ABSTRACT
This chapter purposes are three core ideas were singled out from the literature of institutions to frame the selection of case studies on 'building institutions'. These three ideas are culture, leadership and systems. The case studies in this chapter were selected because they present facets of how institutions have developed in Singapore. The Singapore Civil Service College has been using case studies as a pedagogical tool. The purpose of case studies was to inform, teach and inspire public officers on the various areas of governance and leadership so that they understand the challenges, policy rationale and ethos of the public sector. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent of this book. It deals with a mega case study titled Growing a city in a garden, which presents the five-decade journey of greening a city and focuses on the importance of leadership in organizations that define institutions.
