ISA Research | 2026
Inaugural National Study
How Does Government Know?
How do government leaders know what needs attention, and whether what they did actually worked?
Government leaders aren’t short on information. Budgets. Performance measures. Employee data. Community feedback. Operational reports. Strategic plans. Program evaluations. But having information is different from knowing what matters.
The Institute for Strategic Agility™ is conducting its inaugural national organizational performance Study to understand how public institutions identify emerging problems, make decisions, evaluate programs and policies, and determine whether interventions actually worked.
The Research
How does an institution know?
- 01
What needs our attention?
- 02
Are we making progress?
- 03
Why is it happening?
- 04
Did it work?
- 05
What should we do?
- 06
What are we not seeing yet?
- 07
Who owns the next action?
- 08
And whether the action actually worked.
This study examines how public institutions identify emerging problems, determine what requires executive attention, connect information across functions, decide with incomplete information, define and recognize success and failure, implement corrective action, and learn over time.
Participant Value
Why your perspective matters
There is no financial compensation for participating. ISA recognizes that public-sector leaders’ time and experience are valuable. This research is intended to learn directly from the people responsible for leading complex public institutions.
Participants may choose to
- 01 receive an advance summary of the findings
- 02 be acknowledged as a contributing public-sector leader, with permission
- 03 be considered for a featured thought-leader profile in ISA’s final research publication
- 04 be considered for an ISA executive roundtable
- 05 be considered for a future podcast or executive conversation
- 06 remain connected as an ISA research thought partner
Participation never guarantees publication, podcast appearance, public recognition, business opportunity, consulting work, or speaking opportunity. Where relevant, ISA uses “may be considered” and “with permission.”
Who Should Participate
We want to hear from people who lead public institutions.
Research Integrity
A national research initiative, honestly described
National research universe
All 50 states constitute the baseline research universe from launch.
Not “nationally representative”
ISA will not describe the findings as nationally representative unless the actual sample and methodology support that conclusion.
Distinct concepts
ISA distinguishes the national research universe, national outreach, and the respondent sample.
Join the study
Contribute to the 2026 organizational performance Study
If you lead in government, your perspective can help illuminate how public institutions know what needs attention, and whether it worked.
Contribute to the Study3-4 minutes • Voluntary • Confidential