Author: Frans L. Leeuw
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000676064
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
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.
Can Governments Learn?
Author: Frans L. Leeuw
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000676064
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000676064
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165
Book Description
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.
Can Governments Learn?
Author: Lloyd S. Etheredģe
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 148314044X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
Can Governments Learn? American Foreign Policy and Central American Revolutions examines U.S. foreign policy toward revolutions which use Marxist rhetoric, receive material aid from the Soviet Union, and are directed against a repressive government that has been the beneficiary of substantial material and political assistance from the United States. The case material is drawn from the history of American policy in Latin America; the 1954 overthrow of a leftist government in Guatemala; the evolution of Cuban policy from 1958 to 1962; and the repetition of similar policies in the 1980s. This book is comprised of seven chapters and begins by reviewing the history of America's failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Operation MONGOOSE, and the Cuban nuclear confrontation crisis of 1962. The successful use of the Bay of Pigs model in 1954 (against a government in Guatemala) is examined, along with the U.S. government's contract with the Mafia to assassinate Premier Fidel Castro at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The following chapters look at three vectors reflecting the blockage of government learning: the adoption of similar policies across historical encounters; the repetition of collectively self-blocking behavior within the national security decision process; and the repetition of a common syndrome of errors in judgment and perception. The final chapter analyzes American foreign policy toward Central America in the 1980s and offers suggestions to improve the foreign policy learning rate. This monograph will be of interest to diplomats, politicians, political scientists, and others concerned with international relations.
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 148314044X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
Can Governments Learn? American Foreign Policy and Central American Revolutions examines U.S. foreign policy toward revolutions which use Marxist rhetoric, receive material aid from the Soviet Union, and are directed against a repressive government that has been the beneficiary of substantial material and political assistance from the United States. The case material is drawn from the history of American policy in Latin America; the 1954 overthrow of a leftist government in Guatemala; the evolution of Cuban policy from 1958 to 1962; and the repetition of similar policies in the 1980s. This book is comprised of seven chapters and begins by reviewing the history of America's failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Operation MONGOOSE, and the Cuban nuclear confrontation crisis of 1962. The successful use of the Bay of Pigs model in 1954 (against a government in Guatemala) is examined, along with the U.S. government's contract with the Mafia to assassinate Premier Fidel Castro at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The following chapters look at three vectors reflecting the blockage of government learning: the adoption of similar policies across historical encounters; the repetition of collectively self-blocking behavior within the national security decision process; and the repetition of a common syndrome of errors in judgment and perception. The final chapter analyzes American foreign policy toward Central America in the 1980s and offers suggestions to improve the foreign policy learning rate. This monograph will be of interest to diplomats, politicians, political scientists, and others concerned with international relations.
Performance Management and Budgeting
Author: F Stevens Redburn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317462947
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 410
Book Description
This book provides a fresh look at the process by which governments hold themselves accountable to their citizens for performance. Unlike the plethora of other books in the field, it examines all aspects of the Performance Management and Budgeting issue, not only from the federal, state, and local perspectives, but also internationally in both developing and developed countries.Covering both conceptual and theoretical frameworks in performance management and budget, the book analyzes the effectiveness of different approaches. Featuring insights from a group of distinguished contributors, it ties current performance management approaches into the century-old literature on public sector reform and management, and presents arguments for and against performance management as well as recommendations on how to improve the enterprise.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317462947
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 410
Book Description
This book provides a fresh look at the process by which governments hold themselves accountable to their citizens for performance. Unlike the plethora of other books in the field, it examines all aspects of the Performance Management and Budgeting issue, not only from the federal, state, and local perspectives, but also internationally in both developing and developed countries.Covering both conceptual and theoretical frameworks in performance management and budget, the book analyzes the effectiveness of different approaches. Featuring insights from a group of distinguished contributors, it ties current performance management approaches into the century-old literature on public sector reform and management, and presents arguments for and against performance management as well as recommendations on how to improve the enterprise.
The Politics of Happiness
Author: Derek Bok
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069115256X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Describes the principal findings of happiness researchers, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of such research, and looks at how governments could use results when formulating policies to improve the lives of citizens.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069115256X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Describes the principal findings of happiness researchers, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of such research, and looks at how governments could use results when formulating policies to improve the lives of citizens.
Can Governments Earn Our Trust?
Author: Donald F. Kettl
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509522492
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
Some analysts have called distrust the biggest governmental crisis of our time. It is unquestionably a huge problem, undermining confidence in our elected institutions, shrinking social capital, slowing innovation, and raising existential questions for democratic government itself. What’s behind the rising distrust in democracies around the world and can we do anything about it? In this lively and thought-provoking essay, Donald F. Kettl, a leading scholar of public policy and management, investigates the deep historical roots of distrust in government, exploring its effects on the social contract between citizens and their elected representatives. Most importantly, the book examines the strategies that present-day governments can follow to earn back our trust, so that the officials we elect can govern more effectively on our behalf.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509522492
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
Some analysts have called distrust the biggest governmental crisis of our time. It is unquestionably a huge problem, undermining confidence in our elected institutions, shrinking social capital, slowing innovation, and raising existential questions for democratic government itself. What’s behind the rising distrust in democracies around the world and can we do anything about it? In this lively and thought-provoking essay, Donald F. Kettl, a leading scholar of public policy and management, investigates the deep historical roots of distrust in government, exploring its effects on the social contract between citizens and their elected representatives. Most importantly, the book examines the strategies that present-day governments can follow to earn back our trust, so that the officials we elect can govern more effectively on our behalf.
Learn about the United States
Author: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160831188
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36
Book Description
"Learn About the United States" is intended to help permanent residents gain a deeper understanding of U.S. history and government as they prepare to become citizens. The product presents 96 short lessons, based on the sample questions from which the civics portion of the naturalization test is drawn. An audio CD that allows students to listen to the questions, answers, and civics lessons read aloud is also included. For immigrants preparing to naturalize, the chance to learn more about the history and government of the United States will make their journey toward citizenship a more meaningful one.
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780160831188
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36
Book Description
"Learn About the United States" is intended to help permanent residents gain a deeper understanding of U.S. history and government as they prepare to become citizens. The product presents 96 short lessons, based on the sample questions from which the civics portion of the naturalization test is drawn. An audio CD that allows students to listen to the questions, answers, and civics lessons read aloud is also included. For immigrants preparing to naturalize, the chance to learn more about the history and government of the United States will make their journey toward citizenship a more meaningful one.
Civic Service
Author: David P. Redlawsk
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470373741
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
This book reveals how to implement effective service-learning programs and contains myriad examples of successful efforts across multiple disciplines. The book focuses on service-learning with government partners, such as city councils, school districts, and public agencies however the lessons are easily transferable to service-learning courses with businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Taking a unique approach, the book offers comprehensive look at all of the constituencies served by service-learning, including, teachers and students, government agencies as community partners, higher education administrators, and community citizens.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470373741
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
This book reveals how to implement effective service-learning programs and contains myriad examples of successful efforts across multiple disciplines. The book focuses on service-learning with government partners, such as city councils, school districts, and public agencies however the lessons are easily transferable to service-learning courses with businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Taking a unique approach, the book offers comprehensive look at all of the constituencies served by service-learning, including, teachers and students, government agencies as community partners, higher education administrators, and community citizens.
Government for the Future
Author: Mark A. Abramson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538121719
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
In recognition of its 20th anniversary, The IBM Center for the Business of Government offers a retrospective of the most significant changes in government management during that period and looks forward over the next 20 years to offer alternative scenarios as to what government management might look like by the year 2040. Part I will discuss significant management improvements in the federal government over the past 20 years, based in part on a crowdsourced survey of knowledgeable government officials and public administration experts in the field. It will draw on themes and topics examined in the 350 IBM Center reports published over the past two decades. Part II will outline alternative scenarios of how government might change over the coming 20 years. The scenarios will be developed based on a series of envisioning sessions which are bringing together practitioners and academics to examine the future. The scenarios will be supplemented with short essays on various topics. Part II will also include essays by winners of the Center’s Challenge Grant competition. Challenge Grant winners will be awarded grants to identify futuristic visions of government in 2040. Contributions by Mark A. Abramson, David A. Bray, Daniel J. Chenok, Lee Feldman, Lora Frecks, Hollie Russon Gilman, Lori Gordon, John M. Kamensky, Michael J. Keegan, W. Henry Lambright, Tad McGalliard, Shelley H. Metzenbaum, Marc Ott, Sukumar Rao, and Darrell M. West.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538121719
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
In recognition of its 20th anniversary, The IBM Center for the Business of Government offers a retrospective of the most significant changes in government management during that period and looks forward over the next 20 years to offer alternative scenarios as to what government management might look like by the year 2040. Part I will discuss significant management improvements in the federal government over the past 20 years, based in part on a crowdsourced survey of knowledgeable government officials and public administration experts in the field. It will draw on themes and topics examined in the 350 IBM Center reports published over the past two decades. Part II will outline alternative scenarios of how government might change over the coming 20 years. The scenarios will be developed based on a series of envisioning sessions which are bringing together practitioners and academics to examine the future. The scenarios will be supplemented with short essays on various topics. Part II will also include essays by winners of the Center’s Challenge Grant competition. Challenge Grant winners will be awarded grants to identify futuristic visions of government in 2040. Contributions by Mark A. Abramson, David A. Bray, Daniel J. Chenok, Lee Feldman, Lora Frecks, Hollie Russon Gilman, Lori Gordon, John M. Kamensky, Michael J. Keegan, W. Henry Lambright, Tad McGalliard, Shelley H. Metzenbaum, Marc Ott, Sukumar Rao, and Darrell M. West.
Administrative Burden
Author: Pamela Herd
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610448782
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
Winner of the 2020 Outstanding Book Award Presented by the Public and Nonprofit Section of the National Academy of Management Winner of the 2019 Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration Bureaucracy, confusing paperwork, and complex regulations—or what public policy scholars Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan call administrative burdens—often introduce delay and frustration into our experiences with government agencies. Administrative burdens diminish the effectiveness of public programs and can even block individuals from fundamental rights like voting. In AdministrativeBurden, Herd and Moynihan document that the administrative burdens citizens regularly encounter in their interactions with the state are not simply unintended byproducts of governance, but the result of deliberate policy choices. Because burdens affect people’s perceptions of government and often perpetuate long-standing inequalities, understanding why administrative burdens exist and how they can be reduced is essential for maintaining a healthy public sector. Through in-depth case studies of federal programs and controversial legislation, the authors show that administrative burdens are the nuts-and-bolts of policy design. Regarding controversial issues such as voter enfranchisement or abortion rights, lawmakers often use administrative burdens to limit access to rights or services they oppose. For instance, legislators have implemented administrative burdens such as complicated registration requirements and strict voter-identification laws to suppress turnout of African American voters. Similarly, the right to an abortion is legally protected, but many states require women seeking abortions to comply with burdens such as mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, and scripted counseling. As Herd and Moynihan demonstrate, administrative burdens often disproportionately affect the disadvantaged who lack the resources to deal with the financial and psychological costs of navigating these obstacles. However, policymakers have sometimes reduced administrative burdens or shifted them away from citizens and onto the government. One example is Social Security, which early administrators of the program implemented in the 1930s with the goal of minimizing burdens for beneficiaries. As a result, the take-up rate is about 100 percent because the Social Security Administration keeps track of peoples’ earnings for them, automatically calculates benefits and eligibility, and simply requires an easy online enrollment or visiting one of 1,200 field offices. Making more programs and public services operate this efficiently, the authors argue, requires adoption of a nonpartisan, evidence-based metric for determining when and how to institute administrative burdens, with a bias toward reducing them. By ensuring that the public’s interaction with government is no more onerous than it need be, policymakers and administrators can reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state that works for all citizens.
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610448782
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
Winner of the 2020 Outstanding Book Award Presented by the Public and Nonprofit Section of the National Academy of Management Winner of the 2019 Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration Bureaucracy, confusing paperwork, and complex regulations—or what public policy scholars Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan call administrative burdens—often introduce delay and frustration into our experiences with government agencies. Administrative burdens diminish the effectiveness of public programs and can even block individuals from fundamental rights like voting. In AdministrativeBurden, Herd and Moynihan document that the administrative burdens citizens regularly encounter in their interactions with the state are not simply unintended byproducts of governance, but the result of deliberate policy choices. Because burdens affect people’s perceptions of government and often perpetuate long-standing inequalities, understanding why administrative burdens exist and how they can be reduced is essential for maintaining a healthy public sector. Through in-depth case studies of federal programs and controversial legislation, the authors show that administrative burdens are the nuts-and-bolts of policy design. Regarding controversial issues such as voter enfranchisement or abortion rights, lawmakers often use administrative burdens to limit access to rights or services they oppose. For instance, legislators have implemented administrative burdens such as complicated registration requirements and strict voter-identification laws to suppress turnout of African American voters. Similarly, the right to an abortion is legally protected, but many states require women seeking abortions to comply with burdens such as mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, and scripted counseling. As Herd and Moynihan demonstrate, administrative burdens often disproportionately affect the disadvantaged who lack the resources to deal with the financial and psychological costs of navigating these obstacles. However, policymakers have sometimes reduced administrative burdens or shifted them away from citizens and onto the government. One example is Social Security, which early administrators of the program implemented in the 1930s with the goal of minimizing burdens for beneficiaries. As a result, the take-up rate is about 100 percent because the Social Security Administration keeps track of peoples’ earnings for them, automatically calculates benefits and eligibility, and simply requires an easy online enrollment or visiting one of 1,200 field offices. Making more programs and public services operate this efficiently, the authors argue, requires adoption of a nonpartisan, evidence-based metric for determining when and how to institute administrative burdens, with a bias toward reducing them. By ensuring that the public’s interaction with government is no more onerous than it need be, policymakers and administrators can reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state that works for all citizens.
Learning Policy, Doing Policy
Author: Trish Mercer
Publisher: ANU Press
ISBN: 176046421X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
When it comes to policymaking, public servants have traditionally learned ‘on the job’, with practical experience and tacit knowledge valued over theory-based learning and academic analysis. Yet increasing numbers of public servants are undertaking policy training through postgraduate qualifications and/or through short courses in policy training. Learning Policy, Doing Policy explores how policy theory is understood by practitioners and how it influences their practice. The book brings together insights from research, teaching and practice on an issue that has so far been understudied. Contributors include Australian and international policy scholars, and current and former practitioners from government agencies. The first part of the book focuses on theorising, teaching and learning about the policymaking process; the second part outlines how current and former practitioners have employed policy process theory in the form of models or frameworks to guide and analyse policymaking in practice; and the final part examines how policy theory insights can assist policy practitioners. In exploring how policy process theory is developed, taught and taken into policymaking practice, Learning Policy, Doing Policy draws on the expertise of academics and practitioners, and also ‘pracademics’ who often serve as a bridge between the academy and government. It draws on a range of both conceptual and applied examples. Its themes are highly relevant for both individuals and institutions, and reflect trends towards a stronger professional ethos in the Australian Public Service. This book is a timely resource for policy scholars, teaching academics, students and policy practitioners.
Publisher: ANU Press
ISBN: 176046421X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
When it comes to policymaking, public servants have traditionally learned ‘on the job’, with practical experience and tacit knowledge valued over theory-based learning and academic analysis. Yet increasing numbers of public servants are undertaking policy training through postgraduate qualifications and/or through short courses in policy training. Learning Policy, Doing Policy explores how policy theory is understood by practitioners and how it influences their practice. The book brings together insights from research, teaching and practice on an issue that has so far been understudied. Contributors include Australian and international policy scholars, and current and former practitioners from government agencies. The first part of the book focuses on theorising, teaching and learning about the policymaking process; the second part outlines how current and former practitioners have employed policy process theory in the form of models or frameworks to guide and analyse policymaking in practice; and the final part examines how policy theory insights can assist policy practitioners. In exploring how policy process theory is developed, taught and taken into policymaking practice, Learning Policy, Doing Policy draws on the expertise of academics and practitioners, and also ‘pracademics’ who often serve as a bridge between the academy and government. It draws on a range of both conceptual and applied examples. Its themes are highly relevant for both individuals and institutions, and reflect trends towards a stronger professional ethos in the Australian Public Service. This book is a timely resource for policy scholars, teaching academics, students and policy practitioners.