COCOPS Executive Survey on Public Sector Reform in Europe.

Background and aims of the survey The COCOPS project aims to assess the impact of New Public Management-style (NPM) reforms on public administrations in Europe, as well as, more particularly, on public services attending to citizens’ service needs and on social cohesion. The research explores trends and development of future public sector reform strategies, especially given the context of the financial crisis, by drawing lessons from past experience, exploring trends and studying emerging public sector coordination practices. The research is comparative and evidence-based, drawing on both existing data and innovative new quantitative and qualitative data collection, at both national and policy sector levels. As one of the largest comparative public management research projects in Europe, the project therefore intends to provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges facing the European public sector of the future. The consortium implementing the research consists of a group of leading public administration scholars from eleven universities in ten countries. The project is funded through the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme as a Small or Medium-Scale Focused Research Project, and runs from January 2011 to June 2014. More information on the project is available at www.cocops.eu. The third phase of COCOPS (or its ‘Work package 3’) is a cornerstone of the project, as it produces an original, large-scale survey exploring the opinions and perceptions of public sector managers in ten Europe countries with regards to NPM reforms. The work package thus provides novel quantitative data regarding NPM reforms and their impacts in Europe, coming from the actors involved at close range in the conception and especially in the implementation of reforms: public sector executives across Europe active in the areas of (as delineated in the project’s reference points) general government, employment and health. Moreover, the data resulting from the survey constitutes a building block for other project phases which, based on an analysis of trends and opinions identified by the civil servants surveyed, try to establish innovative practices in tackling unintended consequences of NPM reforms, effects of the financial crisis and also possible scenarios for the future of the public sector

Internal and external use of performance information in public organisations: Results from an international executive survey

Abstract. This paper analyses determinants of public managers´ internal and external use of performance information. Using a sample of over 3100 top public sector executives in six European countries, we find evidence for significant country variations, with a more limited use of performance information in France and Germany. It was also found that the use of performance information is mainly determined by organizational factors rather than managers’ individual socio-demographic characteristics. The analysis also found considerable differences in patterns of use between policy fields and a lower use of performance indicators in central government ministries. Finally, the implementation of performance management instruments in an organization has an overall strong effect on the actual use of performance information

Trends and Impact of Public administration Reforms in Europe: Views and Experiences from Senior Public Sector Executives. COCOPS Policy Brief.

__Abstract__ This policy brief summarizes the findings from a large-scale executive survey on public administration reforms in Europe, and presents initial policy recommendations for current and future reforms