This module aims to develop your expertise and understanding of what leadership and management embody in public services. The different examples that you'll explore across the units, as well as activities that you complete, will enhance your learning through application to real-world situations. Even if you're not a public sector employee, you'll have concrete experiences of receiving and interacting with public service provision that will bring to life your learning. You'll also analyse and discuss two course-long case studies, a public sector case and a third sector case, to consolidate your understanding of how leadership and management work in practice.
The module is divided into the following five units:
Unit 1: Improving public services – the key concepts
You'll first be introduced to the key notions of this module: public service, public administration, public management, public leadership, and public governance. You'll then see how these concepts can be used in practical cases. You'll also reflect on the importance of public leadership and collaborative governance.
Unit 2: Context and contextual factors shaping public services
You'll explore the significance of context and contextual influences and how managing public services requires taking account of contextual differences. One-size-fits-all approaches are doomed to fail in public management. Effective public management depends on the capacity to take into consideration the specific context. Context will be analysed in terms of the specific features of a cultural, political and administrative system.
Unit 3: Space, place and public services
You'll explore the notion of space and place, and the related topic of territorial development. Public services inextricably have a spatial dimension: whether the public service is about urban planning or social care, it is defined by the territory where the service is being delivered. Entitlement to receive a public service is, in most instances, connected to the very fact of being resident in a given locality. As technological developments and digitisation transform the notions of space and place, this is reflected in the changing nature of delivering public services.
Unit 4: Patterns of decision making in public services
You'll analyse patterns of decision-making in public services. These include: decisions on financial resources (financial management and processes of public budgeting and accounting); decisions on human resources (human resources management systems); the use of performance measures for making decisions in public services management; and the issue of public values (in the plural) as well as the creation of public value (in the singular) as guiding principles and criteria for public decision-making.
Unit 5: Patterns of delivery in public services
You'll study patterns of service delivery and how to organise public services. Issues analysed include: alternative governance arrangements for service delivery; inter-agency coordination and joined up government; processes for involving private providers in service delivery; the involvement of users in public services towards forms of co-production and collaborative governance; and the distinctive nature of public services in which coercion is a constitutive requirement (such as in policing and security).
The five linked units in this module will require you to study six hours per week, for 22 weeks between May and September.
Please be aware that this module may engage with topics that are considered distressing in society.
This module is designed for professionals from a wide range of contexts and backgrounds who wish to actively engage with the challenges of leadership and management in public services. You'll learn about the complexity of management in this realm and the many and varied links and dependencies within public services and the private sector. You'll develop your ability to analyse public services from different perspectives, such as contextual influences, and employ a range of managerial tools for leading and managing public services.
The content and activities in this module are designed to develop knowledge and understanding of the leadership and management of public services. This distinctive body of knowledge, cognitive and professional skills enables students to develop their employability, both by enhancing their direct employability in organisations involved in the delivery of public services (both public sector and third sector) and by enabling them to engage in professional posts and responsibilities in the commercial sector at key interfaces with the public sector, including the manifold governance arrangements entailing the private provision of public services.
You'll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help you by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate.
You will learn by working online in structured activities supported by a wide range of resources, including specially designed books and a world-class online library. Activities generally require online participation over two to six hours and contribute to your reflective practice and your assessment.
Course work includes:
As well as the individual tuition provision, you'll have access to regular opportunities for engagement with other students, university library access, an extensive variety of specially written resources presented in different media (print and online) and designed exclusively for this module, audio-visual material, published articles, case studies and a set of interactive tools.
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
BB852 is an option module in our:
Leadership and management of public services starts once a year – in May.
This page describes the module that will start in May 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in May 2028.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
Whilst this module is primarily designed to be an elective 15-credit module in the MBA, it is also available as a standalone module or a component of other learning paths.
The MBA qualification (F61) is for practising middle and senior managers who want to develop their careers. The programme is designed to enable managers to critically assess multiple perspectives and start applying their new understanding of management as reflective practitioners.
Elements of this module are delivered online and include the use of real-time online discussions and an interactive whiteboard space, so time spent using a computer and the internet will be extensive. If you use assistive technology or have a hearing or speech impairment and have concerns about accessing this type of virtual environment and materials, you contact us to discuss it further before registering.
Written transcripts of audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future.
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
|---|
| 02 May 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 | 16 Apr 2026 | £1,830 |
| 01 May 2027 | 31 Oct 2027 | 15 Apr 2027 | Not yet available* |
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to support your study costs. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in England.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to help with your tuition fees. To find out more, see Postgraduate tuition fee loans in Northern Ireland.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to help with your tuition fees. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in Scotland.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to support your study costs. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in Wales.
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Read more about Open University Student Budget Accounts (OUSBA).
Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.
Over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees.
You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module.
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We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may wish to pay part of your tuition fee with a debit card and pay the remainder in instalments through an Open University Student Budget Account (OUSBA).
We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may get support from your employer to pay part of your tuition fee and pay the remainder by credit or debit card.
For more information about combining payment options, contact an adviser.
Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
