In this updated second edition, internationally renowned scholar B. Guy Peters provides a succinct introduction to public policy and illustrates the design approach to policy problems. Peters demonstrates how decision-makers can make more effective choices and why a design approach to public intervention can improve policy formulation.

Extensively updated, this second edition of the Advanced Introduction to Social Policy provides a concise overview of the field that takes newer realities into account as well as taking insights from the traditional social policy canon. Daniel Béland and Rianne Mahon draw on both classic and contemporary theories to illuminate the broad processes that are putting pressure on existing social policy arrangements and raising new research questions.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Advanced Introduction to Social Policy offers a concise overview of the field that takes newer realities into account, without rejecting the insights found in the traditional social policy canon. Daniel Béland and Rianne Mahon draw on both classic and contemporary theories to illuminate the broad processes that are putting pressure on existing social policy arrangements and raising new research questions. These processes provide the canvass against which the authors assess the social policy implications of changing gender relations, the increasing salience of ethnic diversity, and the growing importance of the Global South as a site of social policy innovation.

Social innovation (SI) has, in the last decade or so, become an important idea and concept in policy, practice and scholarship surrounding human development. It is often seen as an antidote to narrowly defined technological and market-oriented modes of innovation. Its historical significance and development, tied to centuries of struggles for social change, remain under-appreciated and unacknowledged. This Advanced Introduction explores the historical and contemporary meanings of social innovation and its relationship with political and social movements. It develops an understanding of SI as a form of ethical practice for meeting needs, transforming social relations, and collectively empowering communities to shape the future. Additionally, it proposes that ethical research should aim to be socially innovative in this sense and provides concrete suggestions of how this concern can be embodied in action-research and community development methodologies.

An Introduction to Social Policy explores essential welfare topics, themes and issues for students studying social policy or related disciplines such as sociology, social work, or nursing and social care. - Part One examines key concepts including welfare, social justice, diversity and health and well-being. - Part Two explores policy issues in relation to key stages of the lifecourse. - Part Three takes a comparative perspective, discussing the international issues and supranational bodies that impact on British and European social policy today. The concise chapters define the key terms and outline the central debates, giving students a fundamental foundation for their degree. Chapter overviews and summaries guide readers through the book, and questions for reflection conclude each chapter to test readers′ knowledge. This book is essential reading for all students of social policy and the social sciences, as well as those taking joint honours programmes in social work, sociology, criminology, politics and social care. Peter Dwyer is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Salford. Sandra Shaw is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Salford.

Jon Pierre and Guy Peters expertly guide the reader through governance – one of the most widely used terms in political science – and its differing interpretations, with comprehensive discussion of the key issues covering global as well as local level governance. A detailed look into what constitutes ‘good governance’, whether produced by a government or by more informal means, is also explored.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this Advanced Introduction, Christopher Pollitt starts a penetrating account of the theories, methods and possible trajectories of the study of public management, also examining the academic community itself, and its relationship to the world of practice. There is no more authoritative – or lively – text of such scope and focus. This is a stimulating analysis by a leading international scholar. It includes: · a global overview · a critical and authoritative analysis of the current state of the field · the location of academic research firmly in the real world context of austerity, climate and demographic change, and technological transformation · an examination of the relationship between academic study and the practice of public management · a look inside the ‘ivory tower’, at the forces changing the way the subject is studied and practised This truly unique work will be of particular interest to graduate students, advanced scholars, lecturers and trainers in public administration, public management, government, public policy, political science and development administration. Middle level and senior practitioners in public administration and public management will also find this an invaluable and sophisticated introduction.