by Karl Kurtz
Updated, 12/4/10
Gary Vanlandingham, who has worked for the Florida Legislature for 28 years including the last seven as director of the Office of Program Planning and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), will leave his state post at the end of the year to become director of the Pew Center on the States' Results First initiative in Washington, D.C.
Vanlandingham, in his resignation letter to the Florida legislative leadership says that the initiative will “partner with states to assess and advance policy options that benefit residents and improve states’ fiscal heath.” Pew's Results First web site says that the project provides technical assistance on four elements of policy making: using the best information, learning from other states, designing policies that work together as a package, and creating the climate needed to make decisions based on results.
As a former staff chair of NCSL (2008-09) and president of the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society, Gary has an exceptional network of contacts among legislative staff across the nation that will serve him well in his new position. He says that he expects to continue to be involved with NCSL in his new role.
Gary points with justifiable pride to the work of OPPAGA:
OPPAGA’s staff are superb and highly dedicated professionals who work extremely hard to meet the Legislature’s information needs and help it fulfill the constitutional duty to oversee the executive branch. During my tenure, OPPAGA has issued over 420 reports that have evaluated state agency performance and identified opportunities to deliver more efficient and effective public services. The Legislature has adopted over 80% of OPPAGA’s recommendations during this period, realizing over $755 million in savings.
Earlier this year, we wrote about major budget cuts at OPPAGA in The Thicket.
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