Find out more about ANZSOG’s Executive Master of Public Administration

Profile

Paul ‘t Hart is a Professor of Public Administration at Utrecht University, Associate Dean of the Netherlands School of Public Administration in The Hague, and a member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy, an 8-member independent statutory advisory body to the Dutch prime minister, cabinet and parliament. He previously spent five years as Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. Paul’s research, teaching and consulting covers political and public sector leadership, policy evaluation, public accountability and crisis management. His books include Framing the Global Meltdown: Crisis Rhetoric and the Politics of Recession (ANU Press 2009), The Real World of EU Accountability: Which Deficit? (Oxford University Press 2010), How Power Changes Hands: Transition and Succession in Government (Palgrave 2011), Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance (Oxford University Press 2013), The Oxford Handbook of Political Leadership (Oxford University Press 2014), and Understanding Public Leadership (Palgrave 2014). Prof ‘t Hart was elected a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. In 2024 he was awarded a Stevin Prize, for exceptional achievements in the area of knowledge exchange and impact for society.

Prof ‘t Hart has extensive training and consulting experience within government, primarily in Holland, Sweden and Australia, including secondments at the Dutch Intelligence Service and Public Prosecutors Office. He recently completed two consultancy reports on the institutional reputation and the corporate governance of the Dutch judiciary, advised the Swedish cabinet on crisis management, and is currently a member of a government-appointed committee evaluating the Dutch police law of 2012, which in the largest reorganisation in the history of Dutch government saw the creation of a single, national police force out of 25 regional forces.

Career highlights:

1986 – present: Ongoing lecturing, training and consulting practitioners/professionals/ executives in crisis management, particularly in Sweden (up to Cabinet level), the Netherlands and Australia. Significant volume of work in this vein triggered by the Covid-19 crisis.
1989-present: Associate dean and core faculty of the executive MPA program of the Netherlands School of Public Administration (NSOB), which is very similar to ANZSOG’s, but at a smaller scale (average 15-20 students). During this time I have co-designed and redesigned its curriculum, navigated through accreditation processes, and developed andtaught several courses, including on leadership, crisis management, public service craftwork.
2007-present: Core faculty of ANZSOG’s EMPA program, teaching Leading Public Sector Change subject for 14 years consecutively. Approx 100 students.
2009-present: Co-architect and co-facilitator of ANZSOG’s Towards Strategic Leadership program for EL2’s/Band 1’s and their state/NZ equivalents. Approx 40 students.
2012-present: Associate dean of the ‘Learning Network’ program for top executives of NSOB. This involves designing and facilitating 3-year by invitation-only programs for up to 15 secretaries, DG’s and equivalents across the Dutch public service.
2013-2017: Founding Dean of NSOB’s ‘Director’s Program’ for the equivalents of assistant secretaries in the Dutch public service. This is a 10-month program, in which he currently still teaches the Leadership module. Approx 10-15 students.
2017-present Core faculty of NSOB’s ‘Interdepartmental Executive Course’, a 15-month program for people aspiring to SES roles, co-owned by the Dutch Board of Secretaries. Approx 25 students, twice yearly.
Professor of Public Administration, School of Government, Utrecht University
Associate Dean of the Netherlands School of Public Administration, The Hague, Netherlands
Past Professor of Political Science, ANU
Member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences
Numerous consultancies and advisory roles with governments of Australia, Sweden and The Netherlands
Extensive research and publications in the fields of public sector leadership, policy evaluation, public accountability and crisis management.

ANZSOG programs

Prof ‘t Hart teaches in the following ANZSOG courses:

Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA)- Leading Public Sector Change (subject leader)
Leadership in Times of Crisis
Coping with a Changing Authorising Environment

Selected publications (in English)

Bovens, M. & ‘t Hart, P. (2016) Revisiting the study of policy failures. Journal of European Public Policy, early online.
Strangio, P., ‘t Hart, P. & Walter, J. (2016) Settling The Office: The Australian Prime Ministership from Federation to Reconstruction. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Meijer, A.J., ‘t Hart, P. & Worthy, B. (2015) Assessing Government Transparency: An Interpretive Framework. Administration and Society, early online.
Bennister, M., ‘t Hart, P. & Worthy, B. (2015) Assessing the authority of political office-holders: The leadership capital index. West European Politics, 38(3): 417-440.
Strangio, P., ‘t Hart, P. & Walter, J. (2015) Leadership of reforming governments: The role of political tandems. In D. Alexander & J. Lewis (eds), Making Public Policy Decisions: Expertise, skills and experience, London: Routledge, p. 166-184.
‘t Hart, P (2014) Understanding Public Leadership. London: Palgrave.
Kuipers, S. & ‘t Hart, P. (2014) Accounting for crises. In Oxford Handbook of Public Accountability, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 589-602.
‘t Hart, P. & Rhodes, R. (eds) (2014) Oxford Handbook of Political Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Princen, S. & ‘t Hart, P. (2014) Putting policy paradigms in their place. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(3): 470-474.
‘t Hart, P. & Sundelius, B. (2013) Crisis management revisited: A new agenda for research, training and capacity building within Europe. Cooperation and Conflict, 48(3): 444-461.
‘t Hart, P. (2013). After Fukushima: reflections on risks and institutional learning in an era mega-crises. Public Administration, 9(1): 101-113.
Strangio, P., ‘t Hart, P. & Walter, J. (eds) (2013) Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
‘t Hart, P. & Uhr, J. (eds) (2011) How power changes hands: transition and succession in government. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.