Mark Moore discusses the concept and history of public value

Summary

The speaker discusses the concept of public value, emphasizing its importance in assessing societal conditions and driving improvement. They introduce the 'strategic triangle' framework to identify public value, operational capacity, and the need for legitimacy and support. The speaker also highlights the evolving application of this framework across sectors and the critical role of citizen engagement and democratic decision-making in defining and creating public value.

Takeaways

• 🧐 The concept of public value is driven by an individual's concern for societal conditions and the desire to improve them.
• 🔎 Public value involves assessing both personal and societal situations to identify areas for potential improvement.
• 🌐 Interest in public value extends beyond individual welfare to include social conditions and aggregate societal concerns.
• 🏗️ The strategic triangle is a framework to identify public value, operational capacity, and the need for legitimacy and support.
• 💡 Operational capacity focuses on the material assets and methods required to achieve desired societal improvements.
• 🤝 Legitimacy and support are crucial for mobilizing resources and ensuring societal acceptance of proposed changes.
• 💼 The strategic triangle helps transition from aspirations to concrete actions by addressing resource allocation and deployment.
• 🌟 The strategic triangle and public value concepts have broadened to be useful for various sectors, including government, nonprofit, and social entrepreneurship.
• 🔗 The strategic triangle is applicable for cross-sectoral problem-solving, facilitating collaboration across different organizational boundaries.
• 🗳️ The connection between the strategic triangle and the quality of citizenship is emphasized, highlighting the importance of public deliberation in defining public value.
• 📢 The role of democratic leaders is to call a public into existence that understands and acts on its interests, which is integral to creating public value.

Q & A

What is the primary factor that influences one's interest in public value according to the speaker?

The primary factor is the kind of person you are, particularly if you are someone who constantly assesses both your own situation and that of others to identify ways to improve conditions for everyone.

What is the concept of public value in the context of the transcript?

The concept of public value is a guiding principle that directs attention to conditions in the world that one is interested in improving, beyond one's own material well-being.

How does the speaker suggest assessing whether society is doing well or badly?

The speaker suggests assessing society by looking at both individual conditions, such as economic welfare and the quality of relationships, and aggregate conditions like total levels of economic prosperity and civility.

What is the 'strategic triangle' framework mentioned in the transcript?

The 'strategic triangle' is a simple framework that identifies three key points: the idea of public value, the operational capacity needed to accomplish the goal, and the legitimacy and support required to mobilize resources effectively.

What does 'operational capacity' refer to in the context of the strategic triangle?

Operational capacity refers to the concrete methods and material assets that can be deployed to change the conditions of interest, such as addressing hunger or oppression.

Why is 'legitimacy and support' important in the pursuit of public value?

Legitimacy and support are important because they provide reassurance that the actions taken are valued by others, offer protection from opposition, and help mobilize the necessary resources, including financial and moral support, to accomplish the goal.

How does the speaker define the difference between 'legitimacy and support' and 'operational capacity'?

The difference lies in the focus: 'legitimacy and support' is concerned with mobilizing or marshaling assets that can be deployed, while 'operational capacity' describes the concrete methods used to deploy those assets to achieve the desired result.

How has the application of the strategic triangle and the concept of public value evolved over time according to the speaker?

Over time, the application has broadened to include not only government managers but also managers in the voluntary and nonprofit sectors, and even individuals interested in social entrepreneurship. It has also deepened in understanding how to define, measure, and produce public value.

What is the role of citizenship and public deliberation in defining public value?

Citizenship and public deliberation play a crucial role in defining public value as they help in understanding and acting on collective interests, and in creating a sense of citizenship among participants.

How does the speaker relate the strategic triangle to the challenges of cross-boundary problem-solving?

The speaker suggests that the strategic triangle can be used to analyze the challenge of building a network of capacity across organizations and sectors to accomplish a purpose, making it useful for solving problems that cut across boundaries.

What is the significance of creating a public in the context of democratic decision-making?

Creating a public is significant because it involves calling a group of individuals into existence that can understand and act on their own interests, which is essential for democratic decision-making and policymaking activities.