Customer Reviews

Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector

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Written by former politician Stephen Goldsmith and global director of Deloitte Research, Public Sector William D. Eggers, Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector exposes a largely hidden but nonetheless monumental transformation in the manner that public services are delivered and local and national governments fulfill their policy goals. Dubbed "governing by network", it presents great challenges to those in charge: skill-set issues (managing a contract to capture value); technology issues (keeping information systems compatible with one another); communications issues; cultural issues (including differences between public, private and nonprofit sector cultures) and much more. Governing by Network clearly outlines what works in a networked state and what is a recipe for failure, using case studies as well as firmly established practices. Chapters focus on achieving the goals of efficiency and effectiveness in the constantly changing and increasingly technological 21st century. Governing by Network is especially recommended for political leaders, political science teachers, political science students, and school library collections for its invaluable contribution to observing dramatic shifts in leadership and day-to-day practice requirements.

The average citizen may not notice it, but government is rapidly changing. Nongovernment workers are now delivering services that the government used to deliver as recently as a decade ago. As public policy specialists, authors Stephen Goldsmith and William Eggers know this area well. Their book is full of dense organizational descriptions, which come to life only when they use real-world examples. Fortunately, they do so often, presenting interesting facts and case studies. Still, this book is intended for serious students of public policy and government. Numerous checklists bog it down and may not be practical to use. We recommend it to public officials, policy-makers and citizens who want to understand trends in government and the ways that governing by network is changing the political scene.

The "run government like a business" mantra has become so simplified in the minds of most people that it basically means, "if you want something done right, hand it over to private enterprise." This book is one more symptom of such lazy thinking. While the authors include some helpful insights about how governments can deliver services without being the primary provider, their underlying assumption is that all government is hidebound, inefficient, and boorish. Contrasting this is the innovative, public-spirited private sector--the answer to the world's ills, if only Neanderthal government would get out of the way.

It would be interesting to turn the concept on its head: let's run business like a government. Let corporate America open all of its records--including emails and even voice mail--to any person who wants it; let them go to the people every four years and ask them to evaluate their record of adding value; let them function without expense accounts, with secondhand furniture in dismal settings, without gyms or Business Class; and let them try to achieve long-range goals with a board that thinks in four year increments and whose every action is dissected daily in the opinion pages of the local newspaper.

The simple fact is that there are some things the government ought to be doing because private enterprise cannot do it at a profit. Americans have come to believe that every tax is a bad tax when, in fact, government services account for much of what Americans value in life. Unfortunately, this book simply feeds that sloppy mentality.

this book provides a great foundation for those interested in the networking of private, public, and non-profit sectors. great examples are included in the book, and it is relatively easy to use. Great book!

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