Solving Public Problems

How to take advantage of technology, data, and the collective wisdom in our communities to design powerful solutions to contemporary problems How to take advantage of technology, data, and the collective wisdom in our communities to design powerful solutions to contemporary problems “Bursting with sage, practical advice for public sector officials and civil society actors who want to engage citizens and give them more power.”—Glen Weyl and Henry Farrell, Boston Review The challenges societies face today, from inequality to climate change to systemic racism, cannot be solved with yesterday’s toolkit. Solving Public Problems shows how readers can take advantage of digital technology, data, and the collective wisdom of our communities to design and deliver powerful solutions to contemporary problems. Offering a radical rethinking of the role of the public servant and the skills of the public workforce, this book is about the vast gap between failing public institutions and the huge number of public entrepreneurs doing extraordinary things—and how to close that gap. Drawing on lessons learned from decades of advising global leaders and from original interviews and surveys of thousands of public problem solvers, Beth Simone Noveck provides a practical guide for public servants, community leaders, students, and activists to become more effective, equitable, and inclusive leaders and repair our troubled, twenty-first-century world.