Research summary
Public policies don’t just implement themselves—their success often hinges on the way public servants are managed. And as is the case in other segments of society, new technologies are transforming the that these employees do. As Canada Research Chair in Comparative Public Management, Dr. Étienne Charbonneau is focusing on identifying and understanding the management practices and tools that can improve performance in Canadian public organizations by tackling issues related to professional discretion and privacy.
His work centres around three themes: the role played by professionalism in the use of discretion, digital monitoring of work, and privacy as a public value. Charbonneau and his research team are focusing on the relationship between the public and its government—a relationship that has been transformed by technology. More specifically, they are examining the effects of new monitoring tools on expectations associated with the use of these tools by public servants who work at service windows, behind keyboards, and on the front lines, including police officers.