Public Service Management

Impact

Through our public management expertise, we provide high-quality and reliable research that changes the way public servants think and ultimately improve public services in their various roles.   

The  Public Service Research Group  (PSRG)—an affiliated group within UNSW Canberra’s School of Business—partners with organisational clients to produce new insights into effective public service implementation and evaluation. 

The PSRG performs timely, high-quality and reliable research into public policy implementation. We draw on this to deliver world-class executive education and professional development.  

Competitive Advantage

Research within the PSRG broadly focuses on issues of policy implementation in a public service context across four key themes: Capability in the Public Service, Complex Systems, Ethics and Inclusion. Our research crosses a number of different disciplinary, methodological and subject boundaries. 

This  research brings together work on issues including  human resource systems, performance management, organisational culture, workforce development and project management. 

Complex systems have multiple boundaries and feedback loops from which new ways of working can emerge in unpredictable ways. We adapt and apply systems frameworks to support policy design, implementation and evaluation.

Our  ethics research has a firm focus on exploring values, cultures and norms of individuals, organisations and institutions, seeking to understand how they emerge, change and influence practice. 

This research addresses the  significant barriers to inclusion  that still exist. We are also interested in the different policies, services and mechanisms that have been used to drive equity and social inclusion.

Successful Applications

The School of Business has worked with a range of public servant partners to change the way they think about and carry out their mission in the design and delivery of public services. 

We release a wide range of publications including submissions to government, journal articles, research briefs and issues papers. A selection is available here. 

View Publications

Study With Us

A number of our postgraduate courses draw from our Public Service Management research including: 

Master of Strategic People Management 

Master of Business 

Doctor in Public Management