An invitational seminar on 23/24 June 2008 in Manchester, leading to the publication of an edited book in early 2009

Organised by: Kieran Walshe, Gill Harvey and Eileen Spencer (Manchester Business School, University of Manchester) and Chris Skelcher and Pauline Jas (School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham)

Supported by the EGPA study Group on Performance in the Public Sector

Performance has never been so important, or so closely scrutinised in the public sector as it is today. But it has become increasingly clear that simply measuring performance and providing information does not necessarily bring about improvement. There is often a gap between knowledge and action. While some organisations seem galvanised to change by comparative information, others are passive, sceptical, hostile or dismissive in the face of such evidence.

Understanding how and why some public organisations perform better or worse than others, and what lies behind the often sustained and consistent patterns of organisational improvement and achievement over time which we observe, requires a more careful and systematic exploration of the antecedents, mechanisms and outcomes of performance improvement, and the way that knowledge is translated into change in public organisations.

This invitational seminar, organised in collaboration with the ESRC Public Services Programme (http://www.publicservices.ac.uk) and the European Group on Public Administration study group on performance in the public sector, will be an opportunity for researchers working in this area to come together – from a range of disciplinary, methodological and sectoral perspectives. The aim is to have a series of around 10 presentations and discussions over a two day period, based around papers written for the seminar which will then form the main content of a book to be published by in early 2009.

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