Search Results for: devo

How can experiences of women negotiators help us achieve equity in times of change?

By Laura McLeod and Rachel Johnson Filed Under: Featured Posted: June 20, 2014

The demand to include women in political negotiations is slowly becoming an international norm. To maximise the impact of inclusion, it is important to learn from women negotiators’ experiences to date, explain Dr Laura McLeod and Dr Rachel Johnson. There is widespread recognition that women need to be involved in negotiation processes – ranging from […]

Will tomorrow be a turning point in British politics?

By Ed Cox Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted: May 21, 2014

This year’s European elections and Scottish referendum may signify a more profound change in British politics than the General Election in 2015, writes Ed Cox. Taken together, they present an opportunity for the people of the United Kingdom to send a clear message to the mainstream political parties. Tomorrow’s local and European elections are not […]

Green policymakers should take a cue from Quorn’s success

By Claire Hoolohan Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 30, 2014

Last week Quorn announced it will invest £30m in its County Durham factory following significant sales growth in recent years. Claire Hoolohan argues that Quorn’s success is a signal to governments, policy makers, academics, and others that the time has arrived to move forward on the sustainable food agenda. Reducing the amount of meat in […]

UK science is under threat – from English higher education policy

By Kieron Flanagan Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: January 8, 2014

The UK science base must be protected from poorly thought out and badly implemented English higher education reforms, writes Dr Kieron Flanagan. The UK science community has reacted with dismay to the news, leaked to the Guardian, that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (which makes science policy for the UK and provides funds for the UK wide […]

There is life beyond austerity; now give us the freedom to make it happen

By Ed Cox Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted: December 3, 2013

During Manchester Policy Week, four leading thinktanks debated what government might look like beyond the General Election and towards 2020. In an abridged version of his speech at the event IPPR North’s Director, Ed Cox (pictured above, standing), says there is life beyond the current austerity measures – but only if there are significant changes to present […]

Hangover from US shutdown will last for months

By Perri 6 Filed Under: Featured Posted: October 18, 2013

With a deal having been struck to end the 16-day shutdown in the US, the wheels of government administration are starting to turn once again. But, writes Prof Perri 6, restarting is not a simple case of ‘picking up where we left off’ and the legacy challenges for those involved in public management are significant. […]

NYT Excerpt: Radical Accounting And The Value Of Ideas

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: July 31, 2013

I thought this as interesting enough to share….. especially as an awful lot of public management reform is predicated on trying to replicate in the public sector the sort of outmoded private sector practices discussed below…. July 30, 201312:49 PM In his New York Times Magazine column this week, Adam Davidson writes about the challenges of measuring […]

In Defence of Quangos

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: June 22, 2013

This is the written evidence i presented to the PASC back in 2011 on the so-called cull of quangos, setting out why they are an important part of any democratic state: IN DEFENCE OF QUANGOS why arms-length bodies are a vital part of our democratic system of public administration and what should be done to organise them better.

Visions of Subsidiarity and the Curse of the British Political Tradition

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: May 20, 2013

by Martin Smith (York University), Dave Richards and Patrick Diamond (both Manchester University) There is little doubt that the previous Labour Administration and the current Coalition Government have discernibly different governing projects. Despite a rhetorical appeal to the contrary, Labour substantially increased both the size and role of the state, developing a new set of […]

Measuring Leviathan: Big Government and the Myths of Public Spending

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: January 14, 2013

The political debate about public spending in the UK is bedevilled by myths and spin about how much we actually spend. So I thought it was time for a little myth-busting primer, with some pretty diagrams, about how we should be discussing public spending….