The Economic and Social Research Council has today launched the Public Services Zone, a brand new online resource for public service managers and policymakers found at www.esrc.ac.uk/publicservices.
The Public Services Zone showcases the work of some of the UK's leading academics representing a wide range of disciplines from economics to social psychology, exploring everything from how performance ratings are calculated to the impact of reforms on public trust.
Every piece of public services-focused research funded by the ESRC is given a user-friendly summary and organised within the four themes underpinning current public service reform:
- Performance management - the impact and the consequences
- Capability and capacity - how to ensure public service teams have the leadership, change management and innovation skills to deliver
- Choice and voice - can offering people more options and greater involvement drive service improvements?
- Competition and contestability - what is the best mix of public, private and third sector provision for effective public services?
Users can also browse for research by sector, by centre or author, or use a keyword search to locate specific work. Along with the research, the Zone contains the latest news from public services academics, events and conferences, and the chance to connect with the ESRC through our many knowledge transfer opportunities. Users can also sign up for a monthly e-bulletin delivering the latest from the Public Services Zone straight to their inbox.
Drs Astrid Wissenburg, ESRC Director of Communications and Information, said "The ESRC works hard to ensure that the important research we support gets into the hands of the people who can use it. The Public Services Zone is an exciting new resource that will offer fresh insights to those at the cutting edge of the current drive to reform our public services."
Visit the Public Services Zone at www.esrc.ac.uk/publicservices to connect with public services research from the ESRC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
To get in touch with an ESRC researcher, contact:
OnConsulting - ESRC Research Brokers for Public Services: Helen Coleman Tel: 07951 955970, e-mail: helen.coleman@onconsulting.co.uk
ESRC Press Office:
Alexandra Saxon Tel: 01793 413032, e-mail: alexandra.saxon@esrc.ac.uk
Annika Howard Tel: 01793 413119, e-mail: annika.howard@esrc.ac.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- The Public Services Zone is an invaluable resource for journalists seeking the latest research or expert opinion on public service issues. Journalists and editors are encouraged to subscribe for the monthly Public Services Zone e-bulletin at www.esrc.ac.uk/publicservices.
- The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC’s planned total expenditure in 2007-08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk
- ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range of social science research and presents it in a way that makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research and key online resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included, for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal provides access to early findings and research summaries, as well as full texts and original datasets through integrated search facilities. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk