For several decades now, public policies and services have been conducted in a context of complex and often turbulent crises with multiple dimensions (political, ecological, economic, social) that affect the very foundations of these policies and services undermining their effectiveness. The scientific knowledge on which they are based is also often challenged by significant sections of society, undermining the legitimacy of public action. This has led to an increased need to formulate public policies and strategies that create value for citizens and society. This raises several fundamental questions: how can public institutions define and implement persistent strategic approaches in populistic political environment; how can we ensure value creation when the effects can be counteracted or decline over different time horizons? How can we strengthen citizens' perception of the value created in a world where knowledge is being questioned? How can we contribute to strengthening the resilience and strategic competences of our public institutions and democratic societies?

The themes considered by the research group will focus on the strategic management of public policies and services, which is akin to the desire to rationally plan and control the effects of policies and public services in complex contexts. Beyond the concepts, the approach is intended to be open in terms of angles of analysis (public strategic management; crisis management; policy design, management and evaluation; governance for strategic institutions; public networks strategies; policies and strategy to tackle emergent wicked problem).

The aim is to open up a space for discussion on:

• Policy and strategy design for value creation

• Policy-making and strategic management at different levels (local, sectoral, national, or international)

• Governance, processes and tools for their implementation and evaluation

• Strategic crisis management

• Actors and networks involved and modes of stakeholder management

• Policy and strategy management and community participation

The research group aims to provide a forum for open exchange between researchers, regardless of their discipline or seniority, with a strong comparative, evidence based and emergent challenges focus.