Reinventing government is an approach to public sector management theory that may be the most influential and significant in the past half century. It claims that the traditional government employment principles of fitness and merit can coexist with increased managerial discretion and greater employee independence. Reinvention also contends that flexibility and decentralization can be combined with a system that demands high levels of accountability and equity. Many of its recommendations for improving government are directed toward human resources management.

The purpose of this study is to learn about the degree to which reinvention has penetrated selected state civil service systems. Its point of departure was to select several of reinvention's major endorsements, then investigate their implementation in states known for supporting progressive personnel practices. Related inquiries were made regarding the evolving role of the states' central personnel departments and the status of merit principles and oversight.

Several recent nationwide surveys were used to identify states whose personnel systems are among the country's most progressive. Interviews were conducted with veteran personnel professionals who were selected based on their reputations for objectivity and professionalism. The findings from the research reveal that almost half of the selected reinvention recommendations have made very little progress in the past decade. However, the few that have been strongly embraced are among the most important.