Department of Public Governance

Research Focus

• Governance for Innovation and Sustainable Development

  Innovation and sustainable development are both highly visible target areas on the political agenda, and demand the appropriate governance structures for their promotion. The central challenge of governance is developing the institutional capacity to design, promote, gain agreement for, implement, and monitor effective strategies.

• The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Development

  In the globalized, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, organizations that produce and disseminate knowledge have a critical role to play in assisting cities, regions, and nations reach and sustain economic competitiveness. How do higher education institutions respond to this recognition, by expanding their activities beyond teaching and basic research to include economic, business, and technology development?

• Democracy in Transition

  How democratic development can be fostered in different conditions and societal contexts, and how social and economic development alters the perception of democracy form a core research focus.

• Tourism and Regional Development Policy

  In the last few decades there has been a paradigm shift in how we view the relationships among tourism, development, and sustainability. Indeed there is a fragile interdependence between tourism, environmental quality, and regional economic well-being. How can tourism and regional development strategies be coordinated to achieve sustainable development?

• Program and Public Policy Evaluation

  The expansion and deepening of new forms of governance, particularly for economic development and environmental sustainability, comes with increased demands for accountability for the use of public resources. How effective are public and public-private initiatives in achieving their intended outcomes? What types of organizational structures are most suitable under contingent conditions? How effective is the implementation process and how responsive are organizations to diverse needs?