I returned to the Crawford School of Public Policy in January 2023, taking on the role of Director after 10 years at the University of Melbourne, and an extended secondment at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

My research interests are in public management, especially reform and relationships. This covers topics such as the creation and evolution of public service markets, collaboration, joined-up government, public value, performance management systems, and the intersection of morality and public management practice. I enjoy working in research collaborations with colleagues who see the world differently to me and some of those projects have received academic awards including best article in Public Administration Review and Review of Public Personnel Administration; best book at Academy of Management; and several best paper awards at the Academy of Management.

From 2022-2024 I was Associate Editor at Public Management Review and previously I was an Editor of the Australian Journal of Public Administration (2015-2021). Currently, I am a member of several editorial boards for journals from across the world: Public Administration; Public Management Review; Policy Design and Practice; Global Public Policy and Governance;  Halduskultuur: The Estonian Journal of Administrative Culture and Digital Governance, Australian Journal of Public Administration, and  Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. Previously I was on the editorial boards of: Public Administration Review; International Journal of Public Administration;  Journal of Public Affairs Education; Journal of Management & Organization, Teaching Public Administration  and Canadian Journal of Public Administration. 

My teaching focuses on management issues in the public sector and challenges faced by contemporary leaders. At the Crawford School I teach the course Fostering Public Policy Research, working with our newest Higher Degree Research colleagues. I have worked extensively with professionals from across the world and have been recognised for teaching excellence through various awards. As a keen observer of international practice in public management, I have had the opportunity to provide expert advice to a range of policymakers across the world.

I have been a member of the Advisory Board for the Australian Public Service Commission Centre for Leadership and Learning (2018-2020) and a member of the Infrastructure Victoria Expert Panel on the Role of Infrastructure in Addressing Regional Disadvantage (2019-2020). In 2022, I was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Victorian Public Sector Commission, and the Institute for Public Administration Australian Council (Australian Capital Territory). From 2024, I am a member of the Institute for Public Administration Australia National Council.

In 2021 I was elected to the Public Management Research Association Board, and I previously served as an elected member of the executive board of the International Research Society for Public Management (2012-2018). In 2022, I was elected a fellow of the (US) National Academy of Public Administration. Since 2013 I have been a fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victoria).

Together my various activities across research, education, service and engagement seek to better understand how government works and to contribute to improving the outcomes of those activities.

For full details of my publications, service, and appointments you can see my CV here.

I am currently working with the following PhD colleagues at the ANU:
Emba (beginning mid-2024)

Gabrielle Lawrence

Eleanor Malbon