Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Public Policy

 

Special Issue on: "Governance and Public Sector Reforms: Trends, Possibilities and Caveats"

Guest Editor:
Dr. Aleksander Aristovnik, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

A well-functioning public sector is a prerequisite for transparent and effective democratic governance. Public administration and the broader public sector worldwide have been under a great deal of pressure in these times of financial and economic crisis, and even more so during the period of gradual emergence from the crisis, due to austerity measures and the related challenges in relation to rationalisation, optimisation, reorganisation and changes in the forms of governance.

Changes in the development of the public sector have led to the implementation of various types of reform: from the introduction of improved methods of management to comprehensive structural reforms. In this context, the development of public administration (the administrative part of the public sector) and the development of the broader public sector (the service-providing part of the public sector) are complementary, as more efficient and democratic public administration depends on the rationalisation and democratisation of the public sector.

This special issue welcomes articles which focus on different operational elements in various areas of public sectors worldwide, such as the optimisation of the management of public organisations, human resource management, public sector performance, e-government, etc. Detailed theoretical and empirical analysis will be highly appreciated in the following areas (from an individual or comparative perspective): responsive, effective and efficient operation of user-oriented public sectors; efficient use of human, financial, spatial, environmental and energy resources in the public sector; responsible, open and transparent operation of public sectors; corruption and strengthening of integrity in the public sector; professionalism and development of professional competences and innovation of public employees; systems of flexible human resource management in the public sector; modernisation of administrative procedural law and inspection systems; improvement of public quality systems; improvement of legislation, reduction of legislative burdens, effective public information system, and increased use of e-services, digitalisation and interoperability of information solutions in the public sector.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented during the XXII Days of Slovenian Public Administration conference, but we also strongly encourage other researchers to submit articles for this call.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Public governance reform
• Public sector reform (education, R&D, health, etc.)
• Public administration reform
• Public-private partnership
• Performance management in the public sector
• Public financial management
• Public finance and fiscal policy
• TQM in the public sector
• Human resource management in the public sector
• Public employment
• Organisational structural reform in the public sector
• Public sector innovations
• Information management in the public sector
• E-government
• Public accountability
• Transparency in the public sector
• Values and ethics in the public sector
• Public service delivery
• Local self-government

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

Important Dates

Manuscripts due by: 31 January, 2016