Rethinking Public Strategy

by Sean Lusk, Nick Birks

Overview

Strategy is vital to effective and efficient public service delivery as well as successful governance and leadership. This new text provides a concise yet systematic overview of the achievements, downfalls and complexities of public strategy in today's globalized and often market-driven world. It describes the place of strategy in civic societies whose citizens are more interconnected and vocal than ever. It shows that successful strategic planning goes well beyond problem-solving to developing adaptable plans that can evolve as requirements and circumstances change. And it explains why muddling through simply won't work.

Emphasizing the importance of applying a variety of techniques to the process of strategy-creation, Rethinking Public Strategy reassesses the key factors that can deliver significant improvements in public services and build public value. It looks at why public strategy is distinctive, as well as the principles it has in common with the corporate domain.

This text includes numerous case studies from around the globe – from South Africa to Singapore, the USA to Germany, and from China to the Czech Republic – that ground the exposition in real experience. Based on state-of-the-art research by two expert practitioners in the field, it offers an essential guide to the art of strategy in the contemporary public sector, and encourages readers to evaluate critically the various approaches to strategy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137377562
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/23/2014
Series:	The Public Management and Leadership Series , #4
Edition description:	2014
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Sean Lusk is head of strategy at the UK's Valuation Office Agency. Previously he was Principal Lecturer in Policy, Government and Europe at the UK's Civil Service College/National School of Government and Head of its Leadership and Strategy faculty. He has also worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Africa and South Asia, and as a consultant to ministers and officials in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

Nick Birks was formerly Head of Strategic Insight and Horizon Scanning for a central UK government department, where he spent ten years working in strategy units as well as having experience in many other capacities. As Head of Strategic Insight and Horizon Scanning he worked with futures specialists and officials throughout the public sector and was responsible for building strategic thinking capability across the organisation.
Sean Lusk is head of strategy at the UK's Valuation Office Agency. Previously he was Principal Lecturer in Policy, Government and Europe at the UK's Civil Service College/National School of Government and Head of its Leadership and Strategy faculty. He has also worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Africa and South Asia, and as a consultant to ministers and officials in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

Nick Birks was formerly Head of Strategic Insight and Horizon Scanning for a central UK government department, where he spent ten years working in strategy units as well as having experience in many other capacities. As Head of Strategic Insight and Horizon Scanning he worked with futures specialists and officials throughout the public sector and was responsible for building strategic thinking capability across the organisation.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Strategy Everywhere and Nowhere
2. Public Strategy
3. Corporate Strategy and Public Strategy
4. Barriers to Strategic Thinking
5. Thinking Strategically Methods and Approaches
6. Acting Strategically Building Strategic Appetite
7. Delivering Strategically Performance and Accountability for Results
8. Imagination, Curiosity and Strategic Judgement
9. Conclusion.