Professor Peter John

Peter John previously was at Birkbeck College, London, where he is now a visiting professor.  He previous held posts Southampton and Keele universities. 

He is Director of the Institute for Political and Economic Governance, which specialise in civic renewal, local political and public management reform,

He leads the UK participation in the Policy Agendas Comparative Project. He is a consultant with NatCen for the Citizenship Survey.

He was Co-Director of the Home Office Civil Renewal Research Programme, 2004-2005.

He is a member of the UK Political Studies Association and the American Political Science Association.

UK and comparative urban and local politics, public policy, public management, citizenship

Rediscovering the Civic:  Achieving Better Outcomes in Public Policy, a collaboration with the University of Southampton, funded by the ESRC and the Department of Communities and Local Government.   -  uses survey analysis and experiments to understand the contribution of the civic to policy outcomes

Civicness in Britain and America: Profile, Causes and Consequences, part of the Manchester-Harvard Initiative  - a comparison since the 1950s of the main trends in citizenship

Leadership Change and Public Services: Reinvigorating Performance or Reinforcing Decline?”; ESRC Public Services Programme, in collaboration with Cardiff University.  – examines the link between performance change, leadership change and electoral behaviour using a panel of English local authorities

Public Services: Exit and Voice as Means of Enhancing Service Delivery Phase 2, ESRC Public Services Programme, in collaboration with London School of Economics.  – tests Hirchman’s Exit and Voice model using an internet panel

Distributive Politics and Policy in the US and UK, with Anthony Bertelli, University of Manchester/Georgia – examine which areas get funds using expenditure data in the US and UK

I teach a master’s option, Issues and Controversies in Contemporary Public Management

I have supervised to conclusion PhD on hospital reorganisation, and on women and voting behaviour.  I am currently supervising a PhD on networks in urban policy.

Publications Database

Brannan T., Durose C., John P. and Wolman H. 'Assessing best practice as a means of innovation', forthcoming, Local Government Studies.

Peter John, ‘Why study urban politics?’, in Jonathan Davies and David Imbroscio (eds.)  Theories of Urban Politics (London: Sage, 2nd), forthcoming

Brannan T. and John P. (2006) 'How different are telephoning and canvassing? A Get Out The Vote field experiment in the UK 2005 General Election', forthcoming, British Journal of Political Science.

Hugh Ward and Peter John, ‘A spatial model of competitive bidding for government grants: why efficiency gains are limited’, forthcoming at Journal of Theoretical Politics

Dowding K. and John P.'The three exit, three voice, and loyalty model: a test with survey data on local services', Political Studies  .