@olehelby.bsky.social
Aaron Deslatte

@pmra-1991.bsky.social
Roskilde University
Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen
Seulki Lee
@elizabethlinos.bsky.social
@michael-siciliano.bsky.social
Thad Calabrese
Rick Vogel
@gabilotta.bsky.social
@nathanfavero.com
@anadimand.bsky.social
Melissa Falkær Olsen
@sassmikkelsen.bsky.social

A learning approach to the governance of professionals. Field experimental evidence Abstract. Performance management is used by governments worldwide to incentivize professionals in schools and other public organizations. Yet, much researc

Read all about it in “A learning approach to the governance of professionals. Field experimental evidence” by Simon Calmar Andersen & Thorbjørn Sejr Guul here:

academic.oup.com/jpart/articl...

Providing high-quality information about the people professionals serve can be enough to support better decisions, without the unintended consequences of heavy-handed accountability systems.

In other words, information alone shifted behavior in a purposeful direction.

The takeaway for public management is striking: improving professional performance may not require incentives.

The result: teachers updated their beliefs about each student in a Bayesian way, assigning more challenging material to students who performed better than expected and easing demands for those who struggled more than anticipated.

A new field experiment suggests it can. Researchers worked with 82 Danish schools and over 2,000 second-grade students to test a simple idea: what happens when teachers are given performance information about their students, without any added incentives, rewards, or accountability pressure?

New Issue Highlight:

Could better teaching be as simple as giving teachers the right information—no rewards, no pressure, no oversight?

@olehelby.bsky.social
Aaron Deslatte

@pmra-1991.bsky.social
Roskilde University
Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen
Seulki Lee
@elizabethlinos.bsky.social
@michael-siciliano.bsky.social
Thad Calabrese
Rick Vogel
@gabilotta.bsky.social
@nathanfavero.com
@anadimand.bsky.social
Melissa Falkær Olsen
@sassmikkelsen.bsky.social

A process study of managing tensions for sustaining public purpose-oriented networks: toward a “Networks as Practice” perspective Abstract. Purpose-oriented networks (PONs) face multiple tensions, but although their existence is well-documented, there is limited research on how networ

The findings highlight that tensions are constant, interconnected, and even productive when handled effectively, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners in collaborative governance and public management.

Read it here: academic.oup.com/jpart/articl...

joint projects and strategic participation, that help organizations navigate competing demands such as efficiency versus inclusiveness and flexibility versus stability.

The study shows that managing tensions, not eliminating them, is what sustains collaboration. Drawing on a longitudinal analysis of a natural hazards network in Norway, the article introduces a “networks-as-practice” perspective and identifies four key practices, including

“A process study of managing tensions for sustaining public purpose-oriented networks: Toward a ‘Networks as Practice’ perspective,” by Lena E. Bygballe, Ragnhild Kvålshaugen, and Anne Helena Kokkonen, explores how public sector networks actually survive and function over time.

New Issue Highlight!

What if the key to sustaining public sector collaboration isn’t eliminating tensions, but managing them?

@olehelby.bsky.social
Aaron Deslatte

@pmra-1991.bsky.social
Roskilde University
Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen
Seulki Lee
@elizabethlinos.bsky.social
@michael-siciliano.bsky.social
Thad Calabrese
Rick Vogel
@gabilotta.bsky.social
@nathanfavero.com
@anadimand.bsky.social
Melissa Falkær Olsen
@sassmikkelsen.bsky.social

Low-stakes accountability and public service turnarounds Abstract. Can accountability to external bodies induce performance turnaround in struggling public services? And if so, must account-holders use incentives

Get the answer from "Low-stakes accountability and public service turnarounds" (Open Access) by Thomas Elston & Han Wang:

academic.oup.com/jpart/articl...

And if so, must account-holders use incentives and sanctions to change account-giving organizations that have hitherto failed to self-correct, or can a gentler, more informational regime suffice?

Low-stakes accountability and public service turnarounds Abstract. Can accountability to external bodies induce performance turnaround in struggling public services? And if so, must account-holders use incentives

New Issue Highlight!

Can accountability to external bodies induce performance turnaround in struggling public services?

@olehelby.bsky.social
Aaron Deslatte

@pmra-1991.bsky.social
Roskilde University
Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen
Seulki Lee
@elizabethlinos.bsky.social
@michael-siciliano.bsky.social
Thad Calabrese
Rick Vogel
@gabilotta.bsky.social
@nathanfavero.com
@anadimand.bsky.social
Melissa Falkær Olsen
@sassmikkelsen.bsky.social

How wars impact public administration and street-level bureaucracy: teachers and education professionals on the frontlines of the Russian occupation in Ukraine Abstract. The actions of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs)—such as teachers, healthcare workers, and police officers—during crises and emergencies have recei

2. A fourfold typology of SLB response strategies, exit, accommodation, local defiance, and remote adaptation, each grounded in distinct moral decisions.

🔗 Read open access: academic.oup.com/jpart/articl...

1. Four structural features that distinguish war from other crises: forced interaction with enemy state actors, institutional weaponization, loyalty dilemmas, and bureaucratic rupture under contested sovereignties.

Drawing on qualitative fieldwork across 6 Ukrainian regions, semi-structured and in-depth interviews with educators who experienced Russian occupation, and document analysis of media coverage and human rights reports, the authors employ an abductive research design to advance two key contributions:

This article examines how military occupation reshapes the everyday work, moral dilemmas, and response strategies of education professionals operating under extreme conditions.

Check out the Editor's Choice article from Vol. 36, Issue 1 (January 2026) "How Wars Impact Public Administration and Street-Level Bureaucracy: Teachers and Education Professionals on the Frontlines of the Russian Occupation in Ukraine" Vicente Ferraro, Gabriela Lotta, and Mykhailo Honchar.

Have you ever wondered how military occupation reshapes the work of teachers and other public servants on the ground?

#Wilmasreview
Wilma is standing in the beautiful @au.dk park and can't believe it — it's mid-April, and the trees are still bare! 🪵 Where she grew up, it would already be lush and green by now. 🌳

1/🧵

Breaking Down Administrative Burdens: A User-Centered Approach to Increase Interest in Active Labor Market Programs by Women Abstract. This study investigates whether reducing administrative burdens can increase interest in active labor market programs among job-seeking women. Em

New article in JPART on administrative burdens.

We examine how collaborating with citizens can help break down such burdens.

The paper speaks to debates in public administration on policy design and citizen–state interactions.

@jpart1991.bsky.social