Beyond Fragmentation and Interconnectivity

Book excerpt: The public sector may be considered as a highly fragmented and at the same time enormously interconnected system. Resources are dispersed among a huge variety of actors and entities and these affect each other in many unexpected ways. This book analyses the apparently paradoxical occurrence of simultaneous fragmentation and interconnectivity within the public domain and reflects on its consequences for public governance and management. It discusses and assesses strategies to create connective capacities from different policy domains and countries and offers new insights in the complexity of public governance. About the Editors: Menno Fenger is associate professor in public administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He has published widely on issues of public governance and implementation, specifically in the area of social policies. Victor Bekkers is professor of public administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam and academic director of the Center for Public Innovation. He specializes in the impact of information and communication technology, including social media, on public governance. He is the author of numerous books and articles on this topic.