Sarah Thompson

Cares about impact at scale, local gov, moving systems toward equity, & making good ideas work. @EvidenceAction, frmr @BroadCenter. @PomonaCollege & @YaleSOM

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

@ObservingImJust How are you watching? Livestream on CAF TV YouTube isn’t working 😭

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

@FIFCI_tweet @FIFAcom On peut trouver les tickets où?

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

Wild that the guy who is telling us he can unilaterally close USAID is supposedly dropping $40M on Super Bowl ads to make you believe it’s worth cutting < 1% of the U.S. budget leaving millions of deserving people high and dry. Who is the wasteful one? https://t.co/h3MQHOWgC0

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

I knew this topic might be timely, but I’m feeling particularly proud that it’s out there as new leadership attempts to exit the mission driven bureaucrats who so often are why government services reach the public, even during political turmoil.

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

Joint with @livingstone23, a new piece on Mission Driven Bureaucrats & agency performance now live here: https://t.co/6rDeKI2ZQU. Even - or especially - when agency missions are under threat, Mission Driven Bureaucrats are critical to success. They are also a reason for hope.

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

@scepticalranil Your listening score reinforces that hearing ≠ listening! Love this — when we have high expectations for students they very often reach them.

[Moira Donegan @MoiraDonegan]

Not having kids is a morally neutral and legitimate life choice on its own that does not need to be justified with recourse to tragic stories of fertility struggles. It’s fine just to not want children.

[Sarah Longwell @SarahLongwell25]

Donald Trump is the oldest nominee for President in American history.

[Jon Lovett @jonlovett]

Last few weeks were heated because we all understand the stakes and share the same goal. I don’t think Trump and MAGA are ready for how united and energized we’re about to be.

[Max Fisher @Max_Fisher]

The importance of this moment goes beyond 2024. We are living in an era of catastrophically weak parties. Yet the Democratic Party, for all its faults, came together to exercise collective authority at a critical moment in exactly the way the GOP failed to do in 2016. It matters.

[Anthony Michael Kreis, FRHistS @AnthonyMKreis]

I can’t believe the GOP is running an old guy for president. Yikes.

[Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones]

Likely the most consequential President of my lifetime, including ensuring first woman and first Black vice president, appointing first Black woman Supreme Court justice, best economy in decades, massive students loan debt forgiveness, climate, infrastructure, first gun control legislation in decades. And now endorsing Kamala Harris for the Democratic ticket.

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

Sharing this Michael Lewis quotation that opens the book in honor of the first chapter now posted (free!). Read the chapter and the book to learn more about “who are these people?!”

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

First chapter of Mission Driven Bureaucrats now free to read here: https://t.co/jFn4Wtwqsk. Thanks!

[Olivia Messer @OliviaMesser]

this is one of those horrifyingly clear moments in history when you immediately know everything has changed but you can’t see how yet

[Bloomberg Cities @BloombergCities]

It’s been a prolific season for perspectives on public sector innovation.

Read our latest list of new books for urban innovators, featuring the work of @Megankimble, @KuperSimon, @Rambletastic, @CarlosMorenoFr, and @Earthtonadina: https://t.co/7UhXDhbIHw

[Susannah Hares @susannahhares]

Dan’s book is an absolute must-read about to make public services better and about the mission-driven bureaucrats who work every day to do just that.

Very proud of my friend and @CGDev NRF. Go read his book everyone!

[Justin Sandefur @JustinSandefur]

As someone working broadly on “evidence-based policy”, and often attracted to simple, programmable policy solutions, I always find talking to Dan is a useful challenge.

Must read.

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

Ever casual @rambletastic, noting that his book is sold out in the U.S. (!!) on release day in the last tweet of the thread. Goes to show that we need this wisdom right now!

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

**The asteriks on publication day is because UK publication delayed (linked to Red Sea shipping issues, I'm told) and US currently sold out - but more stock on the way, please do go ahead and order. Thanks for reading!! (end)

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

How do we make public services better??

Often, by recognizing the many bureaucrats who want to do good work, empowering, and supporting them.

#MissionDrivenBureaucrats is out today**!!

🧵 👇

[Sarah Thompson @livingstone23]

I really really believe this — I’ve seen it in @BroadCenter residents, in international development, and in my own personal experience — it’s amazing to see it backed up by the research. And a lovely beacon of hope on a rough week for US public institutions.

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

Bureaucracies can and do change. There are things each of us can do to help countries and citizens flourish, to get better performing Mission Driven government. A better world requires all of us.

[Dan Honig (DanHonig.bsky) @rambletastic]

That includes every reader of this thread - beccause we're all members of the public. And how we react to bad actions by a small minority of bureaucrats really matters to how they're managed.