Since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, the multiagency sharing of back-office and professional support functions has emerged as a key reform strategy for governments seeking to deliver more and better public services amid major fiscal retrenchment. Research at the Blavatnik School of Government has been exploring this international reform movement, and Dr Thomas Elston has recently been awarded a three-year research grant by the Leverhulme Trust to study its wider implications for public administration.

In September, the School will host an international meeting of policymakers, senior managers and researchers engaged in this issue of collaborative efficiency solutions. The aim is to provide a rich and timely opportunity to step back from the day-to-day pressures of reform delivery, and consider more strategically and critically the current challenges, future opportunities and wider implications of adopting ‘shared services’ in government.

The conference is being arranged in partnership with the UK Government and in conjunction with Deloitte. It is funded by a ‘Kickstart’ grant from the Economic and Social Research Council’s ‘Impact Acceleration Account’. International participants will include experts from government, business, consultancy and academia.

For more information, please email sharedservicesconf@bsg.ox.ac.uk.

Participation in the Conference is by invitation only.