In this chapter, I clarify what it is for a composite object to exist at a time and over time by analyzing the conditions under which things compose it at a time and over time. Some things, the xs, make up an object, O, at a time t1 if and only if the xs are maximally bonded then, which is to say that the xs are simply bonded, clinging together, and include everything simply bonded to any of the xs. The object O that is composed of the xs at one time may be made up of other things at a subsequent time. Over time, however, objects may change in composition only incrementally (unless we allow for the possibility of an object being disassembled then reassembled). Incremental changes are ones in which the mass of what is added (removed) is small as compared to the object’s mass before the addition (removal).

The chapter concludes the book by synthesizing key arguments from previous chapters and making comprehensive arguments about redesigning civil service systems. Previous chapters are examined to question if prior analysis was too optimistic. The chapter discusses processes for advancing the civil service reform agenda, including leveraging small wins to achieve incremental change and aiming for comprehensive reforms. Two examples of navigating comprehensive change, Georgia and South Africa, are discussed. Finally, research surrounding the integration of public service motivation and civil service reform is reviewed. An analysis of systematic programs of field experiments and macro-research about variations in national performance precedes a discussion of the dark side of public service motivation. The chapter concludes with a call for further scholarly scrutiny of public service motivation-related policies to be supplemented with real-world experimentation.

− ESG–Agency scholarship reveals that diverse forms of agency are crucial to cultivating adaptiveness of governance systems within complex and changing contexts. − ESG–Agency scholars are well-positioned to apply extensive insights to major emerging questions in the social sciences about adaptiveness and renewal of political and governance systems across many spheres of society. − Greater focus is required concerning the effects of agency on adaptiveness of environmental governance systems in several ways: materially, normatively, and temporally.