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Consultants in Government: A Necessary Evil?

In: Working for the State

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  • Peter Graham

Abstract

The above quotation seems to encapsulate the suspicion that surrounds the activity of consultants in government. They seem to be the ‘folk devils’ of modern business and their activity frequently attracts criticism in the media and also in some academic journals. Although on the face of it, it may seem reasonable that government should access specific expertise to improve its operations, critical commentators express a number of concerns (see Clark and Fincham, 2002). The concerns seem to fall into two areas. The first is that in the perception of the public and the media, government’s spending on consultancy seems to be too high and has got out of control (see also Accountants for Business, 2010). The second centres on an uneasy feeling that consultants are not acting in the public interest and do not seem to be accountable. More generally there is a similarly vague suspicion that they have acquired a power and influence out of all proportion to the amount of work that they do.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Graham, 2011. "Consultants in Government: A Necessary Evil?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Susan Corby & Graham Symon (ed.), Working for the State, chapter 11, pages 209-223, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-34798-4_11
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230347984_11
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