This report is a follow-on to a 2012 book edited by Mr. Prow, Governing to Win: Enhancing National Competitiveness Through New Policy and Operating Approaches, in which he introduced the concept of fast government as a key to increasing the mission value of government organizations.

Today’s conditions require government executives to go beyond simply doing more with less—to find smarter ways of doing business, using resources more efficiently, and investing them more wisely. The dramatic nature of this historical moment cannot be overstated. It is fully revealed by the depth of the vicissitudes being faced. How government leaders respond matters and the conditions require more than vague changes. It is to be understood that today’s actions affect future choices and lost opportunities result in ubiquitous costs.

With the recent release of Governing to Win: Enhancing National Competitiveness Through New Policy and Operating Approaches, Chuck Prow has compiled some 13 insightful essays by leading thinkers and practitioners that can contribute to laying out that long-term strategy. “Given today’s fiscal realities,” Prow explains, “the nation must explore alternative policy approaches and ways for government to do business.” He notes that the alternatives outlined in his new book can catalyze national competitiveness in an environment where major new investments will be difficult.

More importantly, it introduces a select group of government leaders who offer their insights, outline successes, and tell us how they, in their own unique way, are making a difference in an era of fiscal austerity. Today’s conditions require government executives to go beyond simply doing more with less—to find smarter ways of doing business, using resources more efficiently, and investing them more wisely. The dramatic nature of this historical moment cannot be overstated. It is fully revealed by the depth of the vicissitudes being faced.

On this program, we introduce a select group of government leaders who offer their insights, outline successes, and tell us how they, in their own unique way, are making a difference in an era of fiscal austerity.