The Public Management Research Group (PUMAR) covers all aspects of public management, policy, and governance.
PUMAR is based in the Management, Employment and Organisation Section (MEO) of Cardiff Business School but has members from across the University, as well as in government, civic organisations, and internationally.
About
PUMAR brings together Cardiff University academics interested in creating public value by developing and supporting research about public management, and by facilitating the creation and dissemination of new knowledge, partnerships, and understanding across our public management research community.
To join our mailing list, please complete our online form.
Aims
- Creating and supporting a community of researchers in the area of public policy and management that emphasises inter-disciplinary research.
- Organising collaborative workshops/seminars so that we can co-design and progress research with a range of theoretical and ‘real world’ questions and challenges in mind.
- Supporting early career researchers through initiatives including widening participation in the journal writing club hosted by Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP).
- Supporting the development of research links between MEO and other sections and research centres in Cardiff Business School, e.g., WCPP, Welsh Economy Research Unit and the new Public Sector Accounting, Finance and Taxation Research Group.
- Supporting the development of research links between Cardiff Business School and other parts of the university, including the Centre for Adult Social Care Research, the Security, Crime, and Intelligence Innovation Institute, the School of Geography and Planning, and the School of Social Sciences.
- Supporting the development of links between Cardiff Business School and external partners, including Welsh Government, Cardiff Capital Region, Welsh local government organisations, public service boards, third sector organisations, and the Office for Future Generations.
- Developing executive education opportunities on key topics such as: getting research into policy and practice (based on the knowledge accumulated by individual members of this group), AI, improvement and transformation, and research impact mapping
- Encouraging and supporting the development of inter-disciplinary research funding bids.
- Facilitating external engagement opportunities which help to contribute to future research impact pathways.
Research
PUMAR conducts multi-disciplinary, impactful, and excellent research across four institutional settings:
- UK Government
- Welsh Government
- Local Authority Government
- Third Sector and Non-Governmental Organisations
In studying these four institutional settings, group members conduct research on many functional areas of public management and policy, including:
- Health
- Social Care
- Education
- Policing
- Highways
- Economic Development
- Fire and Rescue
- Policy
Within studies of these institutional settings and functional areas, group members conduct research on cross-cutting themes including:
- Co-production
- Performance
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Workforce
- Evidence and Knowledge
- Procurement, e.g., Jane Lynch
- Innovation
- Leadership, Governance, and Management
- Policy
The broad scope of PUMAR’s research on public management and policy covers all five of Cardiff Business School's Grand Challenges: Decent Work, Fair and Sustainable Economies, Future Organisations, Good Governance and Responsible Innovation.
Research income generation
- 2020-27, Delbridge, R., et al. EPSRC MariNH3 Project. £5.5M.
- 2024-28, Rother, D., M Gomes et al., FAPESP – BIOTA (Biodiversity Characterization, Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use), £72,000.00
- 2024-2026, Munday, M., C. Jones, and R. Ahamadain. Tidal Lagoon Challenge. Equity, Ownership and Finance. Research for Welsh Government, £196,000,
- 2024-28, Esquerdo, V., M Gomes et. al., FAPESP – Programa de Pesquisa em políticas Públicas, £225,000.00.
- 2021-27, Jenkins, S. ESRC/Health Foundation UK Centre for Evidence Implementation in Adult Social Care, Cardiff Lead, total award £15m.
- 2020-25, Delbridge R., et al. Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund. Award £1.5M.
- 2024-25, Munday, M. and A. Roberts. Arcadis Consulting: Economic appraisal of spending associated with Section 6 and 7 A465 Improvements at Hirwaun, £43,136
- 2023-24, Kitchener, M. The Craft of Co-Productive Policing. Security, Crime, and Intelligence Innovation Institute (SCIII) £9,000.
- 2023-24, Kitchener, M. The Craft of Co-Production: Lessons from the Ely Community Plan. Cardiff Business School Seedcorn Initiative, £2,000.
- 2018-22, Ongaro, E., E. Ferlie, M. Kitchener et al. Co-Production and Co-Governance: Strategic Management, Public Value and Co-Creation in the Renewal of Public Agencies in Europe (COGOV) Horizon 20/20 (European Commission), Cardiff Award £270,000 (from €4.5M).
- 2018-22, Kitchener, M. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship (Tracey Rosell), £70,000.
- 2020-2023, Munday, M., A. Roberts and R. Huggins. UKRI Strength in Placed Fund; Research and Evaluation of Compound Semiconductor Connected, £408,000 (UKRI £261,000)
- 2017-22, Kitchener, M. Institute of Directors PhD Fellowship (Hannah Williams), £45,000
- 2019-22, Kitchener, M. Chartered Association of Business Schools Taskforce on Business Schools and the Public Good £13,000.
Research impact
The REF2021 sub-panel noted that Cardiff Business School had produced outputs judged to be world-leading across a wide range of research themes, with a particularly high proportion in the area of public management.
In the last REF, group members contributed to 4 impact case studies. The cases were titled:
- Improving public services through joint scrutiny
- Enhancing the effectiveness of policy making
- Addressing the gender pay gap
- Adopting peer led approaches to performance improvement
We know each of our impact cases scored at least 3, with some scoring 4 as we achieved an overall score of 3.5 but the REF panel made a specific comment about the public policy impact cases:
All case studies were judged to demonstrate impacts of outstanding or very considerable reach and significance, with particularly outstanding impacts on public policy and supply chains.
The sub-panel was impressed by the high level of engagement with decision-makers within all levels of government in Wales and the UK.
People
Leads
Academic staff
Academic staff - Wales Centre for Public Policy
Academic staff - Accounting and Finance, Economics, Logistics and Operations Management, Marketing and Strategy
Academic staff - wider university
Postgraduate students
Events
Call for papers
PUMAR followers may be interested in news of the planned Themed Issue of Public Money and Management, to be co-edited by Cardiff University researchers Professor Leighton Andrews and Dr Matt Collins.
The PMM theme will examine the minister–official relationship and its implications for how policy is made and delivered. We are looking for articles that focus on either side of the relationship, or on the relationship itself, provided there is a clear connection to questions of policy performance or governance.
The primary focus of the PMM theme is the Westminster model, but comparative contributions that engage with one or more Westminster model jurisdictions are welcome. Articles that draw on Westminster experience to engage with broader theoretical frameworks in public administration will also be considered.
We welcome submissions using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods designs, as well as conceptual and theoretical contributions that deepen understanding of the relationship and its implications. We welcome historical perspectives on the cycle of strain and reform in the minister-official relationship, particularly those that reflect the impact of crises.
For more information and submission details, please view the Call for Papers.
Past events
PUMAR seminar: Professor Richard M. Walker, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Wednesday 15 July 16:00 to 17:00
Hybrid: Executive Education Suite (Room 3.02), Postgraduate Teaching Centre and Microsoft Teams
Extending the Behavioural Public Administration debate: Neuro Public Administration?
Over the last decade public administration has experienced a behavioural revolution. ‘Behavioural public administration’ has used theories, constructs and methods from the behavioural sciences to examine ways in which cognitive biases affect administrative behaviour.
In this presentation I will suggest that public administration can also benefit from drawing on insights from neuroscience because behaviour is driven by our brain and nervous systems.
Biography
Richard M. Walker is a scholar of public administration with a focus on citizen-government relationships and the effective management of government.
Publications
- Andrews, L. 2024. Ministerial leadership: Practice, performance and power. Understanding Governance Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (10.1007/978-3-031-50008-4)
- Andrews, L. and Gilmore, S. 2025. The evolving practice of UK Government Ministers. Public Administration Review 85 (3), pp.628-640. (10.1111/puar.13902)
- Andrews, R. 2025. Social equity in municipally owned corporations: Do women in the boardroom make a difference to the gender pay gap?. Public Administration 103 (4), pp.979-991. (10.1111/padm.13045)
- Andrews, R. et al. 2021. The motivations for the adoption of management innovation by local governments and its performance effects. Public Administration Review 81 (4), pp.625-637. (10.1111/puar.13375)
- Andrews, R. and Hodgkinson, I. R. 2024. Resource dependence and the survival of government-created social enterprises. Public Management Review 26 (5), pp.1178-1200. (10.1080/14719037.2022.2137228)
- Ashworth, R. E. , McDermott, A. M. and Currie, G. 2019. Theorizing from qualitative research in public administration: plurality through a combination of rigor and richness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 29 (2), pp.318-333. (10.1093/jopart/muy057)
- Carter, I. and MacKillop, E. 2023. Can we promote plural local pathways to sustainable development? Insights from the implementation of Wales’s Future Generations Act. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 25 (5), pp.554-569. (10.1080/1523908X.2023.2221182)
- Colombo, L. A. , Bailey, A. R. and Gomes, M. V. P. 2023. Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives. Organization (10.1177/13505084221147480)
- Connell, A. et al. 2023. Externalising policy advice within subnational governments. Policy and Politics 51 (4), pp.628-646. (10.1332/030557321X16883943592187)
- Durrant, H. and MacKillop, E. 2022. University policy engagement bodies in the UK and the variable meanings of and approaches to impact. Research Evaluation 31 (3), pp.372-384. (10.1093/reseval/rvac015)
- Entwistle, T. and Doering, H. 2023. Amoral Management and the Normalisation of Deviance: The Case of Stafford Hospital. Journal of Business Ethics (10.1007/s10551-023-05445-6)
- Henderson, D. , Morgan, K. and Delbridge, R. 2024. Putting missions in their place: micro missions and the role of universities in delivering challenge-led innovation. Regional Studies 58 (1), pp.208-219. (10.1080/00343404.2023.2176840)
- Jandric, J. , Delbridge, R. and Quattrone, P. 2023. Sustaining a collegiate environment: colleagueship, community and choice at an anonymous business school. In: Sahlin, K. and Eriksson-Zetterquist, U. eds. Revitalizing Collegiality: Restoring Faculty Authority in Universities. Research in the Sociology of Organizations Emerald. , pp.51-73. (10.1108/S0733-558X20230000087003)
- Kitchener, M. 2024. Re‐purposing business schools: potential, progress, and precarity. Journal of Management Studies (10.1111/joms.13171)
- Kitchener, M. and Delbridge, R. 2020. Lessons from creating a business school for public good: obliquity, waysetting and wayfinding in substantively rational change. Academy of Management Learning and Education 19 , pp.307-322. 3. (10.5465/amle.2019.0195)
- MacKillop, E. et al. 2023. Making sense of knowledge-brokering organisations: Boundary organisations or policy entrepreneurs?. Science and Public Policy 50 (6), pp.950-960. (10.1093/scipol/scad029)
- MacKillop, E. and Downe, J. 2022. What counts as evidence for policy? An analysis of policy actors' perceptions. Public Administration Review (10.1111/puar.13567)
- MacKillop, E. , Quarmby, S. and Downe, J. 2020. Does knowledge brokering facilitate evidence-based policy? A review of existing knowledge and an agenda for future research. Policy and Politics 48 (2), pp.335-353. (10.1332/030557319X15740848311069)
- Nesom, S. and MacKillop, E. 2020. What matters in the implementation of sustainable development policies? Findings from the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, 2015. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning (10.1080/1523908X.2020.1858768)
- Ongaro, E. et al., 2021. Strategic management as an enabler of co-creation in public services. Policy and Politics 49 (2), pp.287-304. (10.1332/030557321X16119271520306)
- Piddington, G. , MacKillop, E. and Downe, J. 2024. Do policy actors have different views of what constitutes evidence in policy-making?. Policy and Politics 52 (2), pp.239-258. (10.1332/03055736Y2024D000000032)
- Sallai, D. et al., 2024. Social challenges for business in the age of populism. Business & Society 63 (2), pp.279-299. (10.1177/00076503231206734)
- Sanderson Bellamy, A. et al. 2023. The role of the state in managing voluntary food sustainability standards democratically. Journal of Rural Studies 103 103126. (10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103126)
- Wallace, M. et al. 2022. Developing public service leaders: elite orchestration, change agency, leaderism, and neoliberalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (10.1093/oso/9780199552108.001.0001)