This book explores the role of civil servants and their trade unions in the public management reform process, framing it in its economic, social, cultural and legal contexts. Building on neo-institutional and stakeholder theories, the book shows how staff and their representative organisations have influenced the formulation and implementation of public management reforms in twelve OECD countries. This study challenges top-down elite theories that have dominated the existing literature, explaining how staff participation practices, both direct and indirect, have impacted on the implementation...

This book is the result of the cooperation on a European level between both academics and civil servants active in this policy field. It wants to contribute to a more effective equality oriented personnel policy which takes into account recent policy insights and developments regarding gender, equality and personnel policy. Theoretical understandings are presented, as well as concrete instruments and case studies illustrating how governments in different countries (Belgium - on a federal and Flemish level -, the Netherlands, UK and Norway) are working towards an equality oriented personnel...

This book focuses on one part of the judicial system: the criminal justice chain. This involves all the activities and actors dealing with policing, prosecution, judgment, and sanctioning of crimes. In the last decades, reforms have been implemented in several European countries. In Belgium, for example, there was the so-called Octopus reform in 1998. The police was restructured, leading to an integration of the police forces on a national and local level. New steering instruments were introduced, such as regional security plans. With regard to the sanctioning of crimes, a new institution was...

This collection examines the leadership training of public administration in 19 countries and provides information on where, what, and how the training occurs as well as the up-to-date cultural, political, economic background for each. Factors affecting perceived importance, quality and robustness of top civil servant training are examined.