About
Åge Johnsen is Professor of Public Policy at the Department of Public Management, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. He has previously worked as Researcher at Agder Research in Kristiansand, Research Fellow at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, Senior Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh, and Associate Professor at Oslo University College. His research interests are public policy and public administration, in particular public management reforms, strategic planning, performance management (management by objectives and performance measurement, change management, trust-based management, and performance audit and evaluation in the public sector.
He currently lectures in the following courses:
BAL3000 Digital transformation, organisational change and change management
MSL4000 Governance – forms and reforms
MSLV4400 Strategy in the public sector
Fields of study
Academic disciplines
Public and private administration Business Economics Social sciences Political science and organisational theory Knowledge retrieval and organisation Information and communication systems
Subject areas
Public administration Evaluation School management Administration reforms Leadership Strategy Management by objectives and result Intergovernmental relations Organizational theory Public sector accounting Control and audit Municipal amalgamation Contracting out Public sector management control Performance audit Strategic leadership Military Administration Innovation in public management Change management Målstyring Strategic planning Performance measurement Trust-based management
Research groups
Research projects
Completed research projects
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Improving trust-based management in Nordic urban governance and management education
This project explores how ongoing management reforms are conceptualised and put into practice in two Nordic cities.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Johnsen, Åge (2025). Trust reforms in Scandinavia: assessments of adoption and impacts of trust-based mangement in public sector organizations. Pekkola, Elias; Johanson, Jan-Erik; Mikkonen, Marjukka; Stenvall, Jari; Siirtola, Emmi (Ed.). Future Public Governance and Global Crises: Nordic Perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Norkin, Svetlana
;
Johnsen, Åge
;
Byström, Katriina
(2024).
The role of information flows in trust-based management.
International Journal of Public Sector Management.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2024-0087
George, Bert; Jacobsen, Dag Ingvar; Johanson, Jan-Erik;
Johnsen, Åge
; Pekkola, Elias
(2024).
User acceptance of strategic planning: Evidence from Northern European municipalities.
Public Administration Review.
https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13874
Johnsen, Åge ; Svare, Helge ; Wittrock, Christian (2024). Virkninger av tillitsreformer. Johnsen, Åge; Svare, Helge (Ed.). Tillitsreformer og tillitsbasert styring og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge ; Vatn, Guri (2024). Problemforståelser, oversettelser og politikk: Tillitsreformen i Oslo kommune 2015–2017. Johnsen, Åge; Svare, Helge (Ed.). Tillitsreformer og tillitsbasert styring og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge ; Svare, Helge (2024). Tillitsreformene i de skandinaviske landene. Johnsen, Åge; Svare, Helge (Ed.). Tillitsreformer og tillitsbasert styring og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge ; Svare, Helge (2024). Innledning: Styring, ledelse, kontroll og tillit. Johnsen, Åge; Svare, Helge (Ed.). Tillitsreformer og tillitsbasert styring og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge
; Waters, Paul Brakstad
(2024).
Horizontal performance in the case of network governance: management by objectives and school performance.
Grossi, Giuseppe; Vakkuri, Jarmo (Ed.).
Handbook of Accounting and Public Governance: Exploring Hybridizations. p. 183-201.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800888456.00022
Johnsen, Åge
; Solholm, Kerstin;
Tufte, Per Arne
(2024).
Performance Measurement System Design as Link Between Strategy Formulation and Performance Information Use in Public Sector Organizations.
Public Performance and Management Review.
Vol. 47.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2360158
Johnsen, Åge (2024). Trust-based management in the City of Oslo: implementing a new managerial super standard?. Lapsley, Irvine; Miller, Peter (Ed.). The Resilience of New Public Management. Oxford University Press.
