Editor’s Foreword by Virginie Madelin, Managing Director of the IGPDE

Bringing academic research to practitioners

This issue’s Comparative Analysis comes from Ines Mergel, a professor of public administration, who examines collaborative practices employed by digital service teams across Europe. By blending theory with practical examples, she explores the many ways in which governments approach co-production and, in doing so, shines a spotlight on the sheer complexity of public-policy making.

Prof. Mergel’s contribution is packed with factual and descriptive insights into what the general objectives of a public policy – in this case, co-production and co-creation policy – might look like, offering a wealth of useful inputs for those shaping policy. Of course, scholarly research is not the only place practitioners can and should look for evidence. Practical guidance on how objectives like these are actually implemented can prove equally instructive.

Fostering evidence-based policy and practice

In Responsive Public Management, we share organizational data obtained from front-line experts to reveal the contexts in which policy is designed. This issue examines a forward-thinking digital inclusion initiative developed by Portugal’s Administrative Modernisation Agency (AMA) to get more people with low levels of digital literacy accessing public services online. A general overview of the initiative is supplemented by feedback from AMA practitioners, who share some of the difficulties they faced implementing the scheme.

As is tradition, the Article section sits at the intersection between research and practice. In this issue, Jacques Chevallier, an emeritus professor of public law, gives his thoughts on the right to make mistakes. It also features a video of Prof. Chevallier in conversation with Édouard Marcus who, at the time the article was written, was head of the Legal Department – Taxation at the Public Finances Directorate General (DGFiP). In the joint interview, they share their views on the Government Reform Act for a Trust-Based Society (ESSOC Act) and on the newly recognised right to make mistakes and, in doing so, help to bridge the divide between what are traditionally separate disciplines.

Readers can also follow our Twitter account (@igpde_gp) for updates on the latest news and recent reforms in public management in France, throughout Europe and beyond.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue.