Understanding Governance

This book examines why many ambitious public management policies do not materialize. Comprehensive reforms do not generate relevant and lasting changes. Yet some evolutions may occur that actually improve the efficiency level inside public administrations. The book identifies how and why such processes may occur. It explores an innovative approach to the way reform policies inside the public sector are assessed. 

The opening chapters examine the contributions of different disciplines to the study of change in the public sector, before proposing a framework to better understand management developments. The book then reviews eight crosscutting central government programmes successively launched since the late 1960s, examines how these programmes were designed and constructed, and analyses the ways in which three toolkits are appropriated: dashboards and indicators, cost-benefit analysis, and ex post evaluation. The final chapters examine the links between the developmentof agencification and the way in which central government proceeds to implement it, and demonstrate why and how the structure of human resources is crucial for initiating change processes. Together, the book proposes lessons for public practitioners as well as for academic purposes.

This book compares network governance practices and public service delivery in England and China. Adopting a political ethnographic approach, it assesses whether networked forms of governance are used in provision of care for the elderly and those with learning disabilities in the two countries. It also examines several concepts from network governance theory - including interdependence and resource exchange, trust and reciprocity, and diplomatic skills - in the context of English and Chinese local state engagement with NGOs providing and managing care. Perhaps surprisingly, the book argues that there are more similarities than differences in network governance practices in England and China. It will appeal to all those interested in network governance theory, public administration and comparative politics.

This book examines the rise of illiberalism within the British Conservative Party during the last few decades. It traces how the party’s political agenda has become increasingly dominated by populist and nativist policy positions since the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2016, and the ways in which this has led to growing concerns over democratic backsliding.

Moving beyond debates over the ideology and governing philosophy of the Conservative Party, this book focuses on the specific policy tools it has employed to carry out its political agenda. This includes changes to public spending and taxation, law and regulation, public management, and institutional reform. Bridging the gap between populism studies, UK politics and public policy, the book throws important light on the current state of British democracy, at a time when concerns over the growth of illiberalism and authoritarianism in democratic countries is high.  

The collapse of the Starmer government and the emergence of Andy Burnham as the new UK Prime Minister pivoted to a considerable extent on issues of policy governance and a failure to deliver on expectations associated with addressing regional inequalities. Offering a blend of historical analysis, comparative insights, empirical evidence, and policy recommendations, this book examines the persistent nature of regional inequalities in the UK.

The challenge of addressing regional inequalities has bedevilled UK governments for generations. Because these inequalities impinge upon, and are affected by, a range of interlinked policy spheres – including health, education, economic development, housing and social services – the governance challenges associated with them are particularly acute, and demonstrate the need for an overarching strategy, policy coordination, and cooperation between different layers of government. The book charts the governance approaches adopted by successive administrations to tackle regional inequality, sets the issue in a broader international context, and analyses the development and implementation of strategy by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government. By presenting a multi-dimensional exploration of the issue and its governance implications, the book enriches the understanding of regional inequalities and provides a roadmap for informed decision-making and policy formulation in this area.

It is important reading for all those interested in UK politics, public policy and public administration.