HOW TO
CHANGE THE
WORLD: Social
Entrepreneurs
and the Power
of New Ideas
by David Bornstein
Oxford University Press, 256 pp., $28.00
GOVERNING BY
NETWORK: The
New Shape of
the Public
Sector
by Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers
Brookings Institution Press, 210 pp., $18.95
In the aftermath of a long election season focused mostly on the record of the Republican incumbent, many Democrats are now embracing their outsider role as an opportunity to forge a more ambitious progressive agenda for change. The challenge for reform-minded Democrats: How do they advance a bold agenda for tackling the key challenges facing the country without falling back on the bureaucratic solutions of the past?
As journalist David Bornstein documents in his wonderful new book, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, there is no shortage of bold, pattern-changing ideas. In fact, Bornstein argues, we are in the midst of a worldwide explosion of social entrepreneurs -- passionate individuals advancing new ideas for tackling major public problems through the nonprofit sector. Operating beneath the radar of the Washington policy debate, these social entrepreneurs have unleashed a wave of innovative grassroots civic experiments -- both in America and abroad -- that serve as a potential trove of field-tested ideas for a new progressive agenda.
Of course, the use of nonprofits as a test bed for new public policies has deep roots in American history. For example, Hull-House, a turn-of-the-century charitable organization founded by future Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams to provide social services for needy families, not only helped lift countless families out of poverty but also served as a model and inspiration for much of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. Yet, more often than not, today's Democratic leaders searching for inspiration have looked to the professionalized and bureaucratized federal programs that grew out of these early efforts, rather than the grassroots civic innovations from which they sprung.
By documenting the efforts of eight modern-day Jane Addamses -- advancing innovative approaches to everything from expanding college access for low-income kids to cooperative ways to dramatically reduce infant mortality worldwide -- Bornstein's book serves as a timely reminder that the spirit of civic experimentation is alive and well, just waiting to be championed by the next generation of Democratic leaders.
One of the most promising new models for tapping this rising tide of social entrepreneurship is "governing by network," where the government focuses less on providing goods and services and more on facilitating networks of private and nonprofit partners that can tackle these public problems. The advantages of this approach include greater specialization to handle America's increasingly complex public problems, greater speed and flexibility to explore alternative solutions, and increased reach to implement broad-based alliances and make government funds go further.
For example, states, empowered by the 1996 welfare reform law, have invested in vast networks of innovative private and nonprofit partners to help them stop simply dispensing welfare checks and start focusing on the more challenging task of promoting economic self-sufficiency. In Milwaukee, home to perhaps the most far-reaching of these welfare-to-work networks, a welfare recipient can make use of nearly all of the available social services without ever meeting a government employee.
In Governing by Network: The New Shape of the Public Sector, former Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Manhattan Institute scholar William D. Eggers provide policymakers and elected officials interested in this approach a practical guide, based on real-life examples from dozens of pioneering government agencies.
As Goldsmith and Eggers document in their accessible and well-researched book, the use of non-governmental organizations to carry out public services dates back at least two millennia, to the Greek Republic, which outsourced its tax collection system to a network of private "tax farmers." But a variety of factors, including advances in information technology, the growing complexity of public problems, and the increasing demand for greater choice and customization, have pushed network government solutions to the forefront in the past decade.
In fact, the number of workers in private and nonprofit organizations partnered with the federal government today outnumbers federal employees two to one, and federal, state, and local governments deliver less than one-half of the social services they finance. With a large-scale baby-boomer retirement soon to hit the public work force and growing deficits increasing the pressure to do more with less, this shift toward outside partners is likely to accelerate in the coming years.
The first half of Governing by Network explains why the use of public networks is on the rise in government and details the challenges it creates for government officials. But it is the second half of the book, which focuses on the tools and insights needed to create and manage successful networks, that is must-read material for reform-minded Democrats.
"Governing by network," the authors remind us, "is neither an excuse for, nor as simple as, privatization, because it recognizes that in a highly complex society a variety of people and organizations will be necessary to provide high-quality citizen services." For public leaders seeking to ground a bold agenda in this networked government approach, the authors offer six principles for success:
Focus less on pro g rams and more on public value. Rather than ask what type of new government program is best for solving a pressing problem, first determine what public outcome you want to produce and then work backward to determine how best to achieve it. Widen the range of potential solutions to include those that help leverage private dollars and access outside expertise, technology, and managerial talent.
Don't get lost in the fine print. Flexible and innovative solutions require a focus on key values and performance objectives, not simply the fine print of the contract. The most successful networks have the freedom to individualize their responses to citizens with diverse problems.
Money is a tool, not the tool. Make use of the government's entire toolkit of resources to craft a solution, including public infrastructure, access to information, legal authority, and the bully pulpit.
The perfect is the enemy of the good. Accept at the outset that no matter how well a network is designed, problems will always arise. Judge success by adaptation to these new circumstances, not the absence of mistakes.
Develop a new set of core competencies. Innovation requires public officials who are prepared to see through restrictive government walls into new relationships that produce value. Cross-sector organization and knowledge must be built into the core of any networked government solution.
Downsize and upsize simultaneously. Network solutions need fewer people at the lower and middle levels, but more highly skilled individuals at the top. Invest the resources at the outset to hire experienced managers with skills in team building, risk analysis, negotiation, and other areas critical to success.
A bold agenda for change won't materialize overnight, but for reform-minded Democrats determined to craft a new generation of progressive ideas, How to Change the World and Governing by Network outline good places to start.
