Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public SectorNew book from Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers |
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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 than 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. The book is also now available in Chinese and Korean.
Critical Acclaim
"In
Governing by Network, Goldsmith and Eggers answer one of the most important public policy questions of our time: how public officials can achieve results and ensure accountability to citizens in an age in which government relies more and more on partners to do the public’s business. This comes at a time when the pressure on government to deliver better service for less money has become intense."
— Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell
"From business to warfare, networked organizational forms are supplanting hierarchies. Now, Goldsmith and Eggers, two of America's most innovative policy thinkers, show how the networking trend is transforming government. This book is a must read for anyone concerned with how to make government better and more cost effective."
— Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
"Just as the twentieth century was the era of the large public bureaucracy, the twenty-first is likely to be the era of the public-private network. Goldsmith and Eggers provide a clear and lively guide to the new terrain, offering concrete advice to public sector managers and elected officials on how to grapple with performance and accountability challenges."
— Alasdair S. Roberts, Director, Campbell Public Affairs Institute, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
"The definitive book on managing government in the networked age."
— Washington, DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams
"A singularly important contribution to thinking about governance in the 21st Century."
— Professor Donald Kettl, University of Pennsylvania
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Overview
About the authors
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Brookings Institution Press
