<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article examines five ‘challenges’ facing most administrative systems across Europe. The first challenge stems from the increasingly asymmetric nature of European multilevel governance; the second challenge arises from the missed opportunity of reforming in the absence of a dominant administrative paradigm; the third challenge lies in rescuing and transforming the welfare state; the fourth challenge is concerned with making the most of the knowledge generated in the field of strategic management for strategically managing public services; the fifth challenge lies in staff (de)motivation. These challenges are pitched at very different levels: some are related to issues of public governance, some to issues of scholarly and practitioners’ collective understandings of public administration in Europe, and some to trends in the global economy, and notably the financial, economic and fiscal ‘crises’.</p></abstract>

This article examines five ‘challenges’ facing most administrative systems across Europe. The first challenge stems from the increasingly asymmetric nature of European multilevel governance; the second challenge arises from the missed opportunity of reforming in the absence of a dominant administrative paradigm; the third challenge lies in rescuing and transforming the welfare state; the fourth challenge is concerned with making the most of the knowledge generated in the field of strategic management for strategically managing public services; the fifth challenge lies in staff (de)motivation. These challenges are pitched at very different levels: some are related to issues of public governance, some to issues of scholarly and practitioners’ collective understandings of public administration in Europe, and some to trends in the global economy, and notably the financial, economic and fiscal ‘crises’.

Five challenges for public administrations in Europe

Professor of International Public Services Management, Northumbria University; President, European Group for Public Administration

Administration

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Five challenges for public administrations in Europe"}

This article examines five ‘challenges’ facing most administrative systems across Europe. The first challenge stems from the increasingly asymmetric nature of...

Five challenges for public administrations in Europe

Published Online: Dec 30, 2015

Page range: 67 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/admin-2015-0021

Keywords
Public administration, Europe, challenges, fiscal crisis, administrative reform

© 2015 Edoardo Ongaro, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Five challenges for public administrations in Europe

Published Online: Dec 30, 2015

Page range: 67 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/admin-2015-0021

KeywordsPublic administration, Europe, challenges, fiscal crisis, administrative reform

© 2015 Edoardo Ongaro, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Public administration, Europe, challenges, fiscal crisis, administrative reform