Centre for Public Services Research (CPSR)

Introduction
Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Engagement
Research
Members
Publications
Doctoral Studies
Links

Introduction

The CPSR is a centre of researchers and educators into and about public management and public policy who are based in the Business School at the University of Edinburgh. Its purpose is to develop a collegiate forum.

to share and collaborate with each other, in areas of research and teaching/education
to interact with policy makers and practitioners in order to make an impact upon public management policy and practice in Scotland
to develop the research capacity in Scotland to conduct effective research and education activities in the field of public management and public policy, through the support of doctoral students and
to influence the development of public management and public policy research and knowledge within the global public management and public policy research community

It will seek both to enable Scottish public managers and policy makers to learn the key lessons emerging out of the global public management and public policy research and education community and to foster the contribution arising out of our own work for this global community.

Full membership is open to any academics within the Business School whose primary focus is upon public management and public policy. Associate membership is open both to any academics within the Business School who have a secondary interest in public management and public policy and to any academics in other Schools who have a similar interest. Associate membership is also open to researchers based outwith of the University of Edinburgh and who have a commitment to collaborative work with the CPSR.

The explicit intent of the CPSR is to foster collaboration between these academics and the policy making and practitioner communities.

Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Engagement

Members’ engagement activities to-date include:

Membership of the expert panel advising the Scottish Executive’s independent review of regulation, audit, inspection and complaints handling of public services in Scotland.
Membership of the Scottish Executives ‘Changing Lives: Practice Governance Change Programme’ for social care.
Chairing of the Scottish Funding Council’s, Knowledge Transfer into Public Policy Action Group.
Non-Executive Board Membership of the Social Work Inspection Agency (Scotland).

Research

CPSR has two clusters of work around public policy and public services management and public management reform. The key themes currently are:

Public policy

Evidence based policy making and practice
Public policy implementation
The impact and consequences of public policy
Social inclusion and civil society

Public services management and public management reform

Co-production
Public service re-design
Public management reform
The Third Sector and public services
Audit, scrutiny and performance evaluation

Members of CPSR are involved in various research projects within the ESRC’s Public Services Programme including:

Public Services: The Innovative Capacity of Voluntary and Community Organizations
Public Services: Comparing for Improvement: The Development and Impact of Public Services Audit and Inspection in UK Local Government
Public Services Reform in Scotland: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects

In addition, CPSR has currently got two doctoral studentships entitled:

The professionalisation of the voluntary sector and its impact on workforce planning
User involvement in the delivery of social care services in Scotland: co-production and co-governance inservice delivery

Members

(Associate Director of CPSR; Chair of Public Management at the University of Edinburgh's Business School and Director of the Research Unit for Research Utilisation)
- (Director of CPSR; Chair of International Public Management at the University of Edinburgh's Business School)
- (Associate Director of CPSR; Somers Chair of Health Care Managementt at the University of Edinburgh's Business School)
- (ESRC Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Business School)
- (Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Management at the University of Edinburgh's Business School)
Mr Elric Honore - (Research Assistant to Professor Stephen Osborne at the University of Edinburgh's Business School)

Associate Members

- (Professor of Accountancy at the University of Edinburgh's Business School [Accounting and Finance Group] and Director of the Institute of Public Sector Accounting Research [IPSAR])
(Lecturer in International Business at the University of Edinburgh’s Business School [Strategy and International Business Group])

Publications

The once and future pioneers? The innovative capacity of voluntary organisations and the provision of public services: A longitudinal approach (2008) Authors: Osborne, S. P. with Chew, C., McLaughlin, K. Public Management Review (published by Taylor and Francis).
- View publication summary

Promoting evidence-based practice: models and mechanisms from cross-sector review (forthcoming) (2008) Authors: Nutley, S. M. with Walter, I., Davies, H. Research on Social Work Practice.
- View publication summary

Why 'Knowledge Transfer' is misconceived for applied social research (forthcoming) (2008) Authors: Nutley, S. M. with Davies, HTO, Isabel, W. Journal of Health Services Research and Policy.
- View publication summary

Evidence and Policy Networks: the UK debate about sex offender community notification (2008) Authors: Jung, T., Nutley, S. M. Evidence & Policy.
- View publication summary

The many forms of research-informed practice: a framework for mapping diversity (2008) Authors: Nutley, S. M., Jung, T. with Walter, I. Cambridge Journal of Education.
- View publication summary

Best Value Audits in Scotland: Winning without Scoring? (2008) Authors: Nutley, S. M. with Downe, J., Grace, C., Martin, S.J. Public Money and Management.
- View publication summary

Doctoral Studies

CPSR has currently got two ESRC doctoral studentships:

User involvement in the delivery of social care services in Scotland: co-production and cogovernance in service delivery.

(ESRC/ Scottish Executive Studentship - Kirsty Wallace)

Aim and objectives. The aim of this project will be to answer the research question ‘To what extent is the public management reform agenda in Scotland enabling user choice and involvement in the delivery of social care services, what institutional forms does this involvement take and what are their implications for service planning and delivery?’ This question will be approached from the theoretical framework of coproduction and co-governance. The study will have theoretical relevance in that it will contribute to our empirical knowledge and theory building within and about this framework. It will have policy and practice relevance in that it will both examine the impact of current social care reform initiatives in Scotland upon user involvement and make recommendations for future policy trajectories and initiatives based upon these research findings.

Using a mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study will focus upon the two fields of social care services for children and families and for adults with physical disabilities – both have differing policy frameworks but both have user involvement embedded at their core. The study will {i} map the extent and nature of user involvement in service delivery in these fields {ii} analyse its dimensions by the use of the co-production and co-governance framework {iii} explore the processes by which co-production and co-governance are enabled and {iv} evaluate the policy – practice interface within which co-production and co-governance exist in Scotland and its implications for the actuality of user involvement in the identified fields here.

The professionalisation of the voluntary sector and its impact on workforce planning.

(ESRC Studentship – Clare Moran)
This research takes a systems ecology approach to the wicked problem of responding to increasing climatic variability in Scotland. It investigates the process of resilience management in complex, linked, social-ecological systems.

Emergency response in Scotland occurs as part of the Emergency Management Cycle, iteratively comprising activities associated with Assessment, Prevention, Preparation, Response, and Recovery (Scottish Executive 2006). The organisations and institutions associated with Emergency Management in Scotland function as a cross-sectoral network collaborating to achieve a common goal, referred to henceforth as the Scottish Emergency Management system [SEMS]. The form of collaboration and the goal are prescribed by policy that is centrally administered from central UK Government, and adapted by the devolved Scottish administration, the Scottish Government. Currently, the SEMS is organised following principles established by the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) [henceforth the CCA], adapted to Scotland in the implementation document Preparing Scotland (Scottish Executive 2006). The CCA is a policy designed around the principle of resilience and sets out the statutory duties of organisations operating within the system.

The move to a paradigm of resilience management in UK Emergency Management is a novel context for this concept and has lessons for the future redesign of organisations and institutions for greater adaptability in the face of change. Further, the management of crisis additionally provides scope for rapid policy change as a result of the iterative learning and evaluation process that has been traditionally associated with Emergency Management systems. Thus it is possible to examine the direct effects of events related to increasing climate variability, and what policy changes are made to enhance adaptation.

This timely research project will draw on multi-disciplinary literatures spanning Public Management, Disaster Management, Systems Ecology (including resilience and adaptation literatures) and Emergency Management. The aim is to investigate the institutional and organisational adjustments necessary to facilitate adaptation to increasing climatic variability.

There is particular focus on the role of the Third Sector in Scotland and emergent, innovative, and participatory/community responses.

Empirical research will begin in Summer 2009 with a qualitative survey of system actors and other interested parties. To be involved, for further information, or to comment on the research, please contact Clare.

Email Clare

A series of working papers are available on the Scothub web site.

Read working papers.

University of Edinburgh Business School