The Process Improvement Center assists state and local governments in becoming efficient in their work processes by using process improvement methods that are common in the private sector. We help our customers address issues they identify and provide them with the tools and skills to continuously assess the impact of changes they make in their improvement efforts. By working with the Process Improvement Center, customers have been able to:

Increase capacity by eliminating non-value added steps
Reduce processing times
Reduce or eliminate backlogs
Reduce unnecessary phone calls
Increase their customer’s understanding of and compliance with requirements
Improve written and oral communication
Define, gather and analyze appropriate data measures for assessing the impact of changes
Reduce employee stress and improve employee morale

Services are tailored to meet customer needs and range from leading learning collaboratives of multiple teams focused on operational issues to consulting with single organizations to solve internal operational issues.

Learning Collaborative

A learning collaborative is a dynamic and powerful 12 to 16 month commitment between the quality experts of our Process Improvement Center and up to 15 teams who share the common goal of rapidly achieving improvements in a focused process area. Participating teams learn process improvement methods and are coached through the application of new skill sets to achieve organizational goals. A collaborative brings about culture change where front line workers become problem solvers and critical thinkers. Variation in work processes and outcomes is significantly reduced as participants learn to base action on evidence rather than opinion.

Center staff instructs teams’ members during face-to-face training events. The instruction is paced for teams to learn process improvement concepts and apply them to their work environment, utilizing the effective model known as the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach to problem solving. This widely-recognized process for continual improvement entails:

Plan- Develop a plan for improving the quality of a process.
Do- Execute the plan, first on a small scale.
Study- Evaluate results to confirm or to adjust the plan.
Act- Based on what was learned during the test, adopt and implement the plan, make needed adjustments and test again, or abandon the plan

Cheryl Camillo, formerly of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, served as a member of SICF collaborative faculty, providing national policy expertise. She confirmed the power of a process improvement collaborative, stating, "The collaborative is not only a tool to maximize enrollment but also a way to revitalize government."
Former collaborative participants can continue to receive process improvement consultation and technical assistance from the Center by partnering in a consulting services engagement.

Consulting Services

The Process Improvement Center provides consulting services to new clients and former collaborative participants who need assistance on specific issues. Examples of previous consulting engagements with the Process Improvement Center are:

Training on process improvement methods
Training on how to use data to assess and measure improvements
Process mapping of current operations to identify areas for improvement
Analysis of current operations and recommendations for improvement
Facilitation and coaching on change efforts