Summary

I am a Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Portsmouth. I have held various leadership positions in higher education such as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at the University of Portsmouth and University of Glasglow Caledonian University. I also successfully led the Business and Management unit of assessment to the Research Excellence Framework for 2021 and 2014. 

My research focus is on public administration and public management. Within this, my specific interests are in public governance, representative bureaucracy and gender studies.

My work has been published in highly-respected journals, including my research on representative bureaucracy in Public Management Review, and public policies to support women entrepreneurs in the International Review for Administrative Sciences. I've also edited the book: The International Handbook on Public Administration and Governance by Edward Elgar and authored the book: Making and Managing Public Policy by Routledge.

In 2015, I was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences for my contribution to the study of gender equality. Then, in 2018, I received the prestigious Julia J. Henderson award by the American Society for Public Administration for my outstanding contribution to public administration scholarship.

Biography

In 2002 I received my PhD from the University of Cape Town on the impact of public sector reforms on leadership within the civil service. This followed my degrees in social sciences and public administration from the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) and Ohio State University (USA).

I have worked for leading universities in South Africa, the USA and the UK, holding positions as a professor and various leadership positions.

During my career in academia, I've published books, chapters and journal articles on the topic of public management and gender representation. I am currently the Deputy Editor for the journal, Public Money & Management, and was previously the editor for the Journal of Public Policy and Administration, and I am currently serving on various editorial boards for journals.

Alongside my career in academia, I've worked for the Ohio Department of Development in the US, The South African Public Service Commission, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in the UK and the European Commission.

I'm actively engaged in academic and practitioner networks and have been an executive member of the International Research Society for Public Management and the European Group for Public Administration. I am the only academic in the field to have held both prestigious positions.

Research interests

My research interests include:

• representative bureaucracy
• public governance
• gender

I'm interested in improving the extent to which government is representative, and how state and non-state organizations and actors could add public value in public policy and public service delivery.

Two journal articles that reflect my research interests are:

• Women in public policy and public administration –  Public Money & Management
• Representative Bureaucracy and Organizational Attractiveness: An Experimental Study of Symbolic Representation of the US and UK Police - Public Administration Review

PhD Research Supervision

I welcome enquiries and applications from students wishing to be supervised in PhD projects broadly within the area of public management and gender equality.

Teaching responsibilities

I lecture in the areas of public management, leadership, human resources, gender equality and research methods. My lectures are research-informed and involve a combination of classroom, blended and distance learning delivery. I focus my teaching on topical issues to help students inform their research on contemporary issues.

I also supervise undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral dissertations.

Media availability

I am happy to take calls and emails from the media on my research, and am aware of the need to respond to journalists in a timely manner. Please contact me by email at karen.johnston@port.ac.uk.