Successful Public Governance series – serie

This incisive book examines how and why some major policy reforms endure while others fail to gain traction and embed themselves. Tracing the development of key policy reforms over time, it offers original insight into how to create and embed positive changes that continue to deliver over the long term.Combining insights from policy studies, policy feedback and government performance, this book focuses on education and environmental reforms in parliamentary democracies. It builds on previous studies of how reforms are designed and passed, advancing academic and policy knowledge on the trajectories of reforms post-implementation. Drawing on detailed case studies from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Sweden, chapters argue that for reforms to endure, the twin challenges of preservation and adaptation must be recognised and managed. The book shows endurance to be contingent, conditional and contested, progressing non-linearly and dependent on political parties, administrative actors, sectoral interests and mass publics for success.Students and scholars interested in public policy, administration, governance and management will find this book a fascinating read. Using empirical analyses to give novel insight into the workings of government, it will also be an invaluable guide for policymakers and public administrators.

Crisis management has become one of the core challenges facing governments, but successful crisis response depends on effective public leadership. Building on insights from Pragmatist philosophy, this deeply nuanced book provides guidance and direction for public leaders tackling the most challenging tasks of the twenty-first century.This timely and insightful book demonstrates how Pragmatism enables leaders to strategically address the fog of uncertainty that characterizes crises. Illuminating the power of practical rationality in crisis situations, Christopher Ansell and Martin Bartenberger develop a model of Pragmatist political crisis management and contrast this with crisis decision making and meaning making guided by principle. Examining the interplay of practical rationality and principle during the US financial crisis of 2008, the authors develop empirical indicators to evaluate when and why crisis leaders may adopt Pragmatist or principle-guided strategies.Flawlessly blending theory with practice, Ansell and Bartenberger offer key insights to those active in the crisis management community. Crisis management and public administration scholars will benefit from the detailed overview of Pragmatism and its applications to concrete issues of governance, while practitioners will profit from the book's insight into crisis leadership and decision making.

Crisis management has become one of the core challenges facing governments, but successful crisis response depends on effective public leadership. Building on insights from Pragmatist philosophy, this deeply nuanced book provides guidance and direction for public leaders tackling the most challenging tasks of the twenty-first century.This timely and insightful book demonstrates how Pragmatism enables leaders to strategically address the fog of uncertainty that characterizes crises. Illuminating the power of practical rationality in crisis situations, Christopher Ansell and Martin Bartenberger develop a model of Pragmatist political crisis management and contrast this with crisis decision making and meaning making guided by principle. Examining the interplay of practical rationality and principle during the US financial crisis of 2008, the authors develop empirical indicators to evaluate when and why crisis leaders may adopt Pragmatist or principle-guided strategies.Flawlessly blending theory with practice, Ansell and Bartenberger offer key insights to those active in the crisis management community. Crisis management and public administration scholars will benefit from the detailed overview of Pragmatism and its applications to concrete issues of governance, while practitioners will profit from the book's insight into crisis leadership and decision making.

This innovative book sheds light on two key questions at the forefront of government-nonprofit partnerships: How are nonprofits performing? And does the involvement of nonprofits in a public service add public value? International contributors approach these questions through the conceptual lens of the “hollow state”, highlighting the diminished role of government and the implications of the growing reliance on nonprofits in delivering public service. Through a set of empirical studies in public education, public health, urban sustainability, public parks and public social welfare services, chapters identify contributing factors to the success of nonprofits in mitigating public problems through performance measurement. Identifying challenges encountered by nonprofits in their roles as government partners, as well as the challenges posed to public organizations in generating nonprofit accountability, this insightful book takes stock of performance and public value of the hollow state. This methodologically-rigorous book is critical reading for scholars, researchers and students of public governance and public management, particularly those focusing on the long-term effects of the New Public Management. Its practical insights will also benefit policymakers, as well as managers of nonprofits interested in the implications of new partnerships with government bodies.