Making progress on society’s most pressing issues necessitates governments making better use of data, involving citizens, investing in employees, and collaborating with other sectors. Governments around the world are confronted with a daunting paradox.

On the one hand, they operate in a more complex environment and must meet a broader range of policy objectives. Citizens’ expectations of what government should deliver are rising in a world marked by macroeconomic uncertainty, rapid social change, and technological innovation. Governments, on the other hand, are hampered by unsustainable debt burdens and shrinking budgets.

The OECD member countries’ general government debt to GDP ratio now exceeds 100%. Meanwhile, public confidence in the government is dwindling. In light of this, governments must not only do more with less, but they must do so in highly visible ways if they are to regain the trust of their constituents.

The good news is that governments can and have begun to deliver the results that their citizens require and expect. Based on our research into hundreds of cases of government innovation around the world, our on-the-ground experience working with governments, and numerous conversations with public-sector leaders and thinkers, we have concluded that what works today is a more disciplined, systematic approach to solving public-sector management problems—in other words, government by design.

Government by design requires public-sector leaders to prioritize the rational and analytical over the purely ideological and to be willing to abandon outdated tools and techniques. At its core are four principles: better evidence for decision-making, greater citizen engagement and empowerment, thoughtful investments in expertise and skill building, and closer collaboration with the private and social sectors. Each of these principles is critical to achieving a more effective yet cost-effective government.