This final chapter brings the book to a conclusion with a summary of, and reflections on the main themes, arguments and perspectives examined in this book. It aims to place this contribution within the existing literature, as well as setting out a future research agenda on this topic of study in terms of research questions, themes, methodologies and areas of study. This book has explored the implications of the changing face of public management, policy and governance on a particular cadre of public managers – the ‘middle managers’. It has not been a straightforward task to clearly demark and categorise this group of actors. The term ‘middle’ suggests a positional perspective that locates these managers in a particular tier within a traditionally organised bureaucratic organisation – sandwiched between a top tier of executives, and a bottom layer of primarily frontline professionals, administrative, support and clerical staff. However, middle managers can also be categorised by role, nature of work and activities. It has been argued that they represent a potentially influential group of actors who wield power and influence through their position and control over financial resources and staff. Their power is invariably underpinned by a professional grounding in a specific area of knowledge and expertise. Arguably, middle managers comprise the heart of an organisation, but their role is challenged by a myriad of tensions and competing accountabilities. Managing people and budgets, meeting targets and mediating between upward and downward pressures are uncomfortable facts of their working lives – hence, frequent complaints of being a member of the ‘squeezed middle class’.

The design and delivery of public services has been driven by different approaches over recent decades – moving from Public Administration to New Public Management and more recently to New Public Governance.