Seventh annual report highlights State’s continuous improvement accomplishments

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Monday released the seventh annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR under Executive Order #4 in February 2017 to identify ways for State government to sustain its culture of continuous improvement by improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of public services, while bending the cost curve of government downward.

“Delaware’s economy is growing, and more Delawareans are working today than at any time in our history,” said Governor John Carney. “However, there is more work to do.  That is why GEAR continues to be a valuable program for us in saving money and promoting continuous improvement.  It ensures an efficient and effective State government that always puts Delaware taxpayers first.”

The report highlights key accomplishments and ongoing efforts across State government in 2023, that include:

• Expanding development of continuous improvement professionals throughout State government. Eighty-three practitioners from 16 State organizations are executing projects within a portfolio of 140 initiatives. Savings to the State are estimated to total $76-80 million over the life of projects underway.
• Achieving savings and improvements for taxpayers through restructuring leases, improving data analysis of school district enrollment projections, minimizing the debt burden for ex-offenders, modernizing the client experience at state service centers, growing the Delaware Communities of Excellence to produce a statewide literacy ecosystem, revamping unemployment insurance processes and systems, enhancing financing options for farmers, optimizing long-term care delivery, along with streamlining financial, human resource, and information technology systems.
• Continuing the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency and Trailblazer Award programs that reward State employees who demonstrate successful implementations of innovative, cost saving, and service enhancing continuous improvement projects.
• Reviewing capital project processes within public school systems through the EdGEAR (Education-GEAR) team with a comprehensive review of the minor capital improvement funding process currently underway.
• Recognizing GEAR’s accomplishments through inclusion in Results for America’s – 2023 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence, a nationally recognized state benchmarking program, that the GEAR program will leverage to coordinate with other state governments that are pursuing data driven best practices.

The Board’s report, released each December, also provides policy and budgetary recommendations for possible inclusion in the Governor’s agenda and recommended budgets.  Several of the recommendations included in the 2023 report are highlighted below.  Governor Carney’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal will be released on January 25, 2024.

Recommendations in the 2023 report include:

• Sustaining participation in the Continuous Improvement Practitioner (CIP) Training program and creating project and process leadership training paths using the First State Quality Improvement Fund.
• Establishing job classifications within the State personnel system for project managers, Lean business process analysts, and other continuous improvement specialists.
• Supporting the Ready in Six permitting improvement initiative by investing in specific process improvements being developed with State agency partners.
• Investing in the development of digital government services to allow citizens to transact business with the State anytime, from anywhere, and on any device through the Go DE initiative launching in 2024 beginning with a centralized payment interface.
• Modernizing the State’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (financial, human resource, and pension administration).
• Building upon GEAR’s foundation of business process management and project management tools by staying engaged with emerging industry trends in artificial intelligence, business process mining, and robotic process automation.

“GEAR was never meant to be a one-time study on government efficiency to gain a few quick wins and then rest easy.  The intent is to drive an ongoing culture change – integral to how the State does business while guiding the services of government,” said Charles Clark and Daniel Madrid, Executive Director and Deputy Director of GEAR respectively, and Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency at the Delaware Office of Management and Budget. “This is why GEAR will continue to be necessary in the future – supporting an adaptive, highly effective, and efficient Delaware State government for generations to come.”

Fifth annual report highlights State’s continuous improvement accomplishments

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney released the fifth annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR by Executive Order in February 2017 in order to identify ways for state government to operate more efficiently, improve the delivery of state services, and provide cost savings over the long term.

The report highlights key accomplishments across State government in 2021, including:

• Saving millions of dollars for taxpayers through lease restructurings, long-term care delivery optimization, employee health care benefit initiatives, energy efficiency projects, and streamlining the State’s financial, human resource and information technology systems and procedures.
• Adopting COVID-safe practices saving millions in travel costs and thousands of person-hours by leveraging video conferencing, virtual hearings and public meetings, and virtual employee training and on-boarding. 
• Continuing the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award program that rewards state employees who demonstrate successful implementation of innovative, cost saving, continuous improvement projects.
• Expanding high-speed, broadband Internet service in Delaware’s underserved areas through public-private partnerships.

“Even while facing the challenges of a global pandemic, under the umbrella of GEAR, agencies throughout State government have worked to improve quality and efficiency in the delivery of state services,” said Governor Carney. “These continuous improvement efforts have yielded cost savings and service enhancements that are enabling the State to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.”  

The Board report, released each December, also provides policy and budgetary recommendations for possible inclusion in the Governor’s agenda and budget for Fiscal Year 2023. Governor Carney’s budget proposal will be released in January virtually and at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover.  

Recommendations in the 2021 Report include:

• Support the “Ready in Six Initiative” to streamline and reduce permit approval process timelines and improve the State’s competitive position when businesses consider relocating to Delaware.
• Continue to expand participation in the Continuous Improvement Practitioner (CIP) Training Program focused on developing project management, program management and leadership skills of the State government’s workforce. To date, 21 employees have graduated and 15 are in training.
• Ensure transparency in the use of the more than $2 billion of federal COVID funds allocated to Delaware by broadly soliciting proposals to address the health, safety and economic impacts of the pandemic and providing access for the public to search payments to grant recipients.
• Drive improvements to digital government services enabling citizens to access state services anytime, from anywhere and on any device.
• Support projects led by members of the GEAR Field Team and CIP training program graduates that including boosting literacy, improving utilization of funds for youth and family needs, optimizing use of fleet vehicles, creating dashboards to facilitate data driven decision making, and implementing person-centered care models in the delivery of long-term care.  

“GEAR continues to drive efforts in as many agencies as possible to deliver efficiencies and cost savings statewide,” said James Myran and Charles Clark, Executive Director and Deputy Director of GEAR, and Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency at the Delaware Office of Management and Budget. “The GEAR Field Team of continuous improvement practitioners now includes 40 members representing 9 state agencies and the judicial branch, delivering value through the execution of more than 55 agency projects to make state operations more efficient and cost-effective and position the State to deliver higher quality services to citizens and businesses.”

Read the 2021 annual report  for full details.

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Fourth annual report highlights State accomplishments

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday released the fourth annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR by Executive Order in February of 2017 in order to identify ways for state government to operate more efficiently, improve the delivery of state services, and provide cost savings over the long term.

Read the 2020 annual report for full details.

“Over the last four years under the GEAR umbrella, all three branches of government have worked on initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of how we deliver state services,” said Governor Carney.  “As a result, state government was much better positioned to address the financial, human resource, customer service, and technology challenges presented by the pandemic – and we will emerge even stronger.”

The report highlights key accomplishments across State government in 2020, including:

• Saving millions of dollars for taxpayers through lease restructurings, banking services consolidation, employee health care benefit initiatives, and energy efficiency projects.
• Adopting COVID-safe practices in the State workplace that have also saved millions in travel costs and thousands of person-hours through telework, video conferencing, virtual hearings and public meetings, and virtual employee training and on-boarding.
• Doubling the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award program that rewards state employees who demonstrate successful implementation of innovative, cost saving, continuous improvement projects.
• Unveiling a Strategic Plan for the State’s largest agency, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), that promotes continuous improvement and increased efficiencies with a focus on a person-centered approach to service delivery.
• Expanding high-speed, broadband Internet service in Delaware’s underserved areas through public-private partnerships.

The Board report, released each December, also provides policy and budgetary recommendations for possible inclusion in the Governor’s agenda and budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Governor Carney’s budget proposal will be released on January 28, 2021. Additional viewing information will be announced closer to the event.

Recommendations in the 2020 Report include:

• Supporting legislation and policies that enable agencies to make permanent certain efficiencies achieved during the COVID 19 emergency.
• Driving the evolution of Digital Government to improve the digital experience of customers that transact business with the State.
• Supporting EdGEAR, a collaboration of leaders from DOE, K12 schools and GEAR, focused on generating efficiencies across public education.
• Implementing the GEAR training curriculum focused on LEAN Government, project management, program management, and the development of leadership skills.
• Growing the GEAR Field Team to support continuous improvement initiatives in more state agencies.
• Continuing to drive efficiencies through HR and IT centralization efforts.

“GEAR continues to expand its efforts to engage as many agencies as possible in initiatives that will deliver efficiencies and cost savings statewide,” said James Myran, Executive Director of GEAR, and Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency at the Delaware Office of Management and Budget. “We are growing the GEAR Field Team by implementing advanced training to expand the number of state employees skilled and dedicated to leading process improvement initiatives.  The State’s business processes are becoming more efficient, generating savings of time and money, and improving the quality of interactions with citizens.”

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WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday released the third annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR by Executive Order in February 2017 to identify ways for state government to operate more efficiently, improve the delivery of state services, and save costs over the long term.

The 2019 report highlights key accomplishments across State government in the past year including:

• Saving millions of dollars for taxpayers through lease restructurings, energy efficiency projects, debt refinancing, bank services consolidation, and employee health care benefit initiatives.
• Launching the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award to recognize and reward state employees who demonstrate successful implementations of innovative, cost saving, continuous improvement projects.
• Implementing the Delaware One-Stop, an initial step in developing a Delaware digital government platform.
• Setting health care spending and quality benchmarks for the State.
• Improving financial transparency in public education.

“From the day I took office, I’ve committed my Administration to being fiscally responsible, and key to that is constantly working to deliver state services in the most efficient ways possible, so we can direct resources where they are most needed,” said Governor Carney. “This year’s report highlights areas where we’re working across all three branches of government to save taxpayers’ dollars. It’s what Delawareans expect. Thank you to everyone associated with our GEAR efforts and employees throughout state government who strive each day to provide services in the most efficient way possible.”

The GEAR report, released each December, also provides policy and budgetary recommendations for possible inclusion in the Governor’s agenda and budget for Fiscal Year 2021. Governor Carney’s budget proposal will be released on January 30, 2020 at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover.

Recommendations in the 2019 Report include:

• Creating a GEAR field team to support continuous improvement projects in more state agencies.
• Supporting Senate passage of amendments to the Delaware Governmental Accountability Act (HB 133) to drive better strategic planning and allocation of resources in the budgeting process.
• Developing a criminal and civil justice e-filing system for the courts.
• Driving efficiencies through HR and IT centralization efforts.
• Supporting EdGEAR – a collaboration among DOE, K12 schools and GEAR to bring focus to realizing efficiencies across public education.

Read the 2019 annual report.

“GEAR efforts are underway in agencies throughout the State,” said James Myran, Executive Director of GEAR, and Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency at the Delaware Office of Management and Budget. “Projects are returning value in dollars saved, improved quality of services for citizens, and employee time optimized through greater efficiency of business processes.  Restoration of funding this year for project management and LEAN training along with support from the business community and the State to help recognize and reward state employee accomplishments, position GEAR for even more success in 2020.”

On Thursday, December 12, Governor Carney and Delaware Department of Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger will join GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award winners and business community sponsors to recognize and highlight state employee team projects that demonstrated successful implementations of innovative, cost saving, continuous improvement in state government.

MEDIA ADVISORY: GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award Recipients 

WHAT:      Governor Carney will congratulate the GEAR-P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award Recipients  

WHO:        Governor John Carney

Secretary Rick Geisenberger, Delaware Department of Finance

Jim Myran, GEAR Executive Director

GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency Award Winners

Business Community Sponsors

WHEN:       Thursday, December 12, 2019

10:00 a.m.

WHERE:    Carvel State Office Building, 12^th Floor

820 N. French St. 

Wilmington, DE 19801

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NEW CASTLE (Dec. 3, 2019) – After months of inventory analysis, stakeholder and employee online surveys and internal and external focus group interviews, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is seeking public input on draft goals and objectives as part of its ongoing strategic planning initiative.

The Department has posted the foundation of the initiative – consisting of the draft commitment, goals and objectives – on the DHSS website at https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/pubs.html (top item). The information about the strategic planning process is being shared to gather input about the plan.

DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker began the process of strategic planning in 2017 as part of the statewide Governmental Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) effort. The Department issued a Request for Proposal in August 2018 and Health Management Associates (HMA), a nationally recognized health consulting firm, was awarded a competitive contract to facilitate the process.

Through HMA, the Department has conducted internal and external focus group interviews, stakeholder and employee surveys, and an inventory analysis of DHSS’ 11 divisions and its 193 individual programs and services.

“Over the past several months, we have received a great deal of input, which we have used to develop the plan’s foundation,” Secretary Walker said. “Now we want to build on that foundation with more input from you as we develop the plan’s strategies. In the coming weeks, I will also announce dates, times and places for town halls, so we can hear directly from you about our strategic needs.

“We ask for your feedback not only about the parts of the plan drafted so far, but also for your suggestions about specific strategies that should be put into place to meet the goals and objectives.”

Comments on the draft content, as well as potential strategies, can be sent via email to: DHSS_TownHall@delaware.gov – that’s Delaware(underscore)TownHall@delaware.gov.

Final strategic plan recommendations – built through a series of outreach efforts involving DHSS leadership from all divisions, service providers, advocacy groups and the public – are expected in February 2020.