With federal agencies under pressure to do more with less, a group of undergraduate students at the School of Public Policy took on a capstone project centered around a question that seemed simple at first: How can the government measure the success of shared services in a way that goes beyond saving money and delivers better outcomes?
That question became the focus of a Spring 2025 capstone project, developed in partnership with the Shared Services Leadership Coalition (SSLC). The students’ final report outlined a roadmap for how the federal government could make smarter, more accountable decisions about shared services.
Shared services are common support functions—like IT, human resources and financial management—that can be consolidated across agencies to reduce duplication, cut costs and improve service.
The students explored case studies of U.S. agencies, global companies and foreign governments. They interviewed experts, analyzed existing frameworks and policy proposals. What they found was a challenge and an opportunity. While agencies are encouraged to adopt shared services, they lack consistent ways to measure performance, especially when it comes to understanding how those services advance their broader missions.
The students noted that “mission benefit” is often assumed, not measured, which makes it harder for agencies to justify or improve shared services.
Their report offered a clearer way forward. They recommended focusing on four basic categories: cost, quality, customer satisfaction and interoperability. These four areas, they argue, are the building blocks for measuring whether shared services are actually working. It also outlines a tiered model that allows agencies to choose the level of service that fits their needs and resources, while still contributing to a coordinated system.
For SSLC, the project added fresh perspective to their work and contributed to the broader conversation on shared services. The report supports federal priorities around efficiency and modernization, but it also challenges agencies to think beyond short-term savings and toward long-term value.
In a recent Government Executive article, former School of Public Policy Dean Don Kettl described the report as “pathbreaking,” urging policymakers to consider what he calls the “six M’s”: motivation, mismatch, missing link, masses, muscle and machine learning. This ties directly to one of the central ideas in the students’ report—that successful shared services depend on aligning technology, people and policy in smarter, more integrated ways. As agencies face limited resources and growing demands, the students delivered a clear message that shared services can work when we focus on what matters most. Their report offers a strong starting point, and now it is up to others to build on that foundation.