<title>Abstract</title> Improved performance by public sector organizations is a political imperative in numerous countries. There are particular challenges in turnaround of poorly performing organizations. Theoretical explanations of the performance trajectories of public organizations, and especially the...

<title/> As the performance of public services is increasingly scrutinized, it is now commonplace for some schools, hospitals, local authorities and other public organizations to be deemed ‘failing’ and for attempts to be made at creating a turnaround in their performance. This article explores the...

This article considers the nature of risk in health care and the use the National Health Service (NHS) makes of risk management. It explores how the concept of risk has been challenged by the rise of ‘evidence-based’ health care, accompanied and accelerated by a decline in professional...