Public administration has evolved into an extraordinarily complex form of governance employing traditional bureaucracy, quasi-government public organizations, and collaborative networks of nongovernmental organizations. Analyzing and improving government performance—a matter of increasing concern to citizens, elected officials, and managers of the organizations themselves—has in turn become a much more fraught undertaking. Understanding the new complexities calls for new research approaches.
The Art of Governance presents a fresh palette of research based on a new framework of governance that was first developed by coeditor Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., with Carolyn J. Heinrich, and Carolyn J. Hill in their book, Improving Governance: A New Logic for Empirical Research. That book identified how the relationships among citizens, legislatures, executive and organizational structures, and stakeholders interact, in order to better diagnose and solve problems in public management.
This volume takes that relational concept into new realms of conceptualization and application as it links alternative institutional and administrative structures to program performance in different policy areas and levels of government. Collectively, the contributors begin to paint a new picture of how management matters throughout the policy process. They illuminate how, at different levels of an organization, leadership and management vary—and explore both the significance of structural systems and the importance of alternative organizational forms for the implementation of public policies.
The Art of Governance shows that effective governance is much more complex than paint-by-number. But if the variety of forms and models of governance are analyzed using advanced theories, models, methods, and data, important lessons can be applied that can lead us to more successful institutions.
Table of Contents
Part One: Choosing a Conceptual Lens
1. Governance as an Organizing Theme for Empirical Research
Carolyn J. Heinrich, Carolyn J. Hill, and Laurence E. Lynn, Jr.
2. Framing High Performance and Innovativeness in Government: A Review and Assessment of Research
Hal G. Rainey and Jay Eungha Ryu
Part Two: Social Program Service Delivery: Identifying the Linkages in Diverse Settings
3. Alternative Governance Structures for Welfare Provider Networks
Jo Ann G. Ewalt
4. Governance, Evidence-Based Practice and Performance in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Carolyn J. Heinrich
5. Can Casework Design Choices Improve Outcomes for Clients Who Are Difficult to Employ? Evidence From Welfare-To-Work Offices
Carolyn J. Hill
Part Three: Government Organizations: Identifying the Linkages in Diverse Settings
6. Management and Performance Outcomes in State Government
Amy Donahue, Willow S. Jacobson, Mark D. Robbins, Ellen V. Rubin, and Sally C. Selden
7. Linking Dimensions of Public Sector Leadership to Performance
Patricia W. Ingraham, Jessica E. Sowa, and Donald P. Moynihan
Part Four: The Map for Future Analysis
8. Putting Performance Measurement in Context
Edward T. Jennings, Jr. and Meg Patrick Haist
9. Conceptual Issues in Modeling and Measuring Management and Its Impacts on Performance
Kenneth J. Meier and Laurence O'Toole, Jr.
10. Analyzing Management Structures and Systems in a Governance Framework: What Have We Learned?
Patricia W. Ingraham
Contributors
Amy K. Donahue Jo Ann G. Ewalt Meg Patrick Haist Carolyn J. Heinrich Carolyn J. Hill Patricia W. Ingraham Willow S. Jacobson Edward T. Jennings Jr. Laurence E. Lynn Jr. Kenneth J. Meier Donald P. Moynihan Laurence J. O'Toole Jr. Hal G. Rainey Mark D. Robbins Ellen V. Rubin Jay Eungha Ryu Sally Coleman Selden Jessica Sowa
About the Author
Patricia W. Ingraham is professor of public administration and political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, author of The Foundation of Merit: Public Service in American Democracy, and coeditor of numerous books.
Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., is chair and professor of Public Affairs at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, and coauthor of Improving Governance: A New Logic for Empirical Research.
