Our research activities address how public organisations adapt to reforms, policy change, and shifting societal demands and how leadership behaviour is central to adaptive, resilient and effective public institutions.

Our research on street-level decision-making addresses the discretionary choices frontline workers make when applying rules to individual cases. It highlights how situational cues are interpreted and how professionals navigate moral and professional dilemmas to shape the delivery of public services.

Organisational climates that are inclusive and psychological safe foster collaboration, information exchange, and learning that is necessary for public institutions to respond to complex societal problems. Our research activities inform how leadership improves inclusion and psychological safety in public organisations. 

Our research informs how political executives and top-level managers rely on performance information to inform prioritisation decisions, problem-solving and resource allocation, as well the cognitive limitations and situational challenges that inhibit effective use of available information and evidence.

Our research on representation and diversity investigates how the composition of the workforce of public institutions mirrors society, affecting both performance and legitimacy of the state. Challenges about recruitment, retention and representation in public administration introduce questions around power, equal opportunities and diversity, which have become increasingly salient in current political discourses.

Our research activities inform the experiences of citizens when they encounter bureaucratic rules and systems in policy implementation and public service delivery. Our research sheds light on how such onerous experiences shape policy effectiveness and legitimacy perceptions of the state, as well as inform interventions to improve the interactions between citizens and the state