Public Service Reforms in a Small Island State : The Case of Malta

This book provides a detailed examination of public service reforms in Malta. Focusing on both the trajectory and substance of the reforms, the volume provides a holistic treatment of the public sector in the European Union’s smallest member state. The book is divided into four parts.

Part I covers the historical background of public service administration and management in Malta from the 1500s to the 2010s. Part II focuses on recent reforms, begun in 2013, after the election of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Each chapter in this part addresses a particular reform theme: transparency and accountability; civil service systems and HR management; service delivery and digitalisation; organisation and management of government reforms; policy making, coordination, and implementation. Part III investigates the internal and external impact of the reforms, reporting and analyzing the results of a survey carried out among government employees and the Maltese population. The book concludes with a chapter on global reform trends that are likely to impact public service delivery in the future.

Providing an in-depth view of public service in a small island state, this volume will be useful to researchers and students interested in public sector management, administration, and public policy as well as practitioners, consultants, and government employees.

Frank Bezzina is Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy (FEMA) and Head of the Department of Management at the University of Malta. He teaches management science & decision modelling, research methodology and evidence-based management. His research mainly focuses on investigating phenomena in the organizational sciences. He has various published papers on statistical/methodological misconceptions, HRM, risk management and corporate governance.

Emanuel Camilleri is the retired Director General (Strategy and Operations Support) at the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment, Government of Malta. He has a DBA from Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands. He is a certified accountant, a Chartered Engineer (British Engineering Council), European Engineer (FEANI, Paris), and member of ICT and Accounting professional bodies in the UK and Australia. He has represented Malta on a number of international bodies and is a visiting senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy (FEMA), University of Malta.  

Vincent Marmarà is a statistician and researcher. He obtained his PhD in mathematics (statistics) from the University of Stirling, Scotland. He lectures on topics in statistics and mathematics at the Department of Management (FEMA) at the University of Malta. He is a fellow member (FRSS) of the Royal Statistical Society (UK) and has provided research consultancy services to various organisations.