ORG447 Governance and Networks in the Public Sector (Autumn 2026)
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Course Leader:
- Dag Olaf Torjesen
- Lecture Semester:
- Autumn
- Teaching language:
- Norwegian
- Duration:
- ½ year
Table of contents
The course is connected to the following study programs
Teaching language
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student should:
- be able to judge, discuss and have a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of network organisation in the public sector.
- have in-depth knowledge and a critical understanding of how network organisation ideas have influenced organisational events in the context of public sector reform.
- through theory and empirical examples interpret, analyse and compare different organisational networking arrangements, for example between organisations at different levels both vertically in management hierarchies, and horizontally, between public and private sector, and between public and voluntary organisations.
- be able to weigh and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of networks, partnerships and joint management in the public sector as an alternative or supplement to the market and hierarchy theories
Contents
The course will focus on how network organisation over the past 20 years have been highlighted as a form of coordination and management in the public sector.
Here one will first investigate the origin, and the supply side, of ideas and literature on network organisation in organisational science, consultancy business and international propagation of the phenomenon.
Secondly, the demand side of public management ideas will be investigated, i.e. how changes in the political and ideological climate have contributed to adopt new networking and partnership organisational solutions in reforming the public sector.
The curriculum will be based on the key contributions within the governance literature, but with a special focus on recent literature on network organisation and management in a Norwegian context.
Based on empirical examples from recent years reform efforts in the Norwegian public sector, the course will specially illuminate how network management has been applied in municipal and state sector, including, the NAV-reform and the newly Cooperation Reform between Norwegian municipalities and hospital sector.
A key part of the course will be to analyse and discuss the pros and cons of network management as state and municipal management tool. Here one will also discuss and analyse mandated networks versus voluntarily network arrangements and management.