Over the last quarter century, governments around the world have launched ambitious efforts to reform how they manage their programs. Citizens have demanded smaller, cheaper, more effective governments. They have also asked for more programs and better services. To resolve this paradox, governments have experimented with scores of ideas to be more productive, improve performance, and reduce costs. In this new edition of The Global Public Management Revolution, Donald F. Kettl charts the basic models of reform that are being employed worldwide.
Reviewing the standard strategies and tactics behind these reforms, Kettl identifies six common core ideas: the search for greater productivity
More public reliance on private markets
A stronger orientation toward service
More decentralization from national to subnational governments
Increased capacity to devise and track public policy
Enhance accountability for results
Kettl predicts that reform and reinvention will likely become mantras for governments of all stripes. Ultimately, this strategy means coupling the reform impulse with governance -government's increasingly important relationship with civil society and the institutions that shape modern life.