Beth Noveck

"In explaining how to enhance political institutions with the power of networks, examines the Peer-to-Patent project. Discusses its design challenges faced in creating software to distill online collaboration into useful expertise. Explains how law, policy, and technology can be revamped to help government work in more open, participatory ways"--Provided by publisher.

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.

"The purpose of Smarter State is to provide both the theory and a practical blueprint for going beyond mere transparency and passive citizenship to a world in which citizenship is active and institutions are "open by default." Such openness and collaboration are essential if democratic societies are to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow"--Preface.