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Public sector bureaucracies have been subjected to harsh criticism. One solution which has been widely adopted over the past two decades has been to 'unbundle government' - that is to break down monolithic departments and ministries into smaller, semi-autonomous 'agencies'. These are often governed by some type of performance contract, are at 'arm's length' or further from their 'parent' ministry or department and are freed from many of the normal rules governing civil service bodies. This, the first book to survey the 'why' and the 'how' of this epidemic of 'agencification', is essential reading for advanced students and researchers of public management. It includes case studies from every continent - from Japan to America and from Sweden to Tanzania, these 14 case studies (some covering more than one country) critically examine how such agencies have been set up and managed. Christopher Pollitt is currently Professor of Public Management at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. He has worked as a UK civil Servant, as an academic and consultant. He has been President of the European Evaluation Society and has advised many public organisations and the European Commission. Colin Talbot is currently Professor of Public Policy at the University of Nottingham and head of the Nottingham Policy Centre. He has worked in the public sector, as an academic and consultant and founded the consulting group 'Public Futures'. He has been a Special Advisor to the UK Public Administration Select Committee and advised many public organisations, in the UK and internationally.

Purpose - Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) have become increasingly active in recent years in carrying out \"performance audits\" of various public bodies. But how does SAIs report on their own performance? The purpose of this paper is to report on a study (commissioned by the UK National Audit Office (NAO)) of how SAIs report on their own performance and explores a possible conceptual framework - a synthesis of work on \"performance regimes\", \"public value\" and \"competing values\" approaches - which might provide a basis for enhancing such reporting.Design methodology approach - The paper is based first on a review of self-reporting of performance by SAIs in Australia, Canada, the USA, New Zealand and with a specific focus in more detail on the UK's NAO. In Section I, it explores existing self-reporting practices of a number of SAIs based on their published reports. Section II of this paper is more conceptual. Drawing on notions of \"performance regimes\", \"public value\" and \"competing values\", it seeks to re-conceptualise how SAIs in general, and the NAO specifically, might usefully report on their performance for multiple external audiences.Findings - The conclusions drawn from the first part of the paper include that multiple measures of SAI performance have evolved, including impacts on governments; financial savings; impact on parliament; media impact, etc. The second part concludes tentatively that a synthesis of \"public value\" and \"competing values\" might provide a conceptual framework for making more sense of such multiple reporting.Practical implications - The immediate practical value of this paper should be for SAIs in providing a possible framework for analysing and developing their own performance reporting policies to address multiple dimensions of achievement and meet the needs of multiple stake holders. More widely, this framework can be applied to other public agencies.Originality value - There are few, if any, current studies of comparative SAI self-reporting of performance, so this paper makes a substantial contribution in this area. The conceptual framework developed in the second half of the paper is also unique in synthesising two important streams of thinking about \"public value\" and \"competing values\" which has far wider applicability than the study of SAIs.

The growing importance of mathematics achievement scores on accountability ratings, and their effects on student advancement have created a need for effective remediation and intervention practices for struggling students. This quantitative experimental research study looked at the effects of virtual manipulatives in online learning environments. The study was conducted with 27 student participants in a suburban North Texas middle school. The participants completed a three-week online intervention course focused on solving algebraic equations. The treatment group used an online learning course and a virtual algebra scale to assist and reinforce their understanding of algebraic equations, and the control group used only an online learning course. Participants completed a 15 question pre-test and post-test measuring their proficiency in solving algebraic equations, which was analyzed for gains on a whole and categorical basis. The results found no significant differences in mean gains between the control and treatment group. However, results did support the effectiveness of online learning for the use of intervention and remediation practices. No significant differences were found between the control and treatment groups for participants identified as at-risk or those who receive special education services.

Public sector bureaucracies have been subjected to harsh criticism. One solution which has been widely adopted over the past two decades has been to 'unbundle government' - that is to break down monolithic departments and ministries into smaller, semi-autonomous 'agencies'. These are often governed by some type of performance contract, are at 'arm's length' or further from their 'parent' ministry or department and are freed from many of the normal rules governing civil service bodies.This, the first book to survey the 'why' and the 'how' of this epidemic of 'agencification', is essential reading for advanced students and researchers of public management.  It includes case studies from every continent - from Japan to America and from Sweden to Tanzania, these 14 case studies (some covering more than one country) critically examine how such agencies have been set up and managed.

This chapter turns its attention to mergers as the most intensive form of joint work within public sector settings. It addresses the four themes of this book by viewing mergers as a form of cross- boundary working and focusing on why, in the selected cases, mergers were chosen over less demanding forms of cross-boundary working. We draw on Mintzberg's (1979) conceptualization of task structures in order to explore organizational forms and identify the enablers and barriers to effective cross-boundary working created by task structures.

Examines the way the public sector and public management evolved in the UK over the last two decades of the twentieth century. Concentrates on the period between 1979 to 1997 when the UK had a succession of Conservative governments, when there was a kind of \"arms race\" of escalating rhetoric between the right and the left. Attempts to present a balanced account of what actually happened to the UK's public sector in general. Concludes that public services are still a very large proportion of national life, and that they have not qualitatively altered the share of national resources they consume, the numbers of people they employ or the range of services they offer.

Welfare rights advice provides a range of information, support, advice and advocacy services to a wide demographic, covering people who have multiple and varied needs, attitudes, behaviour and eligibility for services and assistance (ASA, 2003; Bateman, 2006). The National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers recently commissioned a literature review of existing research into the benefits of welfare rights advice (see Wiggan and Talbot, 2006), and this article provides a brief summary of its findings.

Think-tanks help shape how we live our lives, the laws we re governed by, the taxes we pay and the services we get, yet we know little about them There are about 150 think-tanks in the UK, beavering away trying to influence public opinion and government policies. Today's think-tanks come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, levels of openness and political viewpoints - and they have been growing in number and, arguably, influence. A further 10 are left-of-centre - such as the Fabians, the Institute for Public Policy Research and Demos.

Nothing is ever certain in politics but a Conservative majority in June is looking likely. They are probably going to have this government for five years, seeing them through Brexit and beyond. Economic forecasting is never easy and they all know it can be disastrously wrong. Look back to Labour's forecasts in its 2007 comprehensive spending review and wince at how wrong that proved to be -- and how quickly. The government's economic and fiscal forecasting has been largely delegated to the Office of Budget Responsibility. Its GDP growth forecast reflected the deep uncertainty after they leave the EU, hence the wide spread of their \"fan\" chart. The central estimate is that GDP will grow at about 2% -- well below the long-term UK average of 2.6% since 1948. The consequences for public finances are fairly obvious -- a sluggish economy means less money for services.