Research Student
Liz Hartnett
Research student
Public Leadership & Social Enterprise Research Unit
Public use of external consultants in IT projects
Public sector expenditure on consultants is growing. To use consultants correctly and provide benefit to clients, the National Audit Office recommends building client and consultant commitment to a project through engagement. But how do people engage and how does engagement link with value?
This research aims to address the question of how public sector organisations engage with consultants in order to contribute value to an effective consultancy project.
Issues to be investigated include:
- How does engagement contribute to an effective project?
- How does engagement influence relationships between clients and consultants?
- How does the quality of a relationship contribute to an effective project?
- How does engagement vary over the lifecycle of a project?
- How does engagement help in adding value to a project?
Case studies in public sector organizations that are using consultants on information technology projects will inform this research.
The results of the research will be of use to public sector managers who want to use consultants to best advantage. The results will also be of interest to consultants who want to offer their clients a better quality service.
Supervisors
Professor Elizabeth Daniel (The Open University Business School)Dr Richard Holti (The Open University Business School)
Links
For my latest progress see my blogOn this page
