Roskilde School of Governance

The Roskilde School of Governance (RSG) contributes to the advancement of research excellence in the field of public policy and governance, the development of high quality educational programs and the provision of expert policy-advice.

Research

RSG aims to conduct internationally leading academic and applied research that enhances our understanding of public policy, governance and administration. Our research is problem-driven, interdisciplinary and innovative, and it builds on a mixture of research methods and analytics. We aim to be research leaders in new fields through conceptual and theoretical contributions and empirical studies capturing new trends and phenomena. Our research is based on an interactive research strategy that seeks to involve key stakeholders in discussions about the questions and knowledge gaps to be investigated, the strategies for data collection and the assessment of the validity of preliminary conclusions and their practical implications.

We are studying the changing forms and conditions of public policy and governance at different scales and in different countries. However, we pay a special attention to the way that hierarchical and market-based forms of governance are supplemented and supplanted by more interactive forms of governance such as networks, partnerships, relational contracts and deliberative policy arenas.

The overall goal for RSG is to provide an incubator for new and powerful ideas that can assist decision makers in transforming the role and functioning of the public sector by adjusting organizational and institutional designs, experimenting with new tools of governing, developing an active citizenship and strengthening political and administrative leadership. One of the key endeavors in this transformation is to stimulate collaboration between public and private actors in order to spur the development of innovative, robust, and democratic solutions that can break policy deadlocks and enhance a sustainable social, political and economic development.

Education

RSG aims to provide high-quality teaching of bachelor, master and PhD-students in Danish and English language study programs. The teaching will use problematization, puzzles and dilemmas as well as cutting-edge theoretical and methodological tools to stimulate learning processes and build knowledge and competences that can be applied in real life settings. The study of public governance processes will be approached from political, administrative and societal angles. It will focus on public governance at different levels and aim to answer theoretical, empirical and normative questions. The key ambition of our research-based study programs in ‘Politics and Administration’ and ‘International Public Administration and Politics’ is to prepare students for leadership and management of complex policy and governance processes within and across different scales, sectors and organizations.

Policy-advice

RSG aims to bring researchers and practitioners from the public and private sector together in a fruitful exchange of new and relevant ideas about current and future governance challenges. It will assist politicians, public managers and interest organizations in developing and assessing new governance initiatives. It will also supply new research-based insights that can inspire governance reforms at the local, regional and national level and offer customized training and competence-building courses to mid-career practitioners. The overall ambition is to contribute to the development of new forms of governance, the deepening of democracy and the strengthening of political and administrative leadership as well as the promotion of integrative leadership that cuts across institutional and organizational boundaries.