The Accountable Juggler

PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND POLICY ADMINISTRATION SERIES Edited by Donald KettlHow should a manager handle different accountability expectations? While a commonplace term in government lexicon, accountability has escaped precise definition, leaving managers at a disadvantage when trying to monitor the performance of their programs.Including more than 300 programs, over 60,000 employees, and a budget of over $400 billion, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an ideal canvas for starkly illustrating competing accountability demands. With a bird's-eye view of the agency's inner workings, Radin tackles big issues such as strategies of centralization and decentralization, coordination with states and localities, leadership, and program design, while using the apt analogy of a juggler to show how managers must keep in the air disparate demands and developments.

Beryl A. Radin is professor of government and public administration at the University of Baltimore. An elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration, she is also the managing editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. She served as a special adviser and consultant to the assistant secretary for management and budget at HHS. She has written a number of books and articles on public policy and public management issues and is the recipient of the 2002 Donald Stone Award, given by the American Society for Public Administration's Section on Intergovernmental Relations and Management to recognize a scholar's distinguished record