Interview transcript:

Terry Gerton You’ve worked across several different executive branch agencies and done a lot of things. Tell us what first drew you into public service.

Kshemendra Paul I came into public service in 2005 into the Department of Justice, in large measure because I was presented with an opportunity to be part of the solution, to be a part of something bigger than myself post 9/11. So for many years, I was part of structural response in the government to the tragic events on 9/11: improving information sharing, more effective use of technology at a pretty interesting and challenging time for the nation.

Terry Gerton Sounds like that got you hooked. How did you find it moving across different federal agencies?

Kshemendra Paul It did get me hooked. I came from the private sector — took a little bit of a pay cut because of the attraction to the mission. Two years in, I was getting ready to start thinking about maybe what’s next for me. I thought that was going back to the private sector, but that was right around the time when I got outreach from Karen Evans and Dick Burke in White House, in the Office of Management and Budget. And they asked me to come up and be the federal chief architect. I had to do a gut call; it was a big job. I decided I love working and doing the public service mission. I said yes, and I went up there and just continued in OMB and then later as the presidentially designated governmentwide lead for information-sharing under President Obama. At that point, I decided to just stick with it. And I have no regrets. I’m just full of gratitude for the opportunities I had, for the people that held me up, and the exciting and interesting work I was able to do.

Terry Gerton You just mentioned some pretty massive and impressive projects. As you look back, is there any one accomplishment or success or program that you go, yes, that’s what it was really all about, that’s where I’m especially proud?

Kshemendra Paul  I have many of those, but my first success, maybe my first love in the public sector, was leading something called the National Information Exchange Model. I was asked soon after coming into the Department of Justice by the then-CIO Van Hitch to take a look and help out and lead the project. I was really pleased to be able to do that with state and local partners, with DHS, other federal partners, and deliver the first version of the exchange model — really providing a core technical aspect of the government’s response post-9/11. Semantic interoperability, right? With computer systems, you have data stovepipes and what terms mean doesn’t necessarily translate across system boundaries, much less boundaries of endeavor like law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence and levels of government. And that was a problem that we solved successfully with the NIEM. Now it’s 20 years old and actually successfully transitioned to OASIS as an international standards body and a standard itself. That effort was a great introduction to the possibility of transformation using data and technology in the public sector.

Terry Gerton Well, data and technology have changed a lot in the last 20 years. Is your sense that the government is able to keep pace?

Kshemendra Paul I think the government does a lot, and there’s a lot of folks across the federal workforce that are quite capable and committed. But the government has challenges, large bureaucracies. Some of that is related to the political process. When I first came into government, the government budget process seemed to work, more or less. That’s dropped off over the years and that’s cascaded; the budget process really is the keystone management process, and I’m a management guy. That dropping off really caused some consternation and made it more difficult. The prevalence of shutdowns, we just went through the longest shutdown, that didn’t help. So there’s challenges, and that was actually a key theme of the conference. We focused at the NAPA conference, the National Academy of Public Administration, on the challenges that the public sector faces, but also the fact that these are long-standing challenges, the drop of trust in government, in some ways the ossification of public administration, and the opportunity for reinvention in this moment — never let a crisis go to waste.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Kshemendra Paul. He’s a former senior federal data and tech leader and a newly elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Kshemendra, you’re joining the Academy at a time when public trust in government is under pressure. How do you hope to participate with the Academy and jointly help the government address some of these issues associated with public trust?

Kshemendra Paul My lane is data, information sharing and technology applied to government to perform and improve government performance. As a part of the Academy, I’m hoping that what I bring to the table can be melded and remixed with the other 1,000 fellows that have different perspectives. They can help make me better and I can help make them better, and together the Academy can put forward positive, constructive and respectful prescriptions for what’s next. I think that’s a major role and a theme at the conference. I also am keen to carry forward ideas about open government. Government needs to be transparent. Government needs to be participatory. Government needs to be collaborative. And I really think that using data in smart and innovative ways to help with setting incentives and organizational design and organizational incentives offers new opportunities for public administration.

Terry Gerton You’re joining this group of a thousand people who’ve had long careers in public service. If you were speaking to someone from the next generation maybe, how would you encourage them to consider a career in public service?

Kshemendra Paul It’s so important not to get caught up and react to the moment, but to be reflective and smart and strategic and respond in the moment. And that response is informed by your values, informed by what makes public administration and public service so important. I think public administration — vigorous public administration that’s transparent and responsive, that works across levels of government — really keeps with the constitutional design that’s reflected in the Federalist Papers and in our constitution as written. So that’s the eye on the prize. A vigorous, effective government is so important to restoring trust in government, to underpinning our democracy and our federated republic. I think the next generation can be part of that solution and respond to the sound of cannon, so to speak, maybe in some way like I did after 9/11 and generations have done so in the past.

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