Governance Networks in the Public Sector presents a comprehensive study of governance networks and the management of complexities in network settings. Public, private and non-profit organizations are increasingly faced with complex, wicked problems when making decisions, developing policies or delivering services in the public sector. These activities take place in networks of interdependent actors guided by diverging and sometimes conflicting perceptions and strategies. As a result these networks are dominated by cognitive, strategic and institutional complexities. Dealing with these complexities requires sophisticated forms of coordination: network governance. This book presents the most recent theoretical and empirical insights into governance networks. It provides a conceptual framework and analytical tools to study the complexities involved in handling wicked problems in governance networks in the public sector. The book also discusses strategies and management recommendations for governments, business and third sector organisations operating in and governing networks. Governance Networks in the Public Sector is an essential text for advanced students of public management, public administration, public policy and political science, and for public managers and policymakers.

Networks and other collaborations are central to the public sector’s ability to respond to their diverse responsibilities, from international development and regional governance, to policy development and service provision. Great strides have been made toward understanding their formation, governance and management, but more opportunities to explore methodologies and measures is required to ensure they are properly understood. This volume showcases an array of selected research methods and analytics tools currently used by scholars and practitioners in network and collaboration research, as well as emerging styles of empirical investigation. Although it cannot attempt to capture all technical details for each one, this book provides a unique catalogue of compelling methods for researchers and practitioners, which are illustrated extensively with applications in the public and non-profit sector. By bringing together leading and upcoming scholars in network research, the book will be of enormous assistance in guiding students and scholars in public management to study collaboration and networks empirically by demonstrating the core research approaches and tools for investigating and evaluating these crucially important arrangements.

When researching, teaching or working with information systems in the public sector, one is left with few or often no textbooks that provide useful case studies or surveys on the implementation and effects of integrating information technologies in the organizations' operations. This is surprising since in most first world countries the public sector consumes a substantial part of the gross national product. Even more astonishing is the vast amount of financial and organizational resources that are spent developing and implementing various information systems. We decided to write this book to provide information for those studying information systems at business schools, information and computer departments at collegesl universities, and for those working hands-on with EDI and data networking in public administration. Thus, our primary target groups for this book are professionals, training (MA-courses), computer science, MBA, MP A, and political science. EDI has been seen as a means to wire the various policy areas in the public sector. Those included are not limited strictly to the public organizations, but extend to their trade partners. Also, government has sought ways to stimulate the usage of ED I in the private sector beyond those transactions involving direct communication with the public sector. In this book, we have contributors from eight countries and a total of 14 chapters reporting on issues of importance when developing and implementing EDI, when government wants to stimulate the diffusion of EDI in society, and when organizations want to address the impact of their investments in ED!.

This book analyses two key aspects of network management in the public sector: leadership and performance. It investigates what integrative leadership is, and how it differentiates from leadership in single-agency structures. It also examines the performance of public interest networks by proposing an analytical framework that highlights which factors lead to high performance networks. This book is of interest to scholars and students of public management and public administration, as well as public managers and practitioners acting through networks and partnerships.

Networks have been described in terms of metaphors, governance arrangements and structural or institutional arrangements. These different perspectives of networks come out of a variety of disciplines, including political science, public administration, urban affairs, social welfare, public management and organizational/sociological research. This wealth of research, while contributing to a deeper understanding of networks, presents a dilemma which is addressed by this book. That is the question of whether there is a theory of public networks that informs networks in their various forms, and is there a need for a new theory of networks? More importantly, is network research still relevant to practice? Does network theory improve the process of governance? Are different terms and/or approaches actually the same or different? What do these different approaches mean to theory? This book deeply explores and integrates existing network theory and related theories from a number of perspectives, levels and jurisdictions to develop a framework to guide network design, governance and management. The book focuses on the important issue of network performance, looking at networks as bounded and consciously arranged; the actors who participate in them design the relationships among a bounded set of individual organizations to purse common objectives. Finally, the chapters tease out the variety of governance modes or regimes that intersect with network governance. This book offers a comprehensive, integrative, interdisciplinary approach that enables specialists, practitioners and administrators across a wide array of interests and fields to formulate and work on problems using a common language, analytical framework and theoretical basis.

While governments throughout the world have different approaches to how they make their public sector information (PSI) available and the terms under which the information may be reused, there appears to be a broad recognition of the importance of digital networks and PSI to the economy and to society. However, despite the huge investments in PSI and the even larger estimated effects, surprisingly little is known about the costs and benefits of different information policies on the information society and the knowledge economy. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the current assessment methods and their underlying criteria, it should be possible to improve and apply such tools to help rationalize the policies and to clarify the role of the internet in disseminating PSI. This in turn can help promote the efficiency and effectiveness of PSI investments and management, and to improve their downstream economic and social results. The workshop that is summarized in this volume was intended to review the state of the art in assessment methods and to improve the understanding of what is known and what needs to be known about the effects of PSI activities.

This two-volume encyclopedia provides a thorough introduction to the wide-ranging, fast-developing field of social networking, a much-needed resource at a time when new social networks or "communities" seem to spring up on the internet every day. Social networks, or groupings of individuals tied by one or more specific types of interests or interdependencies ranging from likes and dislikes, or disease transmission to the "old boy" network or overlapping circles of friends, have been in existence for longer than services such as Facebook or YouTube; analysis of these networks emphasizes the relationships within the network . This reference resource offers comprehensive coverage of the theory and research within the social sciences that has sprung from the analysis of such groupings, with accompanying definitions, measures, and research. Featuring approximately 350 signed entries, along with approximately 40 media clips, organized alphabetically and offering cross-references and suggestions for further readings, this encyclopedia opens with a thematic Reader′s Guide in the front that groups related entries by topics. A Chronology offers the reader historical perspective on the study of social networks. This two-volume reference work is a must-have resource for libraries serving researchers interested in the various fields related to social networks.

ÔFor too long the prevalent view has been that the public and private sectors differ dramatically when it comes to innovation. This book takes a radically different tack, not as a rhetorical stance, but as the basis for fruitful empirical analysis. The studies here show that public service organizations and their leaders can be innovative in their own right. The contributions made here provide insights that will productively inform future research and practice.Õ Ð Ian Miles, University of Manchester, UK This book is devoted to the study of publicÐprivate innovation networks in services (ServPPINs). These are a new type of innovation network which have rapidly developed in service economies. ServPPINs are collaborations between public and private service organizations, their objective being the development of new and improved services which encompass both technological and non-technological innovations. The book presents in-depth empirical research from different service sectors across Europe in order to explore the nature of these publicÐprivate collaborations. It elucidates the processes of formation, entrepreneurship and management, the types of innovations ServPPINs generate, and the nature of the public policies required to support them. This multidisciplinary book will appeal to academics and students in economics, management, and the sociology of services and innovation. Managers in the public and private service sector and public authorities will also find much to interest them.

A truly comparative introduction to the field of public sector management. This is the perfect textbook for upper undergraduate and postgraduate students to explore the evolving landscape of public administration.

What do public administrators and policy analysts have in common? Their work is undertaken within networks formed when different organizations align to accomplish a policy function. This second edition of Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy offers a conceptual framework for describing governance networks and provides a theoretical and empirical foundation in their construction. Based on research and real-life experience, the book highlights the interplay between public actors and policy tools, details the skills and functions of public administrators in the context of networked relationships, and identifies the reforms and trends in governing that lead to governance networks. This practical text makes complex concepts accessible, so that readers can engage in them, apply them, and deepen their understanding of the dynamics unfolding around them. This second edition includes: A dedicated chapter on “complexity friendly” meso-level theories to examine core questions facing governance network analysis. New applications drawn from the authors’ own work in watershed governance, transportation planning, food systems development, electric energy distribution, the regulation of energy, and response and recovery from natural disasters, as well as from unique computational modeling of governance networks. Instructor and student support materials, including PowerPoint® presentations and writable case study templates, may be found on an accompanying eResource page. Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy, 2e is an indispensable core text for graduate and postgraduate courses on governance and collaboration in schools of Public Administration/Management and Public Policy.