Paths to Making a Difference by Abramson Mark A.;Lawrence Paul R.; & Ernst & Young LLP & Mark A. Abramson & Leadership Inc

Author:Abramson, Mark A.;Lawrence, Paul R.; & Ernst & Young LLP & Mark A. Abramson & Leadership Inc.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1203922
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Chapter Seven

The Infrastructors

Understanding the Job of the Infrastructor

During our interviews for this project, we invited a group of political executives to participate who appeared at first to be only loosely connected: Jonathan Adelstein at RUS, Arun Majumdar at ARPA-E, Victor Mendez at FHWA, and Joseph Szabo at FRA. By the time the project was completed, we realized that they had much in common. All facilitate the development and enhancement of the nation’s economic infrastructure. All are seeking cheaper and better ways to provide energy, highways, broadband, and railroads. Their efforts directly enable our nation’s economic growth. We discovered that in different ways, each is focused on developing a crucial aspect of the nation’s infrastructure.

During the period in which we interviewed them, all four were involved in the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In two agencies, RUS and FRA, Recovery Act activities substantially transformed the organizations into faster, more flexible agencies. In the case of ARPA-E, a new agency was built from the ground up to support and develop transformative energy approaches and technologies. For FHWA, the Recovery Act provided increased funding for highway infrastructure projects. All faced the challenge of publishing notices of funding, receiving and reviewing applications, and making awards—all in a very short timespan under increased scrutiny and transparency. In the case of three of the agencies—FRA, RUS, and FHWA—the Recovery Act dramatically increased their workload. “Getting the broadband money out was really a major accomplishment for us,” recalls Adelstein. “You have to understand that our workload increased 20 times over our previous workload.”

The Infrastructors

Jonathan s. Adelstein, page 137

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