ABSTRACT

This chapter examines why public sector modernization is often without goals or even reference related to major policy goals. How can public sector reform in so many countries, and for so long, have been executed without much clarity about the relations with strategic goals other than efficiency? The second theme is the question of how to ensure effective policy and institutional coherence, in particular for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Lack of coherence is one of the most important governance failures. The last parts of the chapter are about capacity building for metagovernance and measuring progress. Readiness to implement the SDGs requires the capacity and willingness to look at concrete challenges from various perspectives, and to aim at designing and managing governance frameworks that are composed of elements from different governance styles. In other words: to apply metagovernance. As regards measuring progress, the chapter stresses that selection of indicators should be in line with the purpose of measuring progress. Measuring only what can be measured quantitatively and basing decisions on them is a clear predictor of governance failure.