Steven Kelman

Steve Kelman is the Weatherhead Professor of Public Management at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, with a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University, he is the author of many books and articles on the policymaking process and on improving the management of government organizations. His latest book, Unleashing Change: A Study of Organizational Change in Government, was published in 2005 by the Brookings Institution Press. His other books include a study on how to improve the government computer procurement process, entitled Procurement and Public Management: The Fear of Discretion and the Quality of Government Performance (AEI Press, 1990), and Making Public Policy: A Hopeful View of American Government (Basic Books, 1987). In 1996 he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. In 2001, he received the Herbert Roback Memorial Award, the highest achievement award of the National Contract Management Association. In 2003 he was elected as a Director of The Procurement Roundtable. In 2010 the American Political Science Association awarded him the Gaus Prize, which honors a lifetime of achievement in public administration scholarship. He currently serves as editor of the InternationalPublic Management Journal, and he writes a regular column for Federal Computer Week and a blog, The Lectern,at FCW.com.

From 1993 through 1997, Dr. Kelman served as Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. During his tenure as Administrator, he played a lead role in the Administration's reinventing government effort. He led Administration efforts in support of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1995.

Selected Publications

Friedman, John N., and Steven Kelman. "Effort as Investment: Analyzing the Response to Incentives." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP07-024, May 2007.

Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles

• Kelman, Steven, and Jeff Meyers. "Successfully Achieving Ambitious Goals in Government: An Empirical Analysis." American Review of Public Administration 41.3 (March 2011): 235-262.
• Kelman, Steven, and John N. Friedman. "Performance Improvement and Performance Dysfunction: An Empirical Examination of Distortionary Impacts of the Emergency Room Wait-Time Target in the English National Health Service." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19.4 (October 2009): 917-947.
• Kelman, Steven. "Improving Service Delivery Performance in the United Kingdom: Organization Theory Perspectives on Central Intervention Strategies." Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 8.4 (December 2006): 393-419.
• Kelman, Steven. "Downsizing, Competition, and Organizational Change In Government: Is Necessity the Mother of Invention?" Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 25.4 (Fall 2006).
• Kelman, Steven. "Public Management Needs Help!" Academy of Management Journal 48.6 (December 2005): 967-969.
• Kelman, Steven. "Remaking Federal Procurement." Public Contracts Law Journal (Summer 2002).

Books

Kelman, Steven. Unleashing Change: A Study of Organizational Renewal in Government. Brookings Institution, 2005.

Book Chapters

• Kelman, Steven. "Achieving Contracting Goals and Recognizing Public Law Concerns: A Contracting Management Perspective." Government by Contract : Outsourcing and American Democracy. Ed. Jody Freeman and Martha Minow. Harvard University Press, 2009, 153-191.
• Kelman, Steven. "The 'Kennedy School School' of Research on Innovation in Government." Innovations in Government: Research, Recognition, and Replication. Ed. Sandford Borins. Brookings Press and Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2008, 28-52.
• Kelman, Steven. "Public Management and Organization Studies." The Academy of Management Annals: Volume 1. Ed. James P. Walsh and Arthur P. Brief. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
• Kelman, Steven. "Strategic Contracting Management." Market Based Governance: Supply Side, Demand Side, Upside and Downside. Ed. John D. Donahue and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Brookings Institution, 2002.
• Kelman, Steven. "Contracting." The Tools of Government: A Guide to the New Governance. Ed. Lester Salamon. Oxford University Press, 2002.

HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series

• Kelman, Steven, Ron Sanders, Gayatri Pandit, and Sarah Taylor. "Management Matters (For Them): Is There a New Normal for Federal Subcabinet Leaders?" HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-044, September 2014.
• Kelman, Steven, Ronald Sanders, Gayatri Pandit, and Sarah Taylor. "“Tell It Like It Is": Groupthink, Decisiveness, and Decision-Making Among U.S. Federal Subcabinet Executives." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-039, August 2014.
• Kelman, Steven, Ronald Sanders, Gayatri Pandit, and Sarah Taylor. "“I Won’t Back Down?”: Complexity and Courage in U.S. Federal Executive Decision-Making." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-040, August 2014.
• Kelman, Steven, and Sounman Hong. "“Hard,” “Soft,” or “Tough Love”: What Kinds of Organizational Culture Promote Successful Performance in Cross-Organizational Collaborations?" HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP12-005, February 2012.
• Kelman, Steven, Sounman Hong, and Irwin Turbitt. "Are There Managerial Practices Associated with Service Delivery Collaboration Success?: Evidence from British Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP11-011, February 2011.

Outside Professional Activities

Transparent Engagement

Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School.

Outside Professional Activities For Steven Kelman

FedBid; For-profit, online marketplace optimizing the way governments, businesses and educational institutions buy goods and services, Board of Advisors, 2009 - current, Paid.

GTSI Corp.; For-profit, Information Technology systems integration, solutions and services provider to government, Board of Directors, 2000-2012; Paid.

LMI; Private, not-for-profit corporation that provides management consulting, research, and analysis to governments and other nonprofit organizations; Board of Directors, 2009 – current; Paid.

Accenture; Publicly traded, for-profit management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company; Consultant; 1999 – current; Paid.

Compusearch; For-profit provider of enterprise software and services that automate mandated business rules for organizations involved with public sector contracts and grants; Advisor (with significant financial interest, i.e.., investments exceeding the HKS minimum reporting threshold); 2005 – current; Paid.

Booz Allen Hamilton, For-profit provider of management and technology consulting services to the US government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets; Research Partner; 2012 – current; Paid.