A tool for public services research and development

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce in detail a research tool, which was first used to examine how the motivated actions of leaders in public services, such as Directors of Children's Services, take forward their strategic purposes and subsequently adapted for revealing the strategic actions of Family Support Workers.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical bases for the research tool are given in some depth and examples of the tool and its possibilities for adaptation are provided.

Findings

This conceptual paper provides a resource for examining the connection between strategic purposes and motivated actions in everyday leadership practices.

Research limitations/implications

The explication of theoretical foundations of the tool prepares the ground for further adaptations to meet the needs of other research studies which aim at analytically linking actions and strategies in studies of leadership in the public services.

Practical implications

The tool has proven potential as a resource for reflective practice and professional learning.

Originality/value

The arguments are based in cultural-historical approaches to understanding motivated action in institutional practices. This approach has been employed in a study of leadership in children's services, and the present paper gives detailed access to the main methodological device used in that study.

Citation

Edwards, A. (2015), "A tool for public services research and development", International Journal of Public Leadership, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-11-2014-0019