Guided by the principle that successful organizations routinely re-evaluate how essential responsibilities are executed, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) daily focuses on 21st Century governance through increasing efficiency, productivity, and customer service.

Not unlike most successful private-sector companies, one way the USPTO seeks continuous improvement is by tapping into “big data,” from measuring the success of our public outreach to honing in on the way examiners review patent applications. We’re building on that focus by making 50 years of patent data public, allowing anyone with even the most basic programming skills to make more informed business decisions.

Our focus on continuous improvement in customer service—whether with intellectual property applicants and owners or the broader public—increasingly is driven by our four regional offices. Last year we opened the final two offices in San Jose, CA, and Dallas, TX, joining existing offices in Detroit, MI, and Denver, CO. These “innovation embassies” have proven to be hubs of innovation, education, and outreach, serving their regions’ innovation and intellectual property communities.

The USPTO’s award-winning telework program has long reflected the agency’s 21^st Century governance by incorporating established business practices to ensure the recruitment and retention of a highly distributed workforce. The benefits of the program are tangible and quantifiable. This past January, the East Coast was hit by a monster storm, and more than 9,600 of our approximately 12,000 USPTO employees were able to telework despite the aftermath of the blizzard. Moreover, while the federal government in the Washington, D.C. area was officially shut down, 77 percent of the total USPTO workforce was teleworking at peak times of the day.

Whether at headquarters or a regional office or teleworking elsewhere, all USPTO employees recently were given the opportunity to participate in the USPTO Innovation Challenge, an agency-wide competition that encourages them to submit, view, comment, and vote on ideas that address a specific topic. This year’s challenge topic was to identify new ways to communicate, connect, and engage at the USPTO. On July 29, the names of the finalists will be announced and on November 15^th, the winner will be announced. Employee engagement of all 13,000 USPTO employees is critical in any 21^st Century governance model. As USPTO Director Michelle K. Lee likes to say, 13,000 heads are better than one!