Strategic Management in Public Organizations: European Practices and Perspectivesoffers the first... more Strategic Management in Public Organizations: European Practices and Perspectivesoffers the first wide-ranging survey and assessment of strategic-management practices at various levels of government and public service in European coun- tries. It shows that strategic management is much more than a management tool imported from the private sector—it has become a key element of public manage- ment reforms, and European governments at all levels are developing strategic- state characteristics.Written by leading European experts on strategic management in the public sector and in government, this book presents evaluations and analysis based on empirical investigations. The book covers strategic management at different lev- els of government, explores the roles of different players and incorporates theory and practice, with opening and concluding chapters that provide an overview of strategic management in the public services and a cross-societal discussion of strategic-state capabilities and insights from the chapters.
Strategic Management for Public Governance in Europe, 2017
If there is an effective ‘centre of government’ at the European Union level, we expect it might b... more If there is an effective ‘centre of government’ at the European Union level, we expect it might be located partially in the European Union. The nature of the Commission’s contribution to a centre of government function might go beyond its obvious roles in initiating and formulating legislative proposals and its work of monitoring and guiding Member States with respect to the Europe 2020 Strategy. We have noticed that the Commission, starting in 2014, may have been taking on a more overtly political involvement in the work of leadership of the European Union. It looks as though this might have happened to compensate for the way in which the European Council has discharged its political leadership role towards the Europe 2020 Strategy and other collective endeavours. From a neo-Weberian perspective, the change could be seen as politically sensitive since bureaucrats and politicians are meant to occupy different formal positions within a mass democracy system. From an early 1990s governance perspective this change in the Commission may seem unsurprising—assuming that the move to a more overtly political orientation in the leadership of the Commission was a part of a trend to ‘de-differentiation’ of the roles of bureaucrats and politicians within a system moving towards a greater capacity for partnership in problem solving and a move away from hierarchical coordination in society. These preceding comments suggest a need for some theoretical open-mindedness when approaching the empirical data presented in this chapter on the leadership and monitoring activities of the European Commission.
Strategic Management for Public Governance in Europe, 2017
Governance has been widely discussed by scholars since the nineties in the different but related ... more Governance has been widely discussed by scholars since the nineties in the different but related fields of politics, public administration and European studies. Research and theorizing of governance has resulted in a complex, diverse and at times bewildering array of writing. Governance has been written about as a new approach by the modern state (Kickert et al. 1997). In contrast, it has also been analysed as governance without government (Peters and Pierre 1998). It has been studied in relation to regimes, law, rules, judicial decisions and administrative practices (Lynn et al. 2001). Then again, it has been studied in relation to non-state actors and policy entrepreneurs building networks (Klijn 2005; Kooiman 2005). One influential view suggested that there are a number of approaches to the concept of governance in the study of public administration, including the study of: (1) inter-jurisdictional governance, (2) extending state function by exporting it to third parties (profit or non-profit), and finally (3) non-state governance in accounting for NGO activities (Frederickson 2005).
Over a 10-year period, the Permanent Study Group on Strategic Management in Government, set up by... more Over a 10-year period, the Permanent Study Group on Strategic Management in Government, set up by the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) in 2009, has encouraged research and discussion on the realities of strategic planning in practice and its consequences. A recurring issue in the group’s discussions of research on the consequences of strategic planning has been whether, based on the available evidence, strategic planning can be said to work. Out of this experience and endeavour came the proposal for this special theme of Public Money & Management. Our theme issue includes seven contributions that we hope will contribute towards a more concrete understanding of strategic planning in practice and that we think moves us closer to answering the question:
The European Union has government institutions that are very unusual, making it unlike the govern... more The European Union has government institutions that are very unusual, making it unlike the government structures of the Member States that compose the Union. In part these specificities reflect concerns to ensure national governments and citizens are represented in its governance system; and in part the functions and relationships of the European Commission have been moulded to help support a process of transition to political solidarity across Europe. We would also suggest that European Union governance varies from policy to policy and that the European Union is a system of differentiated integration in levels of centralization (competition versus foreign policy) and also in territorial extension (Schengen/non-Schengen, Euro/non-Euro) (Heidbreder and Brandsma 2017). The European Union is a polity in the making but European policies have developed in a piecemeal way with a varying influence over time of Member States in their formulation and this in a context of globalization reshap...
The purpose in this chapter is to help set the scene for our analysis of the governance processes... more The purpose in this chapter is to help set the scene for our analysis of the governance processes developed by the European Union to deliver the Europe 2020 Strategy. It specifically sets out to build a deeper understanding of the variations in the strategic capabilities of the national governments of Member States. As we noted in the first chapter, the strategy document drafted by the European Commission in 2010 was very clear that there were important differences between Member States and very clear that this should be reflected in the delivery of the Europe 2020 Strategy by national governments. It was proposed to reflect this in varying the national targets under the Union-wide strategy. Presumably the success of the multi-level approach of the Europe 2020 Strategy would depend on the strategic capabilities of national governments and parliaments and on their cooperation with the European Union institutions. Nevertheless, there was no explicit assessment of the strategic capabil...
La recherche sur les réformes publiques inscrite dans la tradition des sciences administratives e... more La recherche sur les réformes publiques inscrite dans la tradition des sciences administratives et politiques recouvre trois orientations (Hood, 2005) :dans les années ’80 un travail analytique centré sur la nouvelle gestion publique, dans les années ’90 l’élaboration d’une base de données et d’informations sur les réformes publiques (Aucoin, 1995; Politt, Bouckaerts, 2000) et enfin plus récemment l’identification d’anomalies dans
Strategic Management in Public Organizations: European Practices and Perspectivesoffers the first... more Strategic Management in Public Organizations: European Practices and Perspectivesoffers the first wide-ranging survey and assessment of strategic-management practices at various levels of government and public service in European coun- tries. It shows that strategic management is much more than a management tool imported from the private sector—it has become a key element of public manage- ment reforms, and European governments at all levels are developing strategic- state characteristics.Written by leading European experts on strategic management in the public sector and in government, this book presents evaluations and analysis based on empirical investigations. The book covers strategic management at different lev- els of government, explores the roles of different players and incorporates theory and practice, with opening and concluding chapters that provide an overview of strategic management in the public services and a cross-societal discussion of strategic-state capabilities and insights from the chapters.
Strategic Management for Public Governance in Europe, 2017
If there is an effective ‘centre of government’ at the European Union level, we expect it might b... more If there is an effective ‘centre of government’ at the European Union level, we expect it might be located partially in the European Union. The nature of the Commission’s contribution to a centre of government function might go beyond its obvious roles in initiating and formulating legislative proposals and its work of monitoring and guiding Member States with respect to the Europe 2020 Strategy. We have noticed that the Commission, starting in 2014, may have been taking on a more overtly political involvement in the work of leadership of the European Union. It looks as though this might have happened to compensate for the way in which the European Council has discharged its political leadership role towards the Europe 2020 Strategy and other collective endeavours. From a neo-Weberian perspective, the change could be seen as politically sensitive since bureaucrats and politicians are meant to occupy different formal positions within a mass democracy system. From an early 1990s governance perspective this change in the Commission may seem unsurprising—assuming that the move to a more overtly political orientation in the leadership of the Commission was a part of a trend to ‘de-differentiation’ of the roles of bureaucrats and politicians within a system moving towards a greater capacity for partnership in problem solving and a move away from hierarchical coordination in society. These preceding comments suggest a need for some theoretical open-mindedness when approaching the empirical data presented in this chapter on the leadership and monitoring activities of the European Commission.
Strategic Management for Public Governance in Europe, 2017
Governance has been widely discussed by scholars since the nineties in the different but related ... more Governance has been widely discussed by scholars since the nineties in the different but related fields of politics, public administration and European studies. Research and theorizing of governance has resulted in a complex, diverse and at times bewildering array of writing. Governance has been written about as a new approach by the modern state (Kickert et al. 1997). In contrast, it has also been analysed as governance without government (Peters and Pierre 1998). It has been studied in relation to regimes, law, rules, judicial decisions and administrative practices (Lynn et al. 2001). Then again, it has been studied in relation to non-state actors and policy entrepreneurs building networks (Klijn 2005; Kooiman 2005). One influential view suggested that there are a number of approaches to the concept of governance in the study of public administration, including the study of: (1) inter-jurisdictional governance, (2) extending state function by exporting it to third parties (profit or non-profit), and finally (3) non-state governance in accounting for NGO activities (Frederickson 2005).
Over a 10-year period, the Permanent Study Group on Strategic Management in Government, set up by... more Over a 10-year period, the Permanent Study Group on Strategic Management in Government, set up by the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) in 2009, has encouraged research and discussion on the realities of strategic planning in practice and its consequences. A recurring issue in the group’s discussions of research on the consequences of strategic planning has been whether, based on the available evidence, strategic planning can be said to work. Out of this experience and endeavour came the proposal for this special theme of Public Money & Management. Our theme issue includes seven contributions that we hope will contribute towards a more concrete understanding of strategic planning in practice and that we think moves us closer to answering the question:
The European Union has government institutions that are very unusual, making it unlike the govern... more The European Union has government institutions that are very unusual, making it unlike the government structures of the Member States that compose the Union. In part these specificities reflect concerns to ensure national governments and citizens are represented in its governance system; and in part the functions and relationships of the European Commission have been moulded to help support a process of transition to political solidarity across Europe. We would also suggest that European Union governance varies from policy to policy and that the European Union is a system of differentiated integration in levels of centralization (competition versus foreign policy) and also in territorial extension (Schengen/non-Schengen, Euro/non-Euro) (Heidbreder and Brandsma 2017). The European Union is a polity in the making but European policies have developed in a piecemeal way with a varying influence over time of Member States in their formulation and this in a context of globalization reshap...
The purpose in this chapter is to help set the scene for our analysis of the governance processes... more The purpose in this chapter is to help set the scene for our analysis of the governance processes developed by the European Union to deliver the Europe 2020 Strategy. It specifically sets out to build a deeper understanding of the variations in the strategic capabilities of the national governments of Member States. As we noted in the first chapter, the strategy document drafted by the European Commission in 2010 was very clear that there were important differences between Member States and very clear that this should be reflected in the delivery of the Europe 2020 Strategy by national governments. It was proposed to reflect this in varying the national targets under the Union-wide strategy. Presumably the success of the multi-level approach of the Europe 2020 Strategy would depend on the strategic capabilities of national governments and parliaments and on their cooperation with the European Union institutions. Nevertheless, there was no explicit assessment of the strategic capabil...
La recherche sur les réformes publiques inscrite dans la tradition des sciences administratives e... more La recherche sur les réformes publiques inscrite dans la tradition des sciences administratives et politiques recouvre trois orientations (Hood, 2005) :dans les années ’80 un travail analytique centré sur la nouvelle gestion publique, dans les années ’90 l’élaboration d’une base de données et d’informations sur les réformes publiques (Aucoin, 1995; Politt, Bouckaerts, 2000) et enfin plus récemment l’identification d’anomalies dans
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