Constructing Human Learning Systems (HLS): The language, interactions and events that support reform in public management.

New Public Management (NPM), built on measurement, management and marketization principles has dominated the design and evaluation of public services for more than three decades (Knight et al, 2017). These principles are increasingly viewed as leading to practices that are not congruent with democratic knowledge mobilisation (Lowe and Wilson, 2015). Human Learning Systems (HLS) is one emerging paradigm that appreciates the complex worlds surrounding public services, their interactive and relational aspects, and the need for continuous learning (Lowe et al 2021). If such a paradigm is to be adopted in public management, it is important to understand the nature of cultural contexts where it is likely to be endorsed and the process of its establishment.
This research intends to contribute to the growing body of HLS academic literature by articulating how HLS, an alternative public management paradigm, can be established discursively within and across complex spheres. The project is also particularly keen to support a more reflexive consideration of knowledge mobilisation in public practice. It is hoped the study can work toward this by attending to evolving dialogues within diverse public sector worlds that acknowledge the complex, relational and learning aspects of public management.