Good governance

We focus on issues related to public management and policy, including the use of evidence by governments, while researching corporate governance across the economy, examining transparency, accountability, inclusion, ethics, and values.

Our long-standing research expertise on public management, policymaking and governance is demonstrated by our consistent positioning in the top ten of the Shanghai World Rankings since 2014. Research in this area has been further strengthened with the integration of additional themes, including:

the composition and effectiveness of corporate boards
transparency and accountability in company reporting
the role of evidence in public policymaking
contemporary ethics and values within public organisations.

Corporate scandal and financial crisis

Prompted by successive governance and financial scandals, notably exhibited at the time of the worldwide financial crisis, we launched the Cardiff Corporate Governance Research Group. One of the leading interdisciplinary groups of its kind, it brings accounting and finance, organisation studies and legal scholars together with public policy and governance specialists to address and prevent corporate governance failures.

A key member of the group, Professor Arman Eshraghi, has examined corporate behaviours that promote diversity and consumer protection. He elaborated understanding of corporate misconduct, the monitoring role of boards of directors and the optimal design of corporate boards to support diversity. According to reporting by the Financial Times, this research has significant implications for the fiduciary responsibility of institutional investors.

Co-production and public value across the EU

Professor Martin Kitchener is the Cardiff lead for a European consortium of researchers examining the extent of co-production and delivery of public value across EU countries.

Funded by €4.5m from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the Coproduction and Co-governance (COGOV) project explores potential for citizens across the EU to co-create the design and delivery of their public services.

The Cardiff element of the project profiles case studies of co-production in social care, where systems are designed in close collaboration with service users with learning difficulties.

Professor Martin Kitchener Professor of Public Sector Management and Policy

We also seek opportunities to actively promote good governance through:

hosting high-profile collaborative roundtables
supporting governance developments in external stakeholders
thought leadership and media commentary.

Making a difference through our research

Our research impacts on people and policy, making a difference to our economy and to society.

Wales Centre for Public Policy

The ‘what works centre’ creates important opportunities for our researchers to collaborate with leading policy experts, to advise ministers and to promote evidence-informed policy decisions on topics including waste recycling, homelessness, sustainable procurement, and EU migration.

Public accountability

Research by Professor Rachel Ashworth and Professor James Downe has enabled local authorities to undertake joint working, conduct robust and effective joint scrutiny processes and, identify key public policy outcomes and learning points resulting from joint scrutiny.