Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems

With trust in government near an all-time low, this book provides an essential new model for transforming the public sector and getting things done.

Pandemics. Climate change. Refugee resettlement. Global supply chains. We're facing a new generation of complex problems, stretching across the public and private sectors and flowing over organizational boundaries. Historically we've looked to government for big solutions, but the reality is, the government we have now is a poor match for the problems we face. It is trapped in organizational boxes and handicapped by leaders who, too often, try to manage problems from the top down.

We need a fresh, new approach. As William D. Eggers, executive director of Deloitte's Center for Government Insights, and Donald F. Kettl, public management scholar, show in this indispensable book, we need a government of bridgebuilders--public managers and leaders who collaborate with partners, both inside and outside government, to get the job done. They manage horizontally instead of vertically, they see their role as connectors, and they identify which players have the assets needed to solve the problems at hand.

Each chapter examines one of the ten core principles of bridgebuilding and features practical tips and dynamic cases of how effective leaders have put each principle to work. Also included is a special section on creating a hundred-day bridgebuilding plan. Throughout, Eggers and Kettl tell fascinating and instructive stories of bridgebuilders who are transcending boundaries, partnering across sectors, and getting the job done.

Government can't reorganize itself out of the challenges it faces or muscle its way through with a command-and-control approach to problem-solving. Bridgebuilders provides a new model that current public managers and leaders, as well as young people aspiring to public service, can learn and apply right now to transform government performance and restore public trust.