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Rachel Ashworth

Professor Rachel Ashworth

Professor in Public Services Management

Cardiff Business School

Email
AshworthRE@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29208 75842
Campuses
Aberconway Building, Room Room Q22, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Overview

Rachel served as Dean and Head of Cardiff Business School for six years until September 2024 and is a Professor in Public Services Management. Her research can be viewed in relation to four key themes: organizational and institutional change in the public sector; scrutiny and accountability in public services, equality and diversity in public services and public service performance.

She has published in journals including Journal of Public Administration, Research and Theory, Journal of Management Studies, British Journal of Management, Public Administration, Policy and Politics and Public Management Review. She recently co-edited 'Theorising Contemporary Public Management Research: International and Comparative Perspectives', a special issue of the British Journal of Management and also co-edited 'Public Service Improvement: Theories and Evidence'  (Oxford University Press, 2010).

Publication

2024

2023

2019

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

Articles

Book sections

Books

Conferences

Monographs

Research

Research interests

  • Public service scrutiny and accountability
  • Institutional change in the public sector
  • Equality and diversity in public services
  • Public service performance

PhD supervision research interests

  • Accountability in the public sector
  • Application of institutional theory to public services
  • Institutional and organizational change in the public sector
  • Performance improvement in the public sector
  • Public service professions

Research projects

  • Developing a Culture of Collaborative Scrutiny: An Evaluation of Practice and Potential (funded by Welsh Government)
  • Policing the constabulary: Will elected police and crime commissioners clarify or confuse public service accountability? (funded by Cardiff University)

Teaching

Teaching commitments

  • BSc Business Management Year 1: Business Environment
  • BSc Business Management Year 3: Management and Public Policy in the EU

Additional teaching

Rachel is external examiner for public management PG programmes at Warwick Business School.

Biography

Qualifications

  • BA (Hons) Public Administration (Glamorgan) 1992
  • PhD (Cardiff) 2000 'Promises Versus Performance: An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship Between Election Manifesto Pledges and Local Government Policy-Making'

Professional memberships

  • She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  • She is a member of the Welsh Government Public Service Scrutiny Reference Group
  • She is an academic member of the CIPD