Professor Wayne Parsons
BSc(econ) Wales, MSc(econ) Wales, PhD (London), FRSA, AcSS
Biography
Wayne Parsons is professor of public policy at Queen Mary, University of London. He defines public policy as the study of how human beings engage in problem solving in respect of those problems which they consider to be public and require forms of collective action. He has written widely in this field, and his textbook Public Policy is an established text and is used all over the world by both academics and practitioners. It has been published in many languages. He has designed and taught a variety of courses dealing with how problems and policies are designed, implemented and evaluated. In recent years he has also given courses on the use of policy analysis in emerging and developing contexts. He has extensive international experience in research, consulting, teaching and training. He has held several visiting professorships and is currently distinquished visiting professor in public policy at the Falcultad Latioamerica de Ciences Sociales (a leading research institute with centers throughout Latin America) where he works closely with both scholars and policy professionals on improving policy capacity in the region.
Research interests
My main area of research is public policy. As a field, public policy encompasses a fairly broad range of interests, including political economy, public management and public administration as well as the history of ideas. My current research involves comparative research into recent developments in enhancing policy capacity and modernising policy making. I am also a partner in an EU funded project monitoring democracy in the European Union (EUROPUB). I am currently completing a new book Redesigning Public Policy: New Directions in Theory and Practice. I am on the editorial board on a number of journals, including, The Policy Sciences, Journal of European Public Policy, Innovation, Evidence and Policy and Contemporary Wales. I am also the editor of a series of books for Edward Elgar publishing: New Horizons in Public Policy.
ProGov People
“ The mark of a professional civil service is having at hand a number of informed policy choices for any given scenario. The key to this is a strong, internationally-informed knowledge base.”
— Mark Evans, Director of the Institute of Governance, ANZSOG
“ Those who lead public sector organisations have the capacity to innovate by listening to all their stakeholders and properly evaluating their responses.”
— Richard Common, Senior Research Fellow in Public Management, Manchester Business School
“ Few people are born leaders — most have to learn how to acquire the skills that make them effective managers and communicators. Good public sector management is about leading teams”
— Andrew Massey, Professor of Public Administration, University of Exeter
“ Any idiot can make a decision, or design a policy. The real challenge is developing the capacity to actually implement the decision.”
— Wayne Parsons, Profesor of Public Policy, Queen Mary, University of London
“ Learning online can be as engaging and effective as in any classroom, with the advantages of flexible timing and interaction with international participants”
— Ellen Roberts, director of the e-Masters in Public Policy and Management at the University of York