The McKinsey Quarterly is all over it, but there are some juicy links after the break

continued...

"In our experience, these reforms typically fall short: with few exceptions, they skim the surface, cover too little ground, take too long, and leave much of the public sector relatively untouched. That’s why we see a need for broader, deeper, and faster reform: what we call whole-government transformation. The current crisis provides both the necessity and the chance to improve the machinery of the state fundamentally—a challenge of vast scale and urgency."

You'll have to register to read the entire article; after that you can check in on some U.S. efforts to get government to actually do what it says on the label here

"The truth is really pretty simple; it's the mechanics of making it work that breaks men down." HST

tidbit from the last link above:
Make community relations—whether with citizens, suppliers, or other groups—a horizontal component of everyone's role rather than a vertical function within public affairs. Collaboration between program managers and their constituents can catalyze innovation.