Creating an Effective Public Sector

This book offers an in-depth look at developing effectiveness in the public sector and how to achieve the best possible outcomes for people rather than just good or efficient outputs.

In 15 comprehensive chapters, the authors present structured ideas and practical approaches for achieving a more effective public sector. The book sets out a framework for visualising success in complex situations with multiple stakeholders. Topics include how you stimulate change and influence people to adopt changes, how you manage politics, set targets and standards, and measure them, and how you create a culture of high performance with a focus on getting the right things done. Effectiveness does not arise from excellence in one area alone and the book weaves together ideas on leadership, managing expectations, and keeping focus on the longer term.

Creating an Effective Public Sector will be of interest to decision makers in the public sector, project managers working on central and local government projects, and senior civil servants. It will also be invaluable for advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students studying in the fields of government, project management, and public-sector management.

Mike Bourne is Professor of Business Performance at Cranfield University where he is Director of the Centre for Business Performance. He chairs the Performance Measurement Association and is Director of the Infrastructure and Project Authority’s (Cabinet Office and Treasury) Performance Leadership Programme (PLP) that has engaged more than 1,200 senior public servants. He is a lead on the subject of governance for Project X (the collaboration between academia and government, working towards better project delivery). He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and speaks internationally on the theme of organisational performance.

Pippa Bourne is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management and Director of Bourne Performance, a consultancy helping organisations to achieve higher levels of performance. Her particular interest is the relationship between the culture of the organisation and its performance. She has many years of practical experience working in Higher Education and professional organisations managing the relationships between different groups of people to create effective organisations. Most recently, she has been involved in research with a group of universities interviewing those involved in major government projects in the US and the UK. She has an MBA and has completed a certificate in Coaching at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Continuing Education.