At any given time, there are thousands of ‘advisers’ to governments and public sector institutions facing complex and delicate situations. On the surface, it seems that there are big differences among them: many are nationals and others ‘internationals’, they have of course different types of expertise and they find themselves in very different contexts. Notwithstanding, an implicit or explicit objective of their advisory role is to contribute to more efficient and effective public sector institutions. An effective public sector can be an important factor contributing to ‘good governance’, if there is also a very healthy relationship between government and citizens.