The research group on Public Financial Management combines management and governance of public sector activities with economic principles and accounting models for understanding, developing and reforming public administration systems.
Research focus and goals
The main goal of the research group is to explore distinct forms of economic rationalism in the modern public sector. The group also emphasizes new emerging modes of hybrid governance in the public-private-civil society sector interface.
The group’s research focuses on finance, economic planning, decision making, control and evaluation of public sector activities. Moreover, the research group analyzes systems and models of performance evaluation and management. We are interested both in the systems as such, as well as in the ways they are applied and enacted in public administration.
The group also aims to provide scientific information, methods and tools to facilitate the practical work of public administration and management.
Important research areas of the group include:
- Performance management and measurement in public administration
- Sustainability and public financial management
- Hybrid governance and organizations
- Public sector accounting
- Audit, internal audit and internal control
- Good governance, accountability and anti-corruption
The members of the research group are directors and/or partners in several research networks and projects. These include theoretical and conceptual projects (e.g. Research Council of Finland) as well as applied research projects. The research group receives funding from both Finnish and international sources.
In the BRIDPOL project led by Jarmo Vakkuri, the hybridity of public policies is examined, that is, the interactions between the public and private sectors as well as civil society. A particular theoretical focus is on the conflicts and tensions between institutional mechanisms of value creation. The impacts of hybridity on the formation of public policy are studied in the following empirical contexts: algorithmic governance of public action, digital business platforms, and urban sustainability.
In the ANIMA project led by Eija Vinnari, the expansion of accountability in public and private organizations from humans to non-human animals is studied, with the needs and interests of animals as the starting point. At the same time, the effects of quantification on organizational and human behavior are examined.
The national research project on the state of corruption, led by Jaakko Rönkkö, investigates the forms in which corruption manifests in the Finnish society. The project identifies the characteristics of environments that predispose to corruption and lays the groundwork for planning anti-corruption measures, as well as outlining steps toward good governance and a more ethical society. The project aims to increase understanding and awareness of corruption risks, their root causes, likelihoods, and consequences.
Elina Vikstedt represents the public financial management research group in the KOPPI project (Regional home bases – support and piloting for circular economy Green Deal commitments, https://www.tuni.fi/en/tau/research/koppi-regional-home-bases-supporting-and-piloting-green-deal-circular-economy). The project develops and pilots operational models and tools for cities and municipalities to support the monitoring and implementation of circular economy Green Deal commitments.
Publications
See publications from the TUNI profile pages of each member.
Members
Other members
Moreover, the research group systematically collaborates with several other partners and networks from Finland and other countries.