Full Title: The How We Need Now: A Capacity Agenda for 2025
Author(s): Jennifer Pahlka and Andrew Greenway
Publisher(s): Niskanen Center
Publication Date: December 20, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
These outcomes are not the result of lack of diligence by our nation’s public servants. Our administrative state’s structures, processes, and ways of working are simply no longer fit for the jobs we need them to do. Both our airwaves and discourse on Capitol Hill are overwhelmed with debates about policy. What our government should do sets the terms of debate. But the what matters little if our nation’s leadership doesn’t put equal consideration into how to do it.
Government can and must be reorganized to meet the current moment. This requires prioritizing the government’s ability to achieve its policy goals – what we term “state capacity” – in a way not seen since the early 1900s. It’s time.
This paper provides a thorough diagnosis of today’s state capacity challenges, as well as a promising path forward. Transforming our government for the modern era is a long-term effort, but we must start now.