Commentary: A Valuable Framework for Public Managers

• Author: Lyle D. Wray
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12676
• Published date: 01 November 2016
• Date: 01 November 2016

A Valuable Framework for Public Managers 885

Lyle D. Wray has served for 12 years

as executive director of the Capitol Region

Council of Governments based in Hartford,

Connecticut. Previously he served in county

government and nonprofit management in

the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

E-mail: lwray@crcog.org

Commentary

C reating public value as a public manager is

useful in two ways: we show the public what

they are getting for their taxes in creating

socially worthwhile outcomes, and we defend public

institutions against what is often overstated or shrill

criticism. Public value should be the GPS signal in a

sound government operation to direct our efforts as

practitioners in the trenches. As someone who sees

himself as 80 percent practitioner and 20 percent

academic, I approached Kaifeng Yang ’ s article with

two questions: How would this framework and

approach have helped me advance positive change in

the county for which I served as manager? And how

would it help active citizen partnerships shape socially

desirable outcomes in a community?

Yang ’ s article first asks what makes for an effective

public value creation process. Second, he builds a

case for a public value creation framework through

presentation and critical examination of four case

Lyle D. Wray

Capitol Region Council of Governments

A Valuable Framework for Public Managers

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 76, Iss. 6, pp. 885–886. © 2016 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12676.