ABSTRACT
The chapter begins by placing the contemporary failure to consider democratic-constitutional values in context as a recurring historical failure of US public administration. Policy impact statements and scorecards are common tools for prodding public administrative organizations to pay attention to specific concerns and values. Impact statements are prospective assessments of the probable impact of administrative initiatives on particular concerns. Conspicuously missing from the plethora of impact statements and scorecards available today are those focusing on the protection and promotion of democratic-constitutional values, including individual rights, constitutional integrity, transparency, and the rule of law. The chapter proposes that democratic-constitutional impact statements be required as part of all substantial prescriptions for administrative reform and that evaluations of program and policy implementation routinely include democratic-constitutional scorecards. Contemporary administrative prescriptions for greater cost-effectiveness, better customer service, and other objectives emphasize the desirability of increasing managerial flexibility, employee empowerment, deregulation, and client and contractor self-regulation.
