Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland

CG Knox, Paul Carmichael

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The devolved government in Northern Ireland set about the task of putting in place‘a modern and effective system of public administration that can deliver high quality publicservices to our citizens’. It did so through a review of public administration launched in June2002. This article offers a formative evaluation of the quest to improve the quality of publicservices, now being taken forward by a British minister since the suspension of devolution. It argues that the review is being driven by institutional concerns and is devoid of a public service modernising agenda. Additionally, it contends that how people in Northern Ireland perceive public services is contingent on their views on its constitutional status (Direct Rule or devolved government) which, in turn, is linked to their support for the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, rather than the performance of public bodies. As a consequence, the reforms may result in little more than institutional tinkering with doubtful impact on the quality of public services.
LanguageEnglish
Pages97-120
JournalJournal of Social Policy
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2006

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public administration
public service
reform
devolution
minister
decentralization
citizen
evaluation
performance

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Knox, CG ; Carmichael, Paul. / Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland. In: Journal of Social Policy. 2006 ; Vol. 35, No. 1. pp. 97-120.
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Knox, CG & Carmichael, P 2006, 'Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland', Journal of Social Policy, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 97-120. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279405009311

Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland. / Knox, CG; Carmichael, Paul.

In: Journal of Social Policy, Vol. 35, No. 1, 01.01.2006, p. 97-120.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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Knox CG, Carmichael P. Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland. Journal of Social Policy. 2006 Jan 1;35(1):97-120. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279405009311

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