New Public Management
While efficiency was the main concern of traditional public administration, and efficiency and effectiveness are the main concerns of New Public Management, values beyond efficiency and effectiveness are pursued, debated, challenged, and evaluated in the emerg ing approach. In this regard, the emerging approach reemphasizes and brings to the fore value-related concerns of previous eras that were always present, but not dominant. This renewed attention to a broader array of values, especially to values associated with democracy, makes it obvious why questions related to the creation of public value, public values more generally, and the public sphere have risen to prominence. This essay highlights some of the key value-related issues in the new approach and proposes an agenda for the future. First, we outline what we believe are the main contours of the emerging approach. Next, we clarify the meaning of value, public value, public values, and the public sphere; discuss how they are operationalized; and summarize important challenges to the concepts. We then discuss how public value and public values are used in practice. Finally, we present an agenda for research and action to be pursued if the new approach is to fulfill its promise.1
