Introduction: a new age of government

A period of government transformation is underway that is unprecedented in modern history: it is a new age of government. Right across the world, in developed and developing economies, the systems, institutions and instruments of governance are changing in profound ways.

Many systems of government are being transformed because politicians and administrators believe there are better ways to serve the interests of a state’s citizens than those currently and most commonly adopted. Others are changing because external forces dictate that transformation is necessary in order to serve the needs of citizens. Some are changing because citizens are engaging with government to negotiate and collaborate in citizen-led change.

Of course, the phenomenon of government transformation is not a new one. Governments have always responded to events and circumstances, usually passively and reactively. Following the economic shocks of the 1930s, and again in the 1980s, governments enacted regulation, enforced fiscal discipline, cut costs and took other measures. Likewise, the failure of established systems in banking and elsewhere which precipitated the most recent financial crisis and global recession provided new challenges and potentially new roles for government.

Whether it is external or internal influences, natural events or disruptive innovations, there are many triggers for change in the way governments govern their people. However, as we stand in the first decades of the twenty-first century, governments face a multiplicity of new and complex challenges that require their response. At the same time, there are many new opportunities to be seized.

For a start, citizens have become empowered in ways that could barely have been imagined just twenty years ago. Harnessing social media and other new communication technologies, citizens are collaborating with governments, expressing their wishes, demanding greater transparency and accountability for outcomes and results. And they are impatient. Global immersion in the interconnected electronic universe of the Internet has led to information being freely and universally available as never before. Immediacy is becoming an imperative: people want and expect results now.

There is also pressure on governments to do more with less. The credit crunch and ensuing recession led to budgetary constraints, a catalyst for increased efficiency and productivity. Many nations remain highly indebted; several developed states have public debt to annual GDP ratios approaching or in excess of a hundred per cent. The onus is on government to embrace fiscal consolidation and sustainability in order to eliminate deficits and manage debt.

More broadly, globalization means that few nations are immune to the effects of a substantial economic shock felt in one continent, region or even country. Local government debts in China are no longer just China’s problem, for example. If they trigger a systemic banking crisis, those local debts could soon have a much wider regional, even global, economic impact. While cheap and frequent global transportation and travel provides huge advantages for society, it also means that a single, comparatively benign virus in a remote region of a small country can mutate into something far more severe, creating a pandemic that threatens global health in a matter of weeks.

Demographic changes and shifts are another change driver. The global population is seven billion and rising. The startlingly rapid pace of growth can be seen in real time on one of the Internet’s many world population clocks. A growing and increasingly urban population – by 2050, some 70 per cent of the world’s population will be city dwellers – places a great strain on the infrastructure of nations. Infrastructure deterioration, partly due to underinvestment, is already a serious problem for many developing nations (and for some developed economies too).

An ageing population in many developed countries means shrinking workforces and lower tax revenue, coupled with an increased burden on state expenditure, leaving governments rethinking their ability to deliver services in an appropriate manner.

On the other hand, rising living standards and economic expectations in developing nations compound resource issues, as demand and competition for them increases – whether those resources are water, talented employees, financial capital, raw materials such as dwindling carbon-based energy, or declining fish stocks. The threat to the planet from man-made climate change exacerbates the problem. Sustainability is an issue many governments are now including in their long-term planning and many are developing the means to consolidate low-carbon technology with infrastructure, and supporting the development of environmental technologies and industries.

Meeting the challenges

The challenges are many, varied and daunting. But the exhilarating and accelerating pace of technological advancement provides governments with the new tools to solve many of the challenges they face. Around the world, governments are responding to these numerous and difficult challenges by transforming the way they think, steer, organize and measure, as well as engage with citizens, the private and third sectors.

Until now, though, best practices have remained elusive. Many governments are creating innovative solutions to these problems. Yet there is no coherent approach or large-scale knowledge sharing about useful practices. Intergovernmental collaboration and sharing of innovative policymaking is piecemeal.

At the heart of government, new answers are emerging to a number of important questions:

• How can governments truly add value?
• How can governments become more resilient?
• How should governments approach the relationship between the public, private and third sectors?
• What is the collective capacity that governments need to develop to anticipate, cope and thrive in the face of such change and uncertainty?

Government for a New Age explores the ways in which governments are changing their value propositions to tackle these pressing concerns and provide some answers to these questions. It brings together the latest thinking on modern government and sheds light on the current trends in governance practices, operating models, processes and tools that governments are embracing.

It does so in a structured way. The book has three sections, built on a 3S framework, to better understand the dynamics of change: Steering, Shaping and Sustaining.

Part One – Steering with foresight looks at the process from vision to regulation. In Chapter 1 we examine how governments can use foresight tools and techniques to gain a sense of the challenges of the future and reduce exposure to unanticipated shocks.

In Chapter 2 we consider how governments can set the agenda through the articulation of national positioning, priorities and strategies, as well as what types of institutional structure might play an instrumental role in delivering the objectives set out in the national position.

Chapter 3 surveys some of the innovative ways in which governments in different parts of the world are changing how they develop policy.

Regulation will always be an important part of government, but new and smarter approaches to creating and defining a regulatory framework are possible, as outlined in Chapter 4.

In Part Two – Shaping smart delivery we consider the machinery of government and what needs to be in place to make the transformation of government a reality. A lean approach to government is vital when government debt levels are so high in many nations. Adopting an innovative ecosystem approach to service delivery, coupled with other factors such as fiscal consolidation and greater transparency, can shed light on inefficiencies and reduce the cost of government. Chapters 5 and 6 explore the machinery of government and how governments are providing innovative solutions in the delivery of services.

A new age of government, in the complex, fast-paced modern world, requires a well-led, highly capable, skilled and motivated workforce. Chapter 7 outlines how governments are building new workforce skills.

In Chapter 8, we look at how governments are attempting to raise levels of engagement among the myriad stakeholders in society.

Then comes Part Three – Sustaining Progress. Real progress is not only a matter of achieving social and economic development. It is also a matter of how resilient these accomplishments are and whether social, economic, environmental and governance conditions are sufficient for sustained development. It is highly dependent on how agile government is, and on its state of preparedness and ability to respond when shocks occur.

To better serve the interests of their citizens, governments are extending the traditional scope of their activities and influence. In Chapter 9, we detail the ways governments are reaching into people’s lives – to address issues of sustainability, equality and diversity, and social behaviour, for example.

Significant adverse events, whether they are natural disasters, the triggers for systemic economic meltdowns, or anything else, appear to be on the increase. The importance of fostering national resilience is addressed in Chapter 10.

In Chapter 11, we seek to redefine how we consider the impact of government. What should it be and how can we gauge whether it is being achieved?

Finally, to bring these strands together we present our distilled transformation agenda for government for a new age, and Professor Subramanian Rangan of INSEAD provides a thought-provoking afterword on the emerging role of government and the meaning of societal progress.

If governments are to maintain and improve the standards of the services they provide, then government transformation is inevitable; it is only the extent, pace and type of change that is uncertain. If governments embrace innovation and change, developing and adopting the practices covered in this book, then we hope they will enable sustainable economic and social growth for the society of the future and the citizens of tomorrow.

Government for a New Age describes how governments can undergo profound transformation in order to improve the way they govern and the services they provide. In doing so, it shares many stories and experiences from around the world, where others – governments, the public, corporations, the third sector – are doing things better. And we hope it serves as a transformation framework for anyone who is working to prepare their government for the many challenges ahead.

Our book was never intended to be a philosophical discourse on the meaning and purpose of government. Hopefully, we remain steadfastly impartial in our journey through the practices of various governments. There are many different approaches to politics, but most governments are united by their function. They govern their countries and, to a greater or lesser extent, provide services to their people. The world requires government, and to bring about a better world demands the very best of government.