
Public Policy and Organisations
About the research group
Public policy as a cornerstone of the functioning of society and the well-being of citizens.
The Public policy and organisations research group brings together an active group of researchers from Regional Studies, Public Management, Public Law, and Social and Health Management. In the field of science, we all represent Administrative Sciences.
Traditionally, public policy covered what public organisations (the state, municipalities and regions) do to promote the functioning of society and the well-being of citizens.
Now, many things are done by leveraging the input of for-profit and not-for-profit private organisations. Public organisations have also set up organisations that can be classified as private for many of their tasks. Similarly, many seemingly public organisations are in fact hybrid organisations combining the features of the public and the private.
It still makes sense to understand public policy as activities that promote politically decided goals, and at least mainly through the use of tax money. In principle, it does not matter now in the same way whether organisations which promote the goals and use the tax money are private or public. Due to public goals and resources, even private activities are not normal business or civic activities in this reconstructed framework of public action. We examine the role of private organisations as an indication of diversifying public action. The fact that new opportunities come with new challenges to solve is also taken into account in our examination.
In addition to the perpetual issues of public action and organisations – such as politics vs. administration, public vs. generic management models, management as science vs. skill, professional management vs. profession-based management, efficiency vs. effectiveness, public monopolies vs. market conformity, detailed steering and regulation vs. self-direction and self-regulation, etc. – our research topics comprise the current challenges of public policy in particular. These include complexity, wicked problems and the need to promote democracy, the functioning of service and governance systems, safeguarding good governance and basic rights of citizens, creating effective links between innovation policy, regional development and smart regional specialisation as well as the many challenges of management values and ethics that the diversification of public policy has further increased.
Old means and models are not enough to solve problems. New types of means and new combinations of existing means are needed. There is a need for innovative research that exploits and, where appropriate, questions the dominant research tradition.
Tutkimusryhmän johtajana toimii julkisjohtamisen professori Esa Hyyryläinen.
Current news and events
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Publications
Research projects
Research group members
Regional Science

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8608
- Fabriikki F322

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8462
- Fabriikki F314

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8411
- Fabriikki F314

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8267
- Fabriikki F316

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8383
- Fabriikki F308

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- Fabriikki F307

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8531
- Fabriikki F311

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi

School of Management, Regional Studies
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8335
- Fabriikki F307
Public Management

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8127
- Fabriikki F330

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8991
- Fabriikki F333

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8341
- Fabriikki F331

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8594

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8378
- Fabriikki F329

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8401

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- Tervahovi B206

School of Management, Public Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8499
- Fabriikki F336
Public Law

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8522

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8601

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8391
- Fabriikki F341

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8356

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8214
- Fabriikki F343

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8384
- Fabriikki F340

School of Management, Public Law
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8473
- Fabriikki F344
Social and Health Management

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8596
- Fabriikki F320

Levón Institute, Open University
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8421
- Konttori K104

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8614

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8380
- Fabriikki F322

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)
- +358 29 449 8381
- Fabriikki F312

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- Fabriikki F324

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8236
- Fabriikki F321

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8589
- Fabriikki F324

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi (normalise scandinavian characters)

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8099
- Fabriikki F317

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi
- +358 29 449 8349
- Fabriikki F320

School of Management, Social and Health Management
- firstname.lastname@univaasa.fi