New development: In pursuit of WGA—Research findings from the UK

In 1998, the UK Treasury and National Audit Office recommended the publication of whole of government accounts (WGA) and set out timelines for a full set of audited accounts to be made available for 2005–06. So far nothing has been published. This article considers the promises, practical pursuit and evaluation of WGA.     

New development: The conundrum of fair value measurement—evidence from the UK FRAB

This article is based on documentation from the UK Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB) relating to the adoption of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. It shows that the development of financial reporting in government involves continuous adaption to new and updated international standards and changing circumstances. Outcomes are influenced by path dependencies and the taking of particular conceptual positions.     

New development: Faith and foreign policy—a perspective from the Vatican

Religion matters in foreign policy as much as it does in domestic society and, to understand the world in which we live, we have to comprehend religion as a source of influence and motivation in people's lives. That is not always easy for foreign policy specialists and diplomats. Britain's relations with the Holy See go back to 1479 when England sent its first resident ambassador overseas. The Holy See is one of the world's most global bodies—touching directly 17.5% of the world's population through the Catholic Church. It is a unique hybrid of the global and the local, which helps to form global public opinion. Today, the UK's oldest embassy is working on a whole range of issues with the Holy See from tackling climate change, disarmament, international development, interfaith dialogue and preventing and ending conflict.     

New development: All change? Performance assessment regimes in UK local government

Contrasting approaches to assessing the performance of public services highlight important issues for policy-makers and future research. We need systematic comparisons between countries. We should use a broader range of evidence. The public ought to have a greater role in designing performance criteria, and we need to know more about the impacts of assessments.     

New development: Turning around failing schools—lessons from Lahore

This article reviews the operation of two improvement partnerships in Pakistan, where third sector organizations adopted selected state schools. The authors reflect on the lessons arising from both schemes in the light of the Institute of Educational Sciences’ (IES) guidance on turning around schools. Although the operation of both partnership schemes is context specific, the findings should nevertheless be of interest to policy-makers in other countries. They also show how some aspects of the IES’s guidance may need to be adapted and augmented, especially in the context of developing countries.     

New development: Local public audit—the changing landscape

This article considers the implications for local public audit of the abolition of the Audit Commission and its audit practice (District Audit). The audit regime of NHS foundation trusts, where the Audit Commission is not responsible for auditor appointments or their oversight, is investigated to provide insights for the future of local public audit.     

New development: The courts and multi-level governance—some comparative perspectives on the emerging jurisprudence of the UK Supreme Court

In federal systems the courts are accorded the important role of policing the boundaries of the constitutionally specified powers given to the legislature and the executive. The devolution statutes enacted by the UK parliament have created a semi-federal system, in which the courts increasingly have been called upon to adjudicate on whether sub-national legislative bodies have acted ultra vires. Following a comparative overview of the theory and practice of court adjudication in overseas systems of multi-level governance, the leading cases of the British Supreme Court and the House of Lords are considered. It is proposed that Britain—almost by default—has become a semi-federal court somewhat akin to the US Supreme Court and the German Bundesverfassungsgericht.     

New development: Decentralizing governance in England—transport's key role

Transport holds the key to effective decentralization of responsibilities in England. But transport cannot be considered in isolation from other functions. It has close links with spatial planning and other environmental, economic and social activities and they must function together. Decentralization must take this on board for England as a whole. There should be combined authorities established throughout England that are viable and accountable to the areas they serve.     

New development: Between politics and strategic planning—the management of government priorities in Lithuania

ABSTRACT

How do political agendas impact on strategic planning practices? This article shows that recent changes to the framework for managing government priorities have made Lithuania’s strategic planning system more politically responsive by mobilizing political attention, leadership and state funding to major government commitments. However, these changes have not yet translated into any longer term outcomes because policy implementation practices did not change very much.     

New development: New global health care PPP developments—a critique of the success story

Health care public–private partnerships (PPPs), where clinical services as well as infrastructure are delivered by the private sector, are coming under the spotlight as governments seek to achieve value for money in health budgets. Existing examples have been widely reported as successful. However, this article urges caution as a closer look at the evidence shows that handing over control of service delivery to the private sector is difficult to monitor and evaluate, carries cost implications which remain largely unquantified and can create additional risk.     

New development: Leveraging ‘big data’ analytics in the public sector

This article examines the opportunities presented by effectively harnessing big data in the public sector context. The article is exploratory and reviews both academic- and practitioner–oriented literature related to big data developments. The findings suggest that big data will have an impact on the future role of public sector organizations in functional areas. However, the author also reveals that there are challenges to be addressed by governments in adopting big data applications. To realize the benefits of big data, policy-makers need to: invest in research; create incentives for private and public sector entities to share data; and set up programmes to develop appropriate skills.     

New development: State-owned enterprises as powerhouses for innovation—the Russian case

There have been many analyses of innovation in Russia’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and most conclude that the way forward requires the SOEs to transform into innovation powerhouses. Hence, in 2011, the Russian government set up an ambitious initiative to push innovation in the largest SOEs, which will run until 2020. This initiative has now begun its second phase. Using major case studies, for example Aeroflot and Russian Railways, this article examines the impact of the initiative. Understanding the Russian experience of transforming SOEs provides important lessons for many other emerging economies.     

New development: The future of public service regulation—the professional's perspective

Regulatory failures have shifted the debate from the burden of regulation to its effectiveness. In response, regulators will be more sceptical of self-assessments, more responsive to consumers, provide better information, investigate inputs as well as outcomes and work more collaboratively.     

New development: Budgetary accounting in Colombia—arguments for a much-needed reform

ABSTRACT

Public financial management reforms are needed in Colombia to integrate the accrual-based accounting system with budgets. This would remove the need to make accounting variations through deficit measurement and would supply better information about the impact of public policies on the country’s financial situation. This article briefly explains why Colombia needs to integrate its accounting and budgeting systems.     

New development: Financial reforms played in two octaves— yet again?

Major public service reforms are underway at the national level in Australia. The reforms are being implemented progressively over a three-year period. This is the third in a series of articles looking at the implementation of these reforms and focuses on the second stage, which was supposed to be completed in 2015. The author examines the recent report of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit which reviewed the development of the ‘Performance Framework’ through a series of public hearings. He explains why, for good governance, particularly in a difficult economic and budgetary climate (domestically and internationally), public interest considerations must prevail, not just in issues about ‘how’ but also about ‘what’ is being actually achieved. There is considerable scope for shared learning and experience across governments and sectors of the economy in any reforms of the public sector.     

New development: Value for money (VFM) in public services—the importance of organizational culture

VFM has been a key aspect of public service management for several decades and its importance has been raised in recent years as a consequence of austerity. Organizational culture is recognized in research literature as a key driver of organizational performance. However, little attention has been paid to the topic of organizational culture in relation to VFM in public services. This article presents the findings of new research in this area.     

New development: Bullying in a reforming context—a holistic,layered model of the interpersonal interaction

Public services have been transformed, with health services, in particular, in a state of almost constant change with reforms leading to a blurring of the nature of work across sectors and a bullying rate at epidemic levels. A new holistic model of the drivers of bullying is presented. The model is a powerful tool for understanding and addressing workplace bullying.     

New development: Implementing and evaluating government strategic plans—the Europe 2020 Strategy

ABSTRACT

This article examines the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The authors analysed the strategic and management plans of the European Commission’s directorates-general (DGs) to identify the main and dominant discourses in the documents. The supplementing or supplanting of the simple strategy framework of the early years by a political framework after 2014 can be seen as caused by an interaction between rational management evaluation on one hand and political values and will on the other.     

New development: Managing the Covid-19 pandemic—from a hospital-centred model of care to a community co-production approach

ABSTRACT

Covid-19 is not only a crisis of intensive care but a social and humanitarian crisis. Until mass vaccination is undertaken, control of contagion will rely on responsible behaviour by citizens. Strategies for fighting Covid-19 in different regions of Italy have shown that an area-specific approach, not just hospital-focused, pays off. This article proposes a community co-production approach, in the light of discussions with politicians and key health decision-makers and actors.