Department of Public Governance and Management, Ghent University

The department of public governance and management has three main research domains: Public administration, policy and management.

Our research examines the governance and organisation of government in the broadest sense: government and public organisations at the local and central levels, and civil society and the non-profit sector. We address (1) governance-related topics such as intergovernmental relations and networks and cooperation between government, civil society and citizens, (2) policy-related topics such as implementation and evaluation of governmental policy, and (3) the management and organisation of public and civil society organisations.

Governance of security:

Since 2003 the research group ‘Governing & Policing Security’ (www.gaps-ugent.be) is located at the crossroads between governance, management and security. A governance perspective is used to study local, national and international problems related to safety and security. We mainly conduct empirical research in close collaboration with the field. Currently we are zooming in on two research lines. The first is the relationship between technology, innovation and security. A second line of research is about networking in the security domain.

International governance:

Our research examines political, economic, and legal aspects of governance at multiple levels: national, EU and international governance. This multi-disciplinary approach is applied to various governance processes in several fields (such as financial regulation, consumer protection, accountability of economic governance, climate change, energy). Our complementary research brings together political understandings of the types and development of governance, with understandings of law as an instrument of governance, and with economics as a domain of governance.

Read more on the University of Ghent Website.