management practices to engage the workforce more fully, strengthen talent management, and improve accountability. 

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The road to improved compliance

What drives performance in tax administrations? In-depth research identifies a set of best practices to help yield higher tax revenues—a total of $86 billion additional dollars for the countries in this study—simply through management and operational changes.

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