Solving Public Problems: A Practical Guide to Fix Our Government and Change Our World
Beth Noveck
The good news is that most of us dream of world peace. The bad news is that for every successful social entrepreneur, there are thousands of inactive citizens. Meanwhile, we are all capable of achieving the efficiency, equality and legitimacy of public institutions, but often we simply do not know how to do it. Beth Novek, a consultant to dozens of governments and public agencies, draws readers' attention to societal problems with no obvious universal solution - systemic racism, underdeveloped medicine or its inaccessibility, unemployment, a huge gap between rich and poor, climate change - to deal with alone impossible. She details the tools we use to get organized, connect with like-minded people, and work together to create positive change. The author shows how to use the advantages of digital technologies, big data, artificial intelligence and collective knowledge to develop and implement effective solutions to modern problems. Another important topic that Beth Novek brings up is the huge gulf between failed public institutions and social entrepreneurs around the world doing incredible things. She proposes a radical rethinking of the role of the civil servant and his skills, and analyzes ways to bridge this gap. The book is replete with practical advice for officials, public figures and just active citizens on how to become more productive and fair leaders, involve people in solving global problems, give them more power and finally fix the troubled world of the 21st century.
