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Governor Pillen Announces Wind Down of Operational Excellence Division
LINCOLN, NE—Today, Governor Jim Pillen announced the reorganization and wind down of the state’s Center of Operational Excellence (COE), and a transition to a transformative systems-scale approach for reducing the size and cost of state government.
“I’ve challenged our entire team to drive breakthrough change,” said Gov. Pillen. “We are going to accelerate our progress to reduce waste in government, improve services, and save taxpayer money.”
The COE, created in 2016 as an expansion of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), was intended to provide continuous improvement recommendations to state agencies regarding individual government processes. With the COE having achieved its mission, the Governor will build on its work by shifting the state’s focus to reducing costs on a broader, agency-wide scale.
“The COE fulfilled its purpose of training leaders throughout state government on process improvement principles and imbuing the organization with a culture receptive to continuous improvement,” said Gov. Pillen. “It is now time to focus on breakthrough change.”
Of the 26 COE-designated public servants across state government, several will be moved into the Governor’s Budget Division where they will assist in integrating operational efficiencies into the state’s budget and ongoing fiscal management processes. Most of the remainder will be invited to apply for vacant positions elsewhere in government and given priority consideration for those positions.
Gov. Pillen expressed his gratitude to all those responsible for designing the COE and implementing its work. He said looks forward to building on COE’s legacy by delivering even more significant government cost reductions.
