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This paper sets out to examine the contribution of employer co‐funding of publicly‐funded vocational education and training in the UK (i.e. training initiatives that are available to all qualified applicants but funded jointly by the public and private sectors).

The paper draws on qualitative research undertaken with more than 30 employers in a cross‐section of economic sectors.

The evidence from this study suggests that there is no model for how and why employers start to become engaged in co‐funding publicly‐funded training.

The paper identifies key issues for public policy‐makers.

This paper is the sequel to the authors' earlier paper in this journal and aims to present the “future research” outlined in that paper.

The approaches being employed by Welsh local authorities in commissioning home care from the independent sector are surveyed to see how a mixed economy of care is being implemented. The observed differences are analysed to see what can be learnt for the benefit of public sector managers concerned with the development of commissioning practices. Semi‐structured interviews have been performed with home care managers and commissioning officers in 13 (60 per cent) of the local, unitary authorities in Wales. Managers at independent home care providers have been interviewed also. The study has been ongoing since September 2004. For comparison, Barnet in England has been included because, unlike any Welsh authority, it has implemented 100 per cent outsourcing of home care. Croydon has been included as it has a good practice brokerage that has helped it to expand its provision from the independent sector.

Great diversity is seen in the approaches adopted by the Welsh local authorities when commissioning home care from the independent sector. They differ in the proportion of home care that is commissioned from the independent sector, what is commissioned, the number of independent providers and the contractual arrangements. These features are used to develop a taxonomy of home care strategies that reveals high levels of diversity. It is seen that in Wales there has been less political drive and compulsion to outsource home care than in England, but the natural desire to reduce costs in the face of a growing need for home care is now driving outsourcing in Wales.

This paper provides guidance to public sector managers in local authorities seeking best practice in the commissioning of home care from the independent sector.

The existing literature contains little research into good practice in the commissioning of home care by local authorities from the independent sector. This paper is a timely contribution to addressing this shortfall.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which micro businesses in tourism might influence the process of tourism policy formation and change in urban settings.

A conceptual framework that considers the motivations to participate in the policy‐making process and the resources needed to influence policy change informs a case study of micro businesses in Saltaire, UK.

The paper argues that, although the propensity of local micro firms to influence the local political agenda will be affected by structural considerations that manifest themselves differently from place to place, it is possible to identify key conditions that will need to be present if such enterprises are to challenge the power of other local interests.

The paper begins to redress the imbalance in the literature that has neglected micro business participation in policy formation and change.

Headteachers are increasingly required to be managerially focused and operate in an uncertain environment. Argues that they are more likely to be effective if they have access to appropriate information. Reports the findings of a recently completed survey which suggest that schools operate largely informal and unstructured approaches to environmental scanning and tend to base their decision making on relatively superficial analyses of topical issues. Concludes by highlighting the need for further research.