Abstract:

Billions of citizens around the world are frustrated with their governments. Political leaders struggle to honour their promises and officials find it near impossible to translate ideas into action. The result? High taxes, but poor outcomes. Cynicism, not just with government, but with the political process. Why is this? How could this vicious spiral be reversed? Michael Barber’s ground-breaking book draws on his experience of working for and with government leaders the world over to present a blueprint for how to run a government, delivering much better results for citizens without excessive taxes. The first book to bring a global perspective to this issue, and using contemporary cases from every continent alongside classic examples from history, anecdote and hard evidence, Barber makes a compelling case for a new approach, arguing that, without massive improvements in delivery, trust in government, already low, will fall further putting democracy at risk.

 

Speaker Bio:

Sir Michael Barber is Chief Education Advisor at Pearson – responsible for putting in place a process to ensure that all Pearson's products and services demonstrably deliver improved learner outcomes. He is chair of the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, aiming to extend opportunities by investing in low-cost private education in the developing world. In 2001, he founded the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit in No10, Downing Street, which he ran until 2005. From 2005 to 2011 he was a partner at McKinsey and Company. In 2009 he founded, in Washington DC, the Education Delivery Institute. Since 2009, on behalf of the British government, he has visited Pakistan over 30 times to oversee a radical and, so far, successful reform of the Punjab education system. He is the author of numerous books and articles, most notably Instruction to Deliver, and Deliverology 101. In 2005, he was knighted for his services to improving government.