Understanding Public Services: A Contemporary Introduction Book launch and panel discussion on current challenges and opportunities for public services

Event details

As part of the launch of the new textbook, 'Understanding Public Services: A Contemporary Introduction', this event will explore some of the key issues, challenges and opportunities relating to public services. The book offers a comprehensive account of core public service topics and explains the fundamental elements of working in the public services. Outlining their role in the welfare state, it explores the policies, providers and legalities shaping the context in which public services operate. It also considers concepts of organisational change, strategy, management, leadership and funding, and engage with timely discussions around contemporary public issues such as equality, sustainability and climate change. 

The event will include an introduction to the text as well as a panel discussion exploring developments highlighted in the conclusion. Speakers will discuss the impact of the dual crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and increased cost of living on both the public service workforce and the structure of service delivery. The economic and social challenges for public services are further compounded by a changing environment. Panellists will consider how public services can be delivered in a sustainable way that accounts for economic, social, and environmental change. This will include reflecting on the role of service user responsibility and participation to respond to these challenges as well as the opportunities provided by cross-sectoral collaboration, technology, and innovation. 

Panellists

• Dr Kate Laffan, Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Dr E. Katharina Sarter, Assistant Professor at Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick
• Dr Rebecca Ince, Research Fellow at Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham 
• Dr Elizabeth Cookingham Bailey, Lecturer in Public Policy and Management, University of York

Join Zoom meeting

ID: 93831636623
Passcode: 598213

Blog

Read the blog 'How can public services face a changing world?'