Prof. Bert GEORGE

Read Professor Bert George's latest book together with John M Bryson: Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 6th edition (Wiley). Available worldwide via Wiley, Amazon and other book stores.

In March 2024, Professor Bert George was appointed as Full Professor of Strategic and Behavioral Public Management at the Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong.

Research focus, expertise and academic impact:

(1) Strategic planning and management: The core question of this research line is how strategy processes and practices can help public and nonprofit organizations, and related entities (e.g. communities, collaborations) create public value and perform better.

(2) Red tape and administrative burden: This research line seeks to identify how public-sector workers (e.g. teachers) and citizens respond to and can cope with red tape and administrative burden imposed upon them.

(3) Neuro- and behavioral science: This line especially seeks to assess how administrative procedures broadly defined influence policymakers, managers and citizens' brain and behavior, both in terms of cognition and emotions, and attitudes and preferences.

His team specializes in experimental research using a range of experimental and neuroscientific tools (e.g. survey experiments, eyetracking, facial expression analysis, EEG) and research syntheses using different approaches (e.g. computational methods, integrative review, problematizing review, meta-analysis).

He has published in top-ranked journals in his field such as Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, Public Management Review and Public Administration. His work has received awards from several professional organizations including the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA). His research has been funded by several prestigious and competitive grants from the Research Foundation Flanders, the General Research Fund Hong Kong, the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office Hong Kong and the IBM Center for the Business of Government.

Service, policy impact and community engagement:

Professor Bert George acts as founding member and Director of the CityU Research Cluster on Brain, Behavior and Society (CUBBS). He has worked with organizations like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) in advising governments on how to enhance their performance and implement strategic and behavioral public management processes and practices (e.g. in Ukraine, Latvia, Wales, Abu Dhabi, Georgia). He has taught in executive programs across the world, including at the Hertie School of Governance (Berlin, Germany), the Public Governance Institute (Leuven, Belgium) and the Dutch School for Public Governance (The Hague, Netherlands). He is current Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Public Management Review, former Editor of Public Administration Review, and editorial board member of several top journals.

According to Overton, his work has been cited by the OECD, World Bank, Joint Research Center of the European Commission, UNICEF, a range of national, federal or regional governments from Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, New Zealand, Slovak Republic, Latvia, Finland and Turkey, and NGOs and think tanks from Norway, US, Germany, Australia and Brazil. His work was also featured in the White House’s Financial Year 2023 Budget and the US Budget Guidance for Federal Agencies. He has given keynotes about strategic and behavioral public management processes and practices across the globe (including recently in Singapore, Rome, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Brussels, and Washington DC).

A selection of awards mentioned below:

• 2024-2025: Highly-ranked scholar, ranked 5th in the world in Public Administration by ScholarGPS
• 2023-2024: Stanford's top 2% most highly cited scientists
• 2023: Joseph Wholey Award offered by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) for "Best Article on Public Sector Performance"
• 2020: Louis Brownlow Award offered by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) for "Best Article with Practical Impact in Public Administration Review"
• 2019: Triennial Award Joseph Leclercq – Joseph Merlot offered by the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC) for "Best Belgian Doctorate in Public Economics"
• 2016: Award offered by the European Academy of Management (EURAM) Public Management Group for "Best Paper in Public Management"
• 2013: Award offered by the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) PhD Symposium for "Best PhD Student"
• 2011: Award offered by the University College Ghent Department of Business and Public Administration for both "Best Student" and "Best Master Thesis"

• Public management
• Strategic planning
• Strategic management
• Red tape and administrative burden
• Brain, behavior and society
• Behavioral public administration

• Deputy Editor-in-Chief (May 2024 - ongoing): Public Management Review
• Acting Editor-in-Chief (January 2024 - April 2024): Public Management Review
• Editor and Managing Editor (2021-2024): Public Administration Review
• Editorial Board Member: Public Administration Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, International Journal of Public Sector Management
• Former Editorial Board Member: Public Management Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration
• Special Issue Editor: European Journal of Education, Public Money and Management, Public Administration Review