Highly readable and non-technical, this handbook is designed to help students and non-profit managers gain a working knowledge of the principles and practices of conducting qualitative case study research in public organizations. This book is a motherload of practical and comprehensive guidance to planning, conducting, analyzing, and reporting case research project findings. McNabb begins with a detailed rationale for the use of the case research approach in public administration, non-profit organizations, and political science. Then it provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct single-case, multicase, and meta-analysis research, with guidelines on organizing and writing the case report. Case Research in Public Management also includes many examples of case studies in a wide range of important topics in public administration, including performance management, sustainable government, technology management, security issues, emergency and disaster management, social and health services, infrastructure, public transportation, and transforming the work of government.

Highly readable and non-technical, this handbook is designed to help students and non-profit managers gain a working knowledge of the principles and practices of conducting qualitative case study research in public organizations. This book is a motherload of practical and comprehensive guidance to planning, conducting, analyzing, and reporting case research project findings. McNabb begins with a detailed rationale for the use of the case research approach in public administration, non-profit organizations, and political science. Then it provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct single-case, multicase, and meta-analysis research, with guidelines on organizing and writing the case report. Case Research in Public Management also includes many examples of case studies in a wide range of important topics in public administration, including performance management, sustainable government, technology management, security issues, emergency and disaster management, social and health services, infrastructure, public transportation, and transforming the work of government.

An overview of experimental research and methods in public management, and their impact on theory, research practices and substantive knowledge.

Research in public administration and public management has distinctive features that influence the choices and application of research methods. Periods of change and upheaval in the public sector provide ample opportunities and cases for research, but the standard methodologies for researching in the social sciences can be difficult to follow in the complex world of the public sector. In a dynamic political environment, the focus lies on solving social problems whilst also using methodological principles needed for doing scientifically sound research. Research Methods in Public Administration and Public Management represents a comprehensive guide to doing and using research in public management and administration. It is impressively succinct but covering a wide variety of research strategies including among others: action research, hypotheses, sampling, case selection, questionnaires, interviewing, desk research, prescription and research ethics. This textbook does not bog the nascent researcher down in the theory but does provide numerous international examples and practical exercises to illuminate the research journey. Sandra Van Thiel guides us through the theory, operationalization and research design process before explaining the tools required to carry-out impactful research. This concise textbook will be core reading for those studying research methods and/or carrying out research on public management and administration.

While public management has become widely spoken of, its identity and character is not well-defined. Such disparity is an underlying problem in developing public management within academia, and in the eyes of practitioners. In this book, Michael Barzelay tackles the challenge of making public management into a true professional discipline. Barzelay argues that public management needs to integrate contrasting conceptions of professional practice. By pressing forward an expansive idea of design in public management, Barzelay formulates a fresh vision of public management in practice and outlines its implications for research, curriculum development and disciplinary identity.

Now in a thoroughly revised and refreshed fourth edition, Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management is beloved by students and professors alike for its exceptional clarity and accessibility and plentiful illustrations. This new edition integrates quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as specific up-to-date instruction in the use of statistical software programs such as Excel and SPSS. Changes to this edition include: A new section, featuring two new chapters, to explore mixed-methods approaches to research, including fundamentals, research design, data collection, and analyzing and interpreting findings A new, dedicated chapter on Big Data research Updated exhibits and examples throughout the book A new companion website to accompany the book containing PowerPoint slides for each chapter New exhibits, tables, figures, and exercises, as well as key terms and discussion questions at the end of each chapter Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management, 4e is an ideal textbook for use in all research methods courses in undergraduate and graduate public administration, public affairs, and nonprofit management courses.

"This book includes cases from local, state, Federal, and international governments, covering a wide variety of technologies such as geographic information systems, enterprise resource planning, Web-based customer response systems, and cross-agency shared systems, among others. The practitioners' in-depth knowledge brings a reality to the cases that readers will find stimulating as well as instructive"--Provided by publisher.

Despite predictions that 'new public management' would establish itself as the new paradigm of Public Administration and Management, recent academic research has highlighted concerns about the intra-organizational focus and limitations of this approach. This book represents a comprehensive analysis of the state of the art of public management, examining and framing the debate in this important area. The New Public Governance? sets out to explore this emergent field of research and to present a framework with which to understand it. Divided into five parts, the book examines: Theoretical underpinnings of the concept of governance, especially competing perspectives from Europe and the US Governance of inter-organizational partnerships and contractual relationships Governance of policy networks Lessons learned and future directions Under the steely editorship of Stephen Osborne and with contributions from leading academics including Owen Hughes, John M. Bryson, Don Kettl, Guy Peters and Carsten Greve, this book will be of particular interest to researchers and students of public administration, public management, public policy and public services management.

Local governments do not stand alone—they find themselves in new relationships not only with state and federal government, but often with a widening spectrum of other public and private organizations as well. The result of this re-forming of local governments calls for new collaborations and managerial responses that occur in addition to governmental and bureaucratic processes-as-usual, bringing locally generated strategies or what the authors call "jurisdiction-based management" into play. Based on an extensive study of 237 cities within five states, Collaborative Public Management provides an in-depth look at how city officials work with other governments and organizations to develop their city economies and what makes these collaborations work. Exploring the more complex nature of collaboration across jurisdictions, governments, and sectors, Agranoff and McGuire illustrate how public managers address complex problems through strategic partnerships, networks, contractual relationships, alliances, committees, coalitions, consortia, and councils as they function together to meet public demands through other government agencies, nonprofit associations, for-profit entities, and many other types of nongovernmental organizations. Beyond the "how" and "why," Collaborative Public Management identifies the importance of different managerial approaches by breaking them down into parts and sequences, and describing the many kinds of collaborative activities and processes that allow local governments to function in new ways to address the most nettlesome public challenges.

Evidence-based management (EBMgt) derives principles of good management from scientific research, meta-analysis, literature reviews, and case studies, and then translates them into practice. This book is the first systematic assessment of EBMgt and its potential application in public management.