<title/> This article discusses the government's use of inter-organizational networks to promote sharing of knowledge and innovation between public service organizations. It analyses the conditions for successful knowledge transfer between organizations, and highlights the importance of recognizing the...

This article analyses three strands of local government modernization. The first takes an overview of the development of 'modernization' and 'improvement' of local government in the UK under the Labour government since 1997 and the overall programme of reform. We discuss both the shifts and the...

Interventionist local economic strategies are perceived by the present government as a significant threat, as shown by the concerns of the Widdicombe inquiry. But are they of lasting influence, or mere “fashionable playgrounds for the new left� John Benington identifies a major shift...

The concept of joined up government has been interpreted mainly in terms of the need for horizontal integration between services which traditionally have been delivered through stand-alone departments, specialist professions, and ‘silo’ organizational structures. Two parallel concepts within...

<title>Abstract</title> This article explores a special class of innovations - innovations in governance -- and develops an analytical schema for characterizing and evaluating them. To date, the innovation literature has focused primarily on the private rather than the public sector, and on innovations which...

This article examines the English Beacon Council Scheme, established by central government to reward excellence in service delivery and to disseminate good practice across local government. Using data from a national survey (<italic>N</italic> = 314) and seventy-two interviews from twelve case studies, this...