REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

This review offers a synthesis and critical assessment of the reinvention movement in the United States. Focusing on the work of David Osborne, the National Performance Review, and the Winter Commission, it describes the key themes that define this movement and then assesses them from two major perspectives. The first perspective probes whether reinvention ideology provides a plausible prescription for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public agencies. The second focuses on the implications of reinvention for accountability and related democratic concerns. The degree to which reinvention ideas appear to be taking root at the various levels of the federal system also receives attention. The authors conclude that the reinvention movement should not be dismissed as the latest fad, but rather as the fount of several plausible hypotheses that should be tested further. They also suggest that the American political system will place major, although not necessarily insurmountable, barriers in the way of sustaining reinvention.