NEW ORLEANS — On July 10, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) announced its 2024 Annual Luncheon speaker, David Osborne, an author and consultant who has inspired many governments to “reinvent” themselves and deliver better results for the public.
The luncheon will take place at noon on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the New Orleans Marriott hotel located at 555 Canal Street. Luncheon registration opens at 11 a.m.
Tables for the 2024 Annual Luncheon are now available for purchase through BGR, give.bgr.org/luncheon or (504) 525-1734. Individual tickets will go on sale in August.
Mr. Osborne will reflect on essential elements of generating performance in the public sector. He will draw from lessons learned in his career researching and advising governments. This includes past consulting work for the City of New Orleans at the outset of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration. It also includes his research on public education reforms in New Orleans in his 2017 book Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st Century School System and an upcoming documentary film Turnaround: The Reinvention of New Orleans’ Education System.
His presentation to BGR, entitled “Creating High Performance Public Institutions: What It Takes,” is part of BGR’s Janet Howard Speaker Series in Governmental Research.
“BGR is honored to have David Osborne as our keynote speaker this year, and he continues our tradition of presenting some of the country’s most respected thought leaders to headline our Annual Luncheon,” said BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray. “Mr. Osborne’s insights on public sector performance come at an important time, as citizens in New Orleans and our region demand more responsive, effective and accountable government. We hope his presentation will spark new conversations and inspire change.”
David Osborne, acclaimed author, policy advisor, and consultant, is renowned for his influential works on government reform and public sector. He brings a wealth of expertise in transforming governmental organizations to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Mr. Osborne is the author or co-author of several books on this topic, including Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector. Co-authored with Ted Gaebler in 1992 and a New York Times bestseller, Reinventing Government inspired many local, state and federal government leaders to break down conceptions of bureaucracy and instill an entrepreneurial spirit that embraces competition, measures results, and emphasizes accountability. His other books include The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis, The Reinventor’s Fieldbook: Tools for Transforming Your Government, Banishing Bureaucracy: The Five Strategies for Reinventing Government, and Laboratories of Democracy.
In 2017, he published Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st Century School System. This book explored the transformation of New Orleans’ public education after Hurricane Katrina through charter schools. Reinventing America’s Schools highlights the results achieved from school autonomy, accountability, and parental choice in New Orleans and other cities.
Mr. Osborne is also the executive producer of the upcoming documentary film, Turnaround: The Reinvention of New Orleans’ Education System. The film examines the charter-based education reform movement in New Orleans and the resilience of educators and community leaders working to improve the quality of public education.
During his consulting career, Mr. Osborne served as a senior partner at The Public Strategies Group for more than two decades. He advised governments at all levels – from local municipalities to federal agencies and foreign governments – on achieving operational excellence and fostering innovation. He has lectured globally and provided counsel to leaders ranging from presidents and ministers to governors and city managers.
Mr. Osborne’s professional contributions extend to his role as a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank that studies policy innovation and pragmatic reforms that transcend partisan politics. Recently retired, Mr. Osborne continues to serve as chairman of the advisory board for the institute’s Reinventing America’s Schools project. Mr. Osborne is also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and has served in leadership roles for organizations dedicated to governmental innovation, including the Alliance for Redesigning Government and the National Selection Committee for the Innovations in American Government Awards.
In 1993, Mr. Osborne was appointed as a senior advisor to Vice President Al Gore, playing a pivotal role in the National Performance Review, an initiative to improve federal government efficiency and effectiveness during the Clinton administration. Mr. Osborne was the chief author of the first National Performance Review report, which was hailed by Time magazine as “the most readable federal document in memory.”
Beyond his writings on government, Mr. Osborne has ventured into historical fiction with his novel The Coming, which received the prestigious Spur Award from the Western Writers of America.
This year’s BGR luncheon is co-sponsored by French Market Coffee, Hancock Whitney Bank, and Ochsner Health. The luncheon will begin at 12 p.m. on Thursday, October 10, with registration opening at 11 a.m.
To purchase a table or tickets, visit give.bgr.org/luncheon or contact Emily Remington at (504) 525-1734 or eremington@bgr.org. Event seating is limited and will be allocated on a first-purchased basis. Proceeds from the event will support BGR’s core activities, which include government monitoring, policy analysis, publication of reports and post-publication implementation work.
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