The case opens in 2007, when the Washington, D.C. public school system was failing. Parents, politicians, labor unions and activists all agreed that reform was necessary due to abysmal student test scores, attendance records and safety concerns. But stakeholders disagreed sharply on how to achieve their shared goal of providing a good education to the city's children. Reformers wanted to close failing schools, parents wanted to choose where their children attended school, and the teachers' union wanted more compensation for teachers. Michelle Rhee, a former teacher and "outsider," was hired by Mayor Adrian Fenty to institute sweeping and speedy reforms. As Chancellor, Rhee came under fire by teachers and their union, parents and the public for her swift move to close underperforming schools and, controversially, to fire teachers rated as "ineffective" by IMPACT, a value-added evaluation system designed to isolate each teacher's unique contribution to their student's educational achievement based on student test scores. The case discusses the steps Rhee took to reform the D.C. public schools and the support and opposition she encountered along the way, culminating with her November 2010 resignation. HKS Case Number 1957.0.

This case traces the evolution of Taiwan's high-speed railroad from project inception in the late 1980s until its financial problems in 2009 describing the planning efforts, ridership projections, financial plans and cost-benefit analysis involved in the project, as well as the contracting process for the project. This project was one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world and one of the largest infrastructure projects ever built, using a "public-private partnership" (PPP) - a method for infrastructure development where the private sector would build and operate a project for several decades and then transfer ownership to the government. However, in 2009, after only two years of operation, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), the private consortium responsible for building and operating the high-speed rail system, was in deep financial trouble due to low ridership and the worldwide economic crisis. Unable to pay back the principal on its bank loans, the President of THSRC requested a meeting with Taiwan's Minister of Transportation and Communications asking to hand the railroad over to the government to run. THSRC requested that compensation be set by an independent third party, as provided for in the event of a government takeover in the government's original contract with the company. Readers are left with the question of what Taiwan's Minister of Transportation and Communications should do in response to THSRC's request. The case can be used in class discussions on the management of public-private partnerships, government procurement/contracting, and on decision-making. HKS Case Number 1910.0

When, in 1997, the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) decided to consolidate the Human Resources systems used by its three military services (Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force) into a small number of tri-service ones, it saw the challenge as an IT problem that could be solved through an IT solution. The goal was to increase efficiency and cut costs, and both would be achieved - the MOD thought - by streamlining the more than two hundred customized computer applications developed over time by each of the three services to meet their specific needs. The Texas-based Electronic Data Systems corporation (EDS) was hired to implement the project. But the first effort soon collapsed: the MOD had overestimated how much those systems had in common, and how quickly and easily they could be harmonized. This case describes the unusual partnering approach the MOD and EDS developed in order to make their second attempt a successful one. Realizing that what was needed was a business change, as opposed to an IT solution, the MOD revised the contract to better reflect the more fluid and organic process that would be required. There were a number of essential components to that new workflow: the decision to integrate EDS staff into all management meetings in order to develop mutual trust and a common knowledge base; the establishment of a clear division of labor and responsibilities by which MOD would focus on efficiency and EDS on IT, and an agreement to prioritize the schedule and resolve cost overruns after the fact. HKS Case Number 1900.0

This case looks at the adoption by the city of Coventry, UK, of a 1998 law meant to enhance collaboration among public agencies to reduce crime rates. Coventry created a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and hired staff to coordinate activities among the police, local government, public housing, nonprofits, and the business community (plus later, fire and the national health service). The law gave communities little guidance on what anti-crime activities to pursue, or how to coordinate them, yet it proposed to hold partnerships responsible for crime rates. This case traces Coventry's efforts to find mechanisms for implementation, as well as the spillover effects of the law onto other areas of potential cooperation among government bodies. Students will gain an understanding of the challenges at the local level of implementing well-intentioned, but poorly specified, national legal mandates. They will see how an individual leader can make a difference in setting common goals and holding agencies accountability. They will also learn about some innovative collaborative approaches to crime prevention. This case can be used in courses about public management, about leadership, or about policing. HKS Case Number 1831.0

The March 2002 decision by President George W. Bush to impose tariffs on some imported steel capped a long-running campaign by the US steel industry and its unions for assistance in dealing with surges of low-priced imported steel, often said to be sold in the US below its cost of manufacture. The Bush decision came as a surprise to many convinced that a free trade-oriented administration would not adopt measures likely to be viewed as protectionist. This case provides definitive historical context for those seeking to understand the Bush decision. It uses the long-running dispute over whether steps should be taken to limit the quantity of steel imported by the US as a window on the wide range of laws, factors, and players who influence the making of American trade policy. The case traces the steel dispute through the late 20th century, with particular focus on the Clinton administration. It provides a primer on trade laws-particularly the roles of the Commerce Department, which determines whether illegal "dumping" (selling below cost of production or home market price) of imported goods has occurred, and the International Trade Commission, the quasi-judicial federal agency which rules on whether imports have injured a domestic industry. HKS Case Number 1651.0

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the agency charged with investigation of non-criminal complaints of civil rights-related violations in the U.S. workplace, including racial and gender discrimination. This case describes the agency's efforts to reform its internal procedures do as to deal with a staggering backlog of complaints--nearly 100,000--and up to 19-month waits for resolution. It focuses on key strategic decisions which must set the stage for greater efficiency--particularly the issue of whether every complaint must be processed in the same manner, of whether the agency should find ways to concentrate its effort on complaints judged somehow to be more significant. HKS Case Number 1562.0

When Dick Calder is named head of the CIA's Directorate of Administration (DA) in 1995, he faces the task of leading a beleaguered organization through a difficult period. As the unit responsible for providing its more glamorous intelligence-gathering and analyzing counterparts with administrative services-ranging from logistics support to telephones to personnel services-it has borne the brunt of a decade of agency budget cuts. Other directorates are not sympathetic, however, and view the DA as wasteful and unresponsive. In hopes of improving the DA's services and its customers' level of satisfaction, Calder proposes a novel solution to the directorate's woes: budget "givebacks." Under this cost-recovery scheme, the DA would give its budget back to the "mission" directorates, which would then purchase support services from the DA or, if they chose, another provider. Calder reasons that the specter of competition would improve the DA's delivery of services; at the same time, it would encourage the other directorates to buy more prudently, in line with the agency's shrinking service budget, particularly because they would be allowed to retain any savings they realized. It is a radical proposal for an inherently conservative agency-one, moreover, whose covert mission makes unusual demands on the deliverer of the most routine services. This series of organizational change cases follows Calder's efforts to implement budget givebacks in the DA. They detail his strategy for winning support for his idea, the experiences of several pilot giveback programs he initiates, and the sharp resistance he encounters both within the DA and from the other directorates. Together, the cases raise questions about adaptation to a changing political and fiscal environment, as well as the management of innovation in an organization deeply skeptical of change. HKS Case Number 1515.0

When Dick Calder is named head of the CIA's Directorate of Administration (DA) in 1995, he faces the task of leading a beleaguered organization through a difficult period. As the unit responsible for providing its more glamorous intelligence-gathering and analyzing counterparts with administrative services-ranging from logistics support to telephones to personnel services-it has borne the brunt of a decade of agency budget cuts. Other directorates are not sympathetic, however, and view the DA as wasteful and unresponsive. In hopes of improving the DA's services and its customers' level of satisfaction, Calder proposes a novel solution to the directorate's woes: budget "givebacks." Under this cost-recovery scheme, the DA would give its budget back to the "mission" directorates, which would then purchase support services from the DA or, if they chose, another provider. Calder reasons that the specter of competition would improve the DA's delivery of services; at the same time, it would encourage the other directorates to buy more prudently, in line with the agency's shrinking service budget, particularly because they would be allowed to retain any savings they realized. It is a radical proposal for an inherently conservative agency-one, moreover, whose covert mission makes unusual demands on the deliverer of the most routine services. This series of organizational change cases follows Calder's efforts to implement budget givebacks in the DA. They detail his strategy for winning support for his idea, the experiences of several pilot giveback programs he initiates, and the sharp resistance he encounters both within the DA and from the other directorates. Together, the cases raise questions about adaptation to a changing political and fiscal environment, as well as the management of innovation in an organization deeply skeptical of change. HKS Case Number 1516.0

When Dick Calder is named head of the CIA's Directorate of Administration (DA) in 1995, he faces the task of leading a beleaguered organization through a difficult period. As the unit responsible for providing its more glamorous intelligence-gathering and analyzing counterparts with administrative services-ranging from logistics support to telephones to personnel services-it has borne the brunt of a decade of agency budget cuts. Other directorates are not sympathetic, however, and view the DA as wasteful and unresponsive. In hopes of improving the DA's services and its customers' level of satisfaction, Calder proposes a novel solution to the directorate's woes: budget "givebacks." Under this cost-recovery scheme, the DA would give its budget back to the "mission" directorates, which would then purchase support services from the DA or, if they chose, another provider. Calder reasons that the specter of competition would improve the DA's delivery of services; at the same time, it would encourage the other directorates to buy more prudently, in line with the agency's shrinking service budget, particularly because they would be allowed to retain any savings they realized. It is a radical proposal for an inherently conservative agency-one, moreover, whose covert mission makes unusual demands on the deliverer of the most routine services. This series of organizational change cases follows Calder's efforts to implement budget givebacks in the DA. They detail his strategy for winning support for his idea, the experiences of several pilot giveback programs he initiates, and the sharp resistance he encounters both within the DA and from the other directorates. Together, the cases raise questions about adaptation to a changing political and fiscal environment, as well as the management of innovation in an organization deeply skeptical of change. HKS Case Number 1516.1

The concept of "benchmarking" as applied to the public sector, seeks to use quantitative measures and comparison over time to encourage progress toward social and efficiency goals. This case describes the origin and implementation of one of the most ambitious benchmarking efforts in the U.S. It follows the program from a period of initial enthusiasm to legislative disillusion--and the efforts of a new program director to redirect and re-energize the effort. Broadly, it raises the question of what sorts of public goals are well-suited to the benchmarking process and how public agencies respond to it. Pair with the case sequel (HKS846). HKS Case Number 1554.0.

The concept of "benchmarking" as applied to the public sector, seeks to use quantitative measures and comparison over time to encourage progress toward social and efficiency goals. This case describes the origin and implementation of one of the most ambitious benchmarking efforts in the U.S. It follows the program from a period of initial enthusiasm to legislative disillusion--and the efforts of a new program director to redirect and re-energize the effort. Broadly, it raises the question of what sorts of public goals are well-suited to the benchmarking process and how public agencies respond to it. Pair with the case study (HKS845). HKS Case Number 1554.1.

New leadership appointed in 1977 to head Sweden's National Student Aid Board faces a near-desperate situation. So inefficient is the agency in processing student applications for college living expenses that some students, strapped for cash, face the prospect of asking for public assistance for the poor. CSN chief Billy Olsson, whose background had been in politics, and computer expert Karl-Johan Johansson face the task of finding a way for the agency to provide financial assistance, within the constraints of student income qualifications, in a timely fashion. This organizational production/operational capacity case describes the turnaround strategy-which they call "offensive cutback management"-successfully implemented by Olsson and Johansson such that, by 1991, the CSN was named one of the four best Government Agencies in Sweden. HKS Case Number 1161.3

The dramatic story of how the Japanese American community successfully lobbied Congress and the White House for legislation mandating financial compensation for those of their number sent to detention camps in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The case not only tells the inside story of a decade-long lobbying campaign-including a carefully-researched personal approach which changed Ronald Reagan's mind on the subject-but serves as a model of how bills really become laws. Aspects of this process explored in the narrative include internal legislative strategy, the role of the press, the role of grassroots organization, and the structure and nature of coalitions. HKS Case Number 1006.0