Module description
What is the module about?
Public services are vital to contemporary societies. Increasingly, both governments and businesses play significant roles in ensuring their provision. But how exactly is that achieved? How is it changing? And what implications does it have for our work, education and citizenship?
This course explores the 'how' of public service provision. It will introduce tools to analyse the different approaches to delivering key services, like health, education and law enforcement. In so doing, it will explore the changing role of the private sector in the contemporary state, and encourage reflection on the best ways to organise for the future.
Who should do this module?
You should take this module if you are interested in the issues and challenges that arise in the management and delivery of public services.
The module will:
- Develop the ability to critically evaluate different ways of providing public services
- Foster skills in constructing logical arguments in a structured manner
- Encourage problem-solving in relation to policy issues
- Develop the capacity to craft coherent, sustained pieces of writing
- Focus on the application of theoretical knowledge to real-world case studies
Provisional Lecture Outline
The problem of coordination
Governing through hierarchies
Governing through markets
Governing through networks
Governing through co-creation
Designing models of government
Government and knowledge
Government and values
Austerity, government and business
Government, business and COVID-19
Assessment details
90% Coursework
10% End of module test
Teaching pattern
Weekly Lecture
Weekly Tutorial
Suggested reading list
Jackson, P.M. (2015) ’The changing shape of the public sector’. In T. Bovaird & E. Loeffler (eds), Public Management and Governance. Florence: Taylor & Francis, pp. 26-38.