Governments have always required large public organizations, or bureaucracies, to deliver on their promises. Yet most people leading and managing those agencies lack understanding of the full toolkit of values, insights and findings that are necessary. Considering how public administration can learn from a wide range of disciplines ranging from history and the humanities to management and the social sciences, Marc Holzer delineates new ways of transforming organizations and building trust in governments. Reflecting upon the well-established field of studies on public administration, this book examines how it might reposition itself as society’s necessary and best investment. Concise and timely, the book first draws on the arts and humanities for portrayals of bureaucracy’s unintended impacts, before moving to highlight that public organizations must deliver on governmental promises to build trust with their stakeholders, outlining how willful blindness can result in organizational disasters. Holzer concludes by confronting the popular notion that governments should be run according to the principles of the private sector, and provides an insightful rethinking of how public administration should be practiced. Demonstrating the full range of competencies necessary to manage the public sector, Rethinking Public Administration will be essential reading for all scholars and students of public administration and management, public policy, government and political science. Providing a practical approach to the topic, it will also be advantageous to policymakers and other actors involved in the public sector.

Governments are increasingly turning to the Internet to provide public services. The move towards e-governance not only impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of public service, but also has the potential to transform the nature of government interactions with citizens. E-Governance and Civic Engagement: Factors and Determinants of E-Democracy examines how e-government facilitates online public reporting, two-way communication and debate, online citizen participation in decision-making, and citizen satisfaction with e-governance. The book explores the impacts from governments that have engaged their citizens online, discusses issues and challenges in adopting and implementing online civic engagement initiatives globally, and helps guide practitioners in their transition to e-governance.

Through contemporary case studies of strategic management at work in the US and Europe, this collection shows that it can no longer be seen as a discipline for long term decisions but has become a central feature of the public sector. Individual chapters offer insights into strategic management capabilities at the national and sub-national level.

As governments across the world increasingly adopt information and communication technology to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, they are gradually providing opportunities for citizen participation and engagement online. The use of Internet technologies raises the possibility for large-scale e-democracy and enhances the degree and quality of public participation in government. Active Citizen Participation in E-Government: A Global Perspective focuses on the issues and challenges involving adoption and implementation of online civic engagement initiatives globally and will serve as a valuable guide to governments in their efforts to enable active citizen participation. This book details the efforts of governments and public agencies in providing proper channels for engaging their citizens and presents a wide range of research on approaches undertaken by governments across the world in facilitating active citizen participation online.

This book represents a major attempt to draw together two fundamental streams of research: intergovernmental relations and multi-level governance (MLG). Combining US and European schools of thought, this timely volume outlines key areas of convergence and divergence. IGR concerns interactions within the public sector and is traditionally favored in America, whereas MLG is more pertinent to the crossroads of the vertical (intergovernmental) and horizontal (state-society) dimensions and is considered foremost a European approach. The principal objective of this book is to bridge the gap between academic communities on either side of the Atlantic. Prominent scholars have gathered together for this volume and their various contributions, both individually and as a whole, provide a fresh and novel perspective on IGR and MLG and their interconnections. This innovative book will be of particular appeal to scholars and students of political science in America, Europe and beyond as well as practitioners in US and EU governments. The companion volume Policy, Performance and Management in Governance and Intergovernmental Relations is also available from Edward Elgar Publishing.

A productive society is dependent upon high-performing government. This third edition of The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook includes chapters from leading scholars, consultants, and practitioners to explore all of the core elements of improvement. Completely revised and focused on best practice, the handbook comprehensively explores managing for high performance, measurement and analysis, costs and finances, human resources, and cutting-edge organizational tools. Its coverage of new and systematic management approaches and well-defined measurement systems provides guidance for organizations of all sizes to improve productivity and performance. The contributors discuss such topics as accountability, organizational effectiveness after budget cuts, the complementary roles of human capital and "big data," and how to teach performance management in the classroom and in public organizations. The handbook is accompanied by an online companion volume providing examples of performance measurement and improvement manuals across a wide variety of public organizations. The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook, Third Edition, is required reading for all public administration practitioners, as well as for students and scholars interested in the state of the public performance and productivity field.

The ability to create and sustain partnerships is a skill and a strategic capacity that utilizes the strengths and offsets the weaknesses of each actor. Partnerships between the public and private sectors allow each to enjoy the benefits of the other: the public sector benefits from increased entrepreneurship and the private sector utilizes public authority and processes to achieve economic and community revitalization. Partnership Governance in Public Management describes what partnership is in the public sector, as well as how it is managed, measured, and evaluated. Both a theoretical and practical text, this book is a what, why, and how examination of a key function of public management. Examining governing capacity, community building, downtown revitalization, and partnership governance through the lens of formalized public-private partnerships - specifically, how these partnerships are understood and sustained in our society - this book is essential reading for students and practitioners with an interest in partnership governance and public administration and management more broadly. Chapters explore partnering technologies as a way to bridge sectors, to produce results and a new sense of public purpose, and to form a stable foundation for governance to flourish.

The ability to create and sustain partnerships is a skill and a strategic capacity that utilizes the strengths and offsets the weaknesses of each actor. Partnerships between the public and private sectors allow each to enjoy the benefits of the other: the public sector benefits from increased entrepreneurship and the private sector utilizes public authority and processes to achieve economic and community revitalization. Partnership Governance in Public Management describes what partnership is in the public sector, as well as how it is managed, measured, and evaluated. Both a theoretical and practical text, this book is a what, why, and how examination of a key function of public management. Examining governing capacity, community building, downtown revitalization, and partnership governance through the lens of formalized public-private partnerships - specifically, how these partnerships are understood and sustained in our society - this book is essential reading for students and practitioners with an interest in partnership governance and public administration and management more broadly. Chapters explore partnering technologies as a way to bridge sectors, to produce results and a new sense of public purpose, and to form a stable foundation for governance to flourish.

This book presents persuasive arguments in support of public service and those who work within it. The authors argue that some services are only appropriate to government control: public safety, highways, armed and emergency services, parks, and public schools. Other services are operated/undertaken by government in response to problems that society and the private sector have failed to solve: housing, transportation, clean air and water, and so on. In both instances, the public sector requires complex problem-solving processesunever simple solutionsuand, despite the negative images of (bumbling) bureaucrats imprinted on the public consciousness, Government at Work shows how public servants do difficult jobs well. Marc Holzer and Kathe Callahan compile evidence that creativity, productivity, and excellence are not strangers to, but often characteristic of, government programs. The public sectorAEs innovative problem-solving should be exploited in the attack on complex problems as they emerge in our society.

This volume in the "ASPA Classics" series compiles the most influential contributions to the theory and practice of performance measurement that have been published in various journals affiliated with the American Society for Public Administration. The book includes major sections of original text along with the readings, and provides students and practitioners with a handy reference source for theory development and practice improvement in performance measurement. The coverage is broad, including methods and techniques for developing effective performance measurement systems, building performance-based management systems, and sustaining performance-based budgeting. The articles are all classics in the field that have endured the test of time and are considered 'must reads' on performance measurement.

This volume includes perspectives on public service selected from six decades of major public administration journals. Recurring themes include: motivations to enter the public service, positive and negative images of public servants and of government, conflicts between loyalty to the organization and loyalty to the public, morale, burnout, and tur

Through contemporary case studies of strategic management at work in the US and Europe, this collection shows that it can no longer be seen as a discipline for long term decisions but has become a central feature of the public sector. Individual chapters offer insights into strategic management capabilities at the national and sub-national level.

This volume includes perspectives on public service selected from six decades of major public administration journals. Recurring themes include: motivations to enter the public service, positive and negative images of public servants and of government, conflicts between loyalty to the organization and loyalty to the public, morale, burnout, and turnover. The volume also includes cross-national analyses of the public service in other systems, proposals for rethinking public service systems, and questions as to the future of the public service. It recaptures a long, continuing debate as to the health of the public service, and in so doing suggests agendas for university research and administrative action.

This innovative book presents a transatlantic comparison of governance and Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) policy, performance and management. By examining both analytical and empirical differences and similarities between the European Union and the United States, this comprehensive book provides a better understanding of (inter) governmental systems, settings and actors operating in the post New Public Management Era. The expert contributors consider processes of policy formulation and implementation from an intergovernmental point of view, examine issues of performance and accountability that rise in IGR settings and zoom in on the importance and implications of IGR for welfare. Taken together, these insights provide an important next step into the world of transatlantic research and comparison. This timely book will appeal to academics and researchers involved in IGR and Multi-Level Governance from the US and Europe as well as post-graduate students in public administration and public policy. Contributors: E. Anessi-Pessina, G. Bouckaert, T. Bovaird, P.J. CamAes, E. CantA(1), C. Carbone, E. Charbonneau, L. Coleman, T. Conlan, F. Ebinger, G. Fattore, C. Ferrario, H.G. Frederickson, S. Grohs, J.L. Hall, J.S. Hall, J. Halligan, D. Hands, L. Hems, A. Henderson, M. Holzer, P.L. Hupe, D. Johnson, S. Kuhlmann, M. Laffin, J.W. Meek, E.A. Miller, L. Niklasson, P. Posner, R. Reiter, N.M. Riccucci, P.S. Roberts, M.L. Seguiti, T. Steen, T. Toonen, E. Wayenberg, C. Weissert, A. Zanardi

This volume in the "ASPA Classics" series compiles the most influential contributions to the theory and practice of performance measurement that have been published in various journals affiliated with the American Society for Public Administration. The book includes major sections of original text along with the readings, and provides students and practitioners with a handy reference source for theory development and practice improvement in performance measurement. The coverage is broad, including methods and techniques for developing effective performance measurement systems, building performance-based management systems, and sustaining performance-based budgeting. The articles are all classics in the field that have endured the test of time and are considered 'must reads' on performance measurement.

The Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide Survey assessed the practice of digital governance in large municipalities worldwide in 2009. This research, replicating our continuing surveys in 2003, 2005 and 2007, evaluated the websites of municipalities in terms of digital governance and ranked them on a global scale. Simply stated, digital governance includes both digital government (delivery of public service) and digital democracy (citizen participation in governance). Specifically, we analyzed security, usability, and content of websites, the type of online services currently being offered, and citizen response and participation through websites established by municipal governments (Holzer & Kim, 2007).

A internationally renowned academic and a local practitioner combine insights and experiences to aid local government leaders in assessing public service alternatives. Their framework is straightforward and goes well beyond the simplistic assumptions of economies of scale. This book could not be more timely.

American governments are developing performance measurement systems to make them more responsive and to increase the quality of services they provide. Concerns have emerged, however, that government- initiated performance measurement has not convinced citizens of its effectiveness due to several dysfunctional effects. Some scholars argue, therefore, that citizens should be involved in government performance measurement activities. This book provides evidence, confirming that public deliberation appears to have contributed to the building of fairer, more transparent and more reflective performance measurement systems, and to the enhancement of beneficial effects of performance measurement on democracy and management. It is important to note, however, that these effects have resulted from the fulfillment of conditions of public deliberation-political equality, inclusiveness, deliberation, authority, and non- tyranny- as theorists have suggested. The analysis should be useful to professionals in Performance Management and Citizen Participation, or anyone else who is developing a performance measurement system for making his or her organizations more accountable.

This book presents persuasive arguments in support of public service and those who work within it. The authors argue that some services are only appropriate to government control: public safety, highways, armed and emergency services, parks, and public schools. Other services are operated/undertaken by government in response to problems that society and the private sector have failed to solve: housing, transportation, clean air and water, and so on. In both instances, the public sector requires complex problem-solving processesunever simple solutionsuand, despite the negative images of (bumbling) bureaucrats imprinted on the public consciousness, Government at Work shows how public servants do difficult jobs well. Marc Holzer and Kathe Callahan compile evidence that creativity, productivity, and excellence are not strangers to, but often characteristic of, government programs. The public sectorAEs innovative problem-solving should be exploited in the attack on complex problems as they emerge in our society.