Top-downgovernment is losing its predominance as the primary method to deliver public services and fulfill public policy goals in America. Emerging in its place... » 

Top-downgovernment is losing its predominance as the primary method to deliver public services and fulfill public policy goals in America. Emerging in its place is a fundamentally different approach, in which government executives are redefinig their core responsibilities away from managing government workers and programs to orchestrating both independent and public organizations to deliver services. Government agencies are becoming less important as direct service providers and more vital aslevers of the public good. This new model, which the authors call governing by network, is characterized by the web of relationships and partnerships that increasingly constitutes modern governance. Governing by Network examines for the first time government's transformation from centralized control over public programs to facilitating services through networks of nongovernmental entities, as seen through the experience of dozens of public innovators. The book demonstrates how managing a portfolio of provider networks is a dramatically different endeavor from managing divisions of employees. Like any change of such magnitude, it poses major challendes for those in charge. Tackling them requires a form of public management different from what we have become accustomed to over te past century. Networked government represents a fundamental transformation in how governments fulfill policy goals and deliver services. This book presents the important principles of governing by network, providing a roadmap for actually governing the networked state. Drawing from dozens of case studies, as well as established best practices, it aims to develop lessons to inform elected officials, business executives, and the broader public. «