Future challenges and skills for (senior) managers in the European public sector

Abstract

As public administrations operate in increasingly complex and volatile environments, challenges such as tight budgets, technological innovation, decreasing trust, demographic change, environmental concerns and globalisation, governance and public management become more and more demanding. There is (and must be!) a change from the bureaucratic, formal and hierarchical public institutions that are used to operating in relatively stable environments towards more agile organisations with flatter and more flexible hierarchies that are more resilient to current and future unpredictable environments. These changes are having a clear impact on public managers’ roles and skills, and related leadership.