The pressure on governments at all levels to change they way they do business is growing steadily. Public confidence in governmental institutions is low.
Polls show many people feel a deep anxiety about the future.
People no longer take a better future for their children as an article of faith. For local government, increasing demands for services and more and more mandates from higher levels of government are straining budgets at a time when there is little prospect for a sustained growth in revenues. Citizens expect and are demanding more and better facilities and services and at the same time want relief from taxes. These pressures are forcing many to rethink their assumptions about how local government should be managed, and interest in new and creative approaches is high. The conditions that permit basic changes in outlook develop slowly.