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.
Fields of study
Academic disciplines
Business Public and private administration Political science and organisational theory
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 Performance measurement Trust-based management Strategic planning
Research groups
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.
Collaborations
University of Agder Oslo University, Department of Political Science Copenhagen Business School Aarhus University University of Edinburgh Business School, Institute of Public Sector Accounting Research (IPSAR) University of Tampere Ghent University University of Groningen
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Johnsen, Åge (2022). Strategic planning in turbulent times: Still useful?. Public Policy and Administration .
Johnsen, Åge
(2021).
Strategies for change in municipal structural reforms.
Pinheiro, Romulo; Trondal, Jarle (Ed.).
Organizing and Governing Governmental Institutions. 17. p. 379-398.
Fagbokforlaget.
https://www.fagbokforlaget.no/Organising-and-Gover...
Johnsen, Åge; Reid, Stephen Affleck
(2021).
Linking Strategic Planning and Performance Management in Government Agencies and Impacts on Organizational Performance.
Holzer, Marc; Ballard, Andrew (Ed.).
The Public Productivity and Performance Handbook. 13. p. 150-179.
Routledge.
https://www.routledge.com/The-Public-Productivity-...
Askim, Jostein; Døving, Erik; Johnsen, Åge
(2021).
Evaluation in Norway: A 25-Year Assessment.
Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration
.
Vol. 25.
http://hdl.handle.net/10852/89588
Johnsen, Åge (2021). Organizing municipal audit: contracting out and audit costs in Norway. International Journal of Public Sector Management . Vol. 34.
Johnsen, Åge; Abrahamsen, Ina Marie (2021). Endringsstrategier og forpliktelse til endring i offentlig sektor. Magma - Tidsskrift for økonomi og ledelse . Vol. 24.
Jacobsen, Dag Ingvar; Johnsen, Åge
(2020).
Alignment of strategy and structure in local government.
Public Money & Management
.
Vol. 40.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2727013
Grebstad, Kåre Birger; Johnsen, Åge (2019). Forskjellen mellom militært lederskap og styring. Johansen, Rino Bandlitz; Fosse, Thomas Hol; Boe, Ole (Ed.). Militær ledelse. Kapittel 2. p. 39-61. Fagbokforlaget.
Johanson, Jan-Erik; Johnsen, Åge; Pekkola, Elias; Reid, Stephen
(2019).
Strategic management in Finnish and Norwegian government agencies.
Administrative Sciences
.
Vol. 9.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2690112
Johnsen, Åge (2019). Does formal strategic planning matter? An analysis of strategic management and perceived usefulness in Norwegian municipalities. International Review of Administrative Sciences . Vol. 87.
Johnsen, Åge (2019). Public sector audit in contemporary society: A short review and introduction. Financial Accountability and Management . Vol. 35.
Johnsen, Åge; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Carrington, Thomas; Jeppesen, Kim Klarskov; Taro, Külli; Vakkuri, Jarmo (2019). Supreme audit institutions in a high-impact context: A comparative analysis of performance audit in four Nordic countries. Financial Accountability and Management . Vol. 35.
Johnsen, Åge (2018). Impacts of strategic planning and management in municipal government: An analysis of subjective survey and objective production and efficiency measures in Norway. Public Management Review . Vol. 20.
Johnsen, Åge (2017). Nye styringsverktøy og modeller – redskap eller legitimering? Strategisk planlegging og styring i kommunene. Praktisk økonomi & finans . Vol. 33 [i.e. 34].
Johnsen, Åge; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin (2017). Forskning om den statliga revisionen i Norge. Bringselius, Louise (Ed.). Den statliga revisionen i Norden: Forskning, praktik och politik. 8. p. 99-109. Studentlitteratur AB.
Johnsen, Åge; Carrington, Thomas; Jeppesen, Kim Klarskov; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Vakkuri, Jarmo (2017). Forvaltningsrevisjonens virkninger: En sammenligning av fire nordiske land. Bringselius, Louise (Ed.). Den statliga revisionen i Norden: Forskning, praktik och politik. 18. p. 209-222. Studentlitteratur AB.
Knutsson, Hans; Mattisson, Ola; Ramberg, Ulf; Johnsen, Åge (2017). Modernizing the Public Sector: The Scandinavian Way. Lapsley, Irvine; Knutsson, Hans (Ed.). Modernizing the Public Sector: Scandinavian Perspectives. 16. Routledge.
Johnsen, Åge; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Carrington, Thomas; Jeppesen, Kim Klarskov (2017). Audit in a trusting climate. Lapsley, Irvine; Knutsson, Hans (Ed.). Modernizing the Public Sector: Scandinavian Perspectives. 8. Routledge.
Jeppesen, Kim Klarskov; Carrington, Thomas; Catasús, Bino; Johnsen, Åge; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Vakkuri, Jarmo (2017). The strategic options of supreme audit institutions: The case of four Nordic countries. Financial Accountability and Management . Vol. 33.
Johnsen, Åge (2016). Strategic planning and management in local government in Norway: Status after three decades. Scandinavian Political Studies . Vol. 39.
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Johnsen, Åge (2015). Performance Audits and Supreme Audit Institutions’ Impact on Public Administration: The Case of the Office of the Auditor General in Norway. Administration & Society . Vol. 50.
Johnsen, Åge; Larsen, Anna Charlotte
(2015).
Mål- og resultatstyring i kommunene: Virkninger for produktivitet og effektivitet?.
Nordiske organisasjonsstudier
.
Vol. 17.
http://hdl.handle.net/10642/2741
Johnsen, Åge
(2015).
Strategic management thinking and practice in the public sector: A strategic planning for all seasons?.
Financial Accountability and Management
.
Vol. 31.
http://hdl.handle.net/10642/2233
Johnsen, Åge (2014). Strategi i offentlig sektor. Johnsen, Åge (Ed.). En strategisk offentlig sektor. Kapittel 10. p. 269-291. Fagbokforlaget.
Hallan, Espen; Johnsen, Åge (2014). Prosesstyring som strategiiverksetting. Johnsen, Åge (Ed.). En strategisk offentlig sektor. Kapittel 9. p. 237-268. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge (2014). Strategisk tenkning i offentlig sektor. Johnsen, Åge (Ed.). En strategisk offentlig sektor. Kapittel 2. p. 63-85. Fagbokforlaget.
Johnsen, Åge
(2014).
Er målstyring i staten målstyring? En analyse av styringspraksis i den norske statsforvaltningen.
Kristiansen, Mads Bøge (Ed.).
Resultatstyring i den offentlige sektor. Kapittel 13. p. 317-331.
Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag.
http://www.djoef-forlag.dk/da/boeger/r/resultatsty...
Johnsen, Åge
(2014).
En strategisk offentlig sektor.
ISBN: 978-82-450-1556-0.
302 p.
Fagbokforlaget.
http://fagbokforlaget.no/?isbn=9788245015560
Johnsen, Åge (2014). Strategic management schools of thought and practices in the public sector in Norway. Joyce, Paul; Drumaux, Anne (Ed.). Strategic Management in Public Organizations: European Practices and Perspectives. Kapittel 3. p. 24-40. Routledge.
Ezzamel, Mahmoud; Hyndman, Noel; Johnsen, Åge; Lapsley, Irvine
(2014).
Reforming central government: An evaluation of an accounting innovation.
Critical Perspectives on Accounting
.
Vol. 25.
http://hdl.handle.net/10642/1993