Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Governments and nonprofits exist to create public value. Yet what does that mean in theory and practice?
This new volume brings together key experts in the field to offer unique, wide-ranging answers. From the United States, Europe, and Australia, the contributors focus on the creation, meaning, measurement, and assessment of public value in a world where government, nonprofit organizations, business, and citizens all have roles in the public sphere. In so doing, they demonstrate the intimate link between ideas of public value and public values and the ways scholars theorize and measure them. They also add to ongoing debates over what public value might mean, the nature of the most important public values, and how we can practically apply these values. The collection concludes with an extensive research and practice agenda conceived to further the field and mainstream its ideas.
Aimed at scholars, students, and stakeholders ranging from business and government to nonprofits and activist groups, Public Value and Public Administration is an essential blueprint for those interested in creating public value to advance the common good.
Synopsis
Public administration practitioners and scholars around the globe are paying considerable attention to the creation of public value and to the health of the public sphere. However, there is little agreement about how to define public value and know if it is being achieved. Some definitions of public value focus on organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. Other definitions stress going beyond these qualities to also emphasize protecting and enhancing citizen rights and mutual obligations between the public and private sectors to society. This book explores competing visions of public value and what it means to discern, measure, and assess the creation of public value in a world where most major public challenges require contributions from governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities. In this book, scholars from the US, Europe, and Australia present an overview of major issues and debates focused on the skills, methods, measurements, and processes related to creating public value. This book is essential reading for public administration scholars, students, and practitioners.
Synopsis
Public Value and Public Administration brings together key experts from the US, Europe, and Australia to provide a unique contribution to ongoing debates over the theory and practice of creating, measuring, and assessing public value. The result is an essential guide for stakeholders interested in creating public value to advance the common good.