Stanford University

Public Problem Solving - Publications

A collection of books published in Shorenstein APARC in-house monograph series set against the background of Encina Hall entranceway.

Publications

Writings by working group members that expound the thinking behind public problem solving.

To Regain Policy Competence: The Software of American Public Problem Solving

Philip Zelikow, Texas National Security Review, September 2019

Effective policymaking is difficult. The “hardware” of policymaking — the tools and structures of government that frame the possibilities for useful work — are obviously important. Less obvious is that policy performance in practice often rests more on the “software” of public problem-solving: the way people size up problems, design actions, and implement policy.

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Today's Problems, Yesterday's Toolkit

Beth Simone Noveck & Rod Glover, ANZSOG Report, August 2019

Commissioned by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), this report builds on a pioneering survey of almost 400 public servants in Australia and New Zealand, dozens of interviews with senior practitioners, and original research into how governments around the world are training public officials in innovative practices..

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Public Entrepreneurship: How to Train 21st Century Leaders

Beth Simone Noveck, Apolitical, June 2019

The 21st century public leader — the public entrepreneur — needs the ability to innovate and this requires new skills, including the know-how to define actionable and specific problems.

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The New Practice of Public Problem Solving

Tara McGuiness & Anne-Marie Slaughter, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2019

A new class of innovators is advancing the public good by figuring out what people actually need and then testing, improving, and scaling solutions that may already be out there. Here are the four elements of their method.

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Pardee RAND Reimagines the Future of Public Policy Problem Solving

Susan Marquis, Rand Review, January 2019

The problems we face today have become so complex, so interconnected, and so shifting that we need new ways of thinking to solve them.

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What's Wrong with Public Policy Education

Francis Fukuyama, The American Interest, August 2018

Most programs train students to become capable policy analysts, but with no understanding of how to implement those policies in the real world.

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Preparing Tomorrow’s Public Service: What the Next Generation Needs

The Volcker Alliance, May 2018

Government agencies at all levels face management challenges of immense scale and complexity. In the decades ahead, these challenges will continue to grow as the nation confronts a wave of retiring career government professionals.

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