Success and Failure in Public Sector Consulting: The Consuming Slide

Abstract

The responsibility for improved public sector utilization of research and recommendations by outside consultants has traditionally been placed squarely on consultants themselves. Case analyses of three consulting episodes in state government supports an alternative perspective: responsibility for improving utilization of consulting services must lie equally with contracting agencies—the consuming side. Fragmented and shifting managerial attention is identified as a major constraint on effective service utilization, and several factors contributing to unstable attention by decision makers are discussed. The authors begin to distinguish constraints on decision makers' attention that are positive and should be encouraged; those that are negative and should be discouraged; and those that are fortuitous and must be tolerated.