Governing by Network examines, for the first time, government’s transformation from centralized control over public programs to facilitating services through networks of nongovernmental entities, as seen through the experience of dozens of public innovators.

In this model, the role of government is transformed from direct service provider to generator of public value. There are huge advantages to governing by network — flexibility, speed, innovation and specialization, to name just a few — but also serious challenges.

Managing a portfolio of provider networks is different from managing divisions of public employees. It requires a form of public management different from what governments and their citizens have become accustomed to over the past 100 years.

This book outlines what this new model of government would look like and provides a roadmap for actually governing the networked state. Drawing from dozens of case studies, as well as established best practices, it provides lessons to inform elected officials, business executives and the broader public.

Governing by Network is co-published by the Brookings Institution Press and the Innovations in American Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Visit Amazon.com or Brookings Institution Press to order the book.