Comparative Analysis in Public Management: Reflections on the Experience of a Major Research Programme

The UK ESRC Public Services Programme (www.publicservices.ac.uk) commissioned a number of projects that employ a range of comparative research methods to investigate a variety of questions in the field of public management. This provides the database on which I draw for the current analysis. My aim is to use the set of projects funded by the Programme as a combined body of knowledge to explore the use of comparative analyses in public management; to consider the types of research questions that can be addressed, its limitations and its potential.