List of Tables and Figures; List of Acronyms; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Thinking Big Again; Chapter 1: From Crisis Ideology to the Division of Innovative Labour; Chapter 2: Technology, Innovation and Growth; Chapter 3: Risk-Taking State: From 'De-risking' to 'Bring It On!'; Chapter 4: The US Entrepreneurial State; Chapter 5: The State behind the iPhone; Chapter 6: Pushing vs. Nudging the Green Industrial Revolution; Chapter 7: Wind and Solar Power: Government Success Stories and Technology in Crisis; Chapter 8: Risks and Rewards: From Rotten Apples to Symbiotic Ecosystems; Chapter 9: So.

Seizing opportunities, inventing new products, transforming markets--entrepreneurs are an important and well-documented part of the private sector landscape. Do they have counterparts in the public sphere? The authors argue that they do, and test their argument by focusing on agents of dynamic political change in suburbs across the United States, where much of the entrepreneurial activity in American politics occurs. The public entrepreneurs they identify are most often mayors, city managers, or individual citizens. These entrepreneurs develop innovative ideas and implement new service and tax arrangements where existing administrative practices and budgetary allocations prove inadequate to meet a range of problems, from economic development to the racial transition of neighborhoods. How do public entrepreneurs emerge? How much does the future of urban development depend on them? This book answers these questions, using data from over 1,000 local governments. The emergence of public entrepreneurs depends on a set of familiar cost-benefit calculations. Like private sector risk-takers, public entrepreneurs exploit opportunities emerging from imperfect markets for public goods, from collective-action problems that impede private solutions, and from situations where information is costly and the supply of services is uneven. The authors augment their quantitative analysis with ten case studies and show that bottom-up change driven by politicians, public managers, and other local agents obeys regular and predictable rules.

Exploring how cross-sector collaboration can solve seemingly intractable societal problems Many people tend to think of the public, non-profit and private sectors as being distinctive components of the economy and broader society—each with its own missions and problems to address. This book describes how the three sectors can work together toward common purposes, accomplishing much more than if they work alone. With the nation reeling from multiple challenges, more than ever the United States needs these sectors to collaborate to address what might seem to be intractable problems. Cross-sector collaborations and partnerships are more crucial than in the past as the country tries to recover from the economic, health, and broad social dislocations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when trust in institutions, both public and private, is at an all-time low, cooperation among the sectors can be a confidence-inspiring approach to addressing public problems. This book reviews the state of cross-sector collaborations, identifies emerging practices, and offers a range of perspectives from experts in the field. Practitioners show how cooperation among sectors is relevant to their core missions. Scholars from a wide range of disciplines discuss both the broad and specific concepts that advance understanding of cross-sector collaboration. At a time when the United States must recover from and address new challenges, the book shows how cross-sector collaborations can help ensure a brighter future. Its core conclusions should be of particular interest to leaders in each of the broad sectors, as well as educators and students at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Despite its vital role in development to increase access to sustainable income, skills training has been experiencing severe problems worldwide, such as lack of physical, legal and educational infrastructure, absence of a win-win based cooperation between the private sector and vocational education and training agencies as well as matters of financing. The state and development agencies on their own are limited in their capacity to tackle these problems. It is difficult to close the gap between the supply of labour and the demands of the market, which exacerbates the exclusion of the base of the pyramid from the economy, especially in a globalizing world where the technological requirements are changing rapidly. Private sector, on the other hand, has significant potential to address the deficiencies in skills development and bridge the gap between what the labour force has to offer and what the industry demands. The companies can contribute to the skills training process, which in turn can provide the required skilled employees for the market and offer employment opportunities, particularly to the disadvantaged. Private sector will not only help to improve national competitiveness and realize an increase in its profitability due to the availability of a better trained staff, but also improve the inclusiveness of the market. The publication is intended to be a first step towards generating knowledge on the role of private sector in skills generation for increased inclusiveness and employability. It includes several case studies from Turkey, in which the private sector has created significant added-value through private sector-led or PPP models of skills design and delivery. It elaborates on the lessons-learned from these cases to pave the way for further action and research on how business actors can contribute to skills development, especially for the disadvantaged. The publication will lead to further research products and reports, and eventually toolkits on how to mobilize and engage the private sector in skills generation for better development results. Workshops will be organized for the private sector, governments and other relevant stakeholders based on these toolkits to facilitate knowledge-sharing and encourage innovation.