Book excerpt: The first edition of Benchmarking in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors offered public officials and administrators at all levels of government a unique and practical guide to identifying best practices and implementing them in their organizations. Based on the most current research, this new edition of the best-selling guide provides an updated, solution-driven methodology for benchmarking in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Unique in its focus solely on benchmarking, the authors take a step-by-step approach to two benchmarking techniques, differentiating between the two and then providing a new approach to solution-driven benchmarking that requires less time and fewer resources. Benchmarking in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors provides new tools, many updated case studies, and additional examples not only from government and nonprofit agencies, but also from the international community. This important resource will help practitioners implement a quick, proven method as they search for solutions to their most pressing problems. Praise for Benchmarking in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors "This is an important management tool for government and nonprofit managers to make their agencies more effective, efficient, and responsive to their constituencies." -W. David Patton, director, Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Utah