Can Governments Learn?: Comparative Perspectives On Evaluation And Organizational Learning [Paperback]

Frans L. Leeuw (Editor), Ray C. Rist (Editor), Richard C. Sonnichsen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999 | ISBN-10: 0765806584 | ISBN-13: 978-0765806581

There is continual concern about the ability of governments to perform the duties and responsibilities that their citizens have come to expect from them. Many citizens view government as inept, arthritic, and dedicated to the preservation of the bureaucratic status quo. As we close the twentieth century, the challenge for democratic governments is to become adaptive, flexible, innovative, and creative. In short, they need to become learning organizations. This book explores what it will take for governments to break out of their traditional ways of approaching problems and learn new approaches to finding solutions.

Can Governments Learn? examines organizational learning in the public sector. It seeks to understand the role policy and program evaluation information can play in helping governments learn. Among the democratic societies studied are Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. Significantly, the studies documented here show that the concept of organizational learning has vitality and applicability cross-nationally.

Can Governments Learn? evaluates preconditions for governmental learning as well as the institutional and human resource factors that contribute to the process. This volume in the Comparative Policy Analysis Series is essential for policymakers, government officials, and scholars interested in improving the performance of governments.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frans L. Leeuwis the director of the Justice Research, Statistics and Information Center, affiliated to the Dutch Ministry of Justice and professor of law, public policy and social science research at Maastricht University. He is one of the founders of the European Evaluation Society.

Ray C. Rist was a senior evaluation officer in the World Bank for many years. He has served as university professor at Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, and George Washington University. His career has included fifteen years in the US government, in both the executive and legislative branches. In addition, he is the editor for Transaction’s Comparative Policy Evaluation series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765806584
• ISBN-13: 978-0765806581
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,185,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)