This presentation was given by Martjin van der Steen, Vice Dean and Deputy Director, Netherlands School for Public Administration and & Erasmus University, Rotterdam at the GCES Conference on Governing Education in a Complex World in Brussels on 17 October during the keynote session on Complexity and Modern Governance.

1. Governing complex systems
prof.dr. Martijn van der Steen
@martijnvdsteen
• Public value bottom-up
• New modes of government: collaborative,
networks
• Sedimentation, hybridization and mixed models
• Implications for public organizations, civil servants,
citizens, and for (public) leaders
• Discussion
Outline of this session
5

2. 8
10
A changing shape of problems
– “Wicked” (Thomas, 2001), as opposed to
“tamed”
– “Systemic” (Loorbach, 2015), as opposed to
“path-dependent”
– “Complex” (Collander & Kupers, 2014), as
opposed to “complicated”, or “structured”
Governance
Non-linearities
Co-evolution
Emergence
Adaptivity

3. “Metaphors we live by”
Tree
Vertical hierarchy
Rhizome
Horizontal system
Government
Private
Sector
(small and large)
Civic
(groups or
individuals)
active
citizens
social
entrepeneurs
privatization
citizen-
participation
Societalization
Public
Administration
(PA)
New Public
Management
(NPM)
Network
Governance
(NG)
Societal
Resilience
(SR)
The legitimate
state
The active
society
The networking
state
The performing
state
The responsive
state
Policy
Results
Civic Results
Inside-out Outside-in
5
• (Old) Public Administration core concepts:
– Rechtsstaat
– Rule of law
– Precise and unambiguous rules
– Impartiality, legality
– Merit based recruitment
– Public ethos
– Clear division of responsibilities
– Accountability
6
• (New) Public Management core concepts:
– Performance management
– From ex ante control to ex post control
– Deregulation, liberalization
– Single-purpose organizations: specialization
– Separation of „policy” and „operation/execution”
– Managerial autonomy, integral management
– Contract, privatization, market-orientation
– Customer, client, choice

4. 7
• Network Governance core concepts:
– Working with others to achieve your own goals
– Joined up government
– Chains and networks
– Coordination, integration, collaboration
– No departmentalism, tunnel vision, vertical silos
– Seamless services across organizational boundaries
– Organizing government around problems
– Relational state
8
• Societal Resilience core concepts:
– Local self-organization & self-reliance
– Public value bottom-up
– Societalization of public value
– Government as co-producer, partner, or sidelined
– Community shares, co-operative society
Based on: Van Eijk, 2011
OPA
Bureaucratic
model
NPM
Competitive
model
NG (Post-NPM)
Interdependence
model
SR
Selforganizati
on model
Focus on State Market Network Civil society
Relation Politicians-
servants
Principals-
agents
Stakeholders-
stewards
Prosumers
Concept Public goods Public choice Public value Self reliance
Legitimacy
basis
Input: rules &
resources
Output:
products
Throughput:
process
Outcomes:
effects
Coordination Ex-ante Ex-post Ex-durante Self-
organization
Role of
stakeholders
Voters and
subjects
Customers
and
contractors
Co-producers and
partners
Prosumers,
peer to peer
Public
Administration
(PA)
New Public
Management
(PM)
Network
Governance
(NG)
Societal
Resilience
(SR)
Paradigm shifts?
(O)PA
NPM
NG
SR
Sedimentation and layering
Public
Administration
(PA)
New Public
Management
(NPM)
Network
Governance
(NG)
Societal
Resilience
(SR)
Policy
Results
Civic Results
Inside-out Outside-in
Netherlands:
“Energie Akkoord:
Germany:
“EnergieWende”

5. Public
Administration
(PA)
New Public
Management
(NPM)
Network
Governance
(NG)
Societal
Resilience
(SR)
Policy
Results
Civic Results
Inside-out Outside-in
Public
Administration
(PA)
New Public
Management
(NPM)
Network
Governance
(NG)
Societal
Resilience
(SR)
Policy
Results
Civic Results
Inside-out Outside-in
logic of
the organizabon
logic of the
environment
societal steering
internal organizabon
role of civil servants
nature of polibcs
A. “Governance” beyond top-down collaboration
B. Towards more “societal resilience”
C. Reinvent ‘left side’ values (rule of law, accountability)
to suit emerging practices
• Rule of thumb: from A to B, by the rules of B
The transition of governance
Contact
prof.dr. Martijn van der Steen
Netherlands School of Public Administration (NSOB)
Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)
Tel: +31 641858400
e-mail: steen@nsob.nl
@martijnvdsteen