Part I: The context of competency management 1. The competency movement - Sylvia Horton Definitions and concepts The emergence of the competency movement Assessment 2. Added value in human resources management: An analysis of the competency management process - Yves Emery Human resources management and added values The process of competency development across different organisational levels Part II: Country studies 1. HRM Competency frameworks in the british civil service - David Farnham and Sylvia Horton Background The survey A competency framework for the senior civil service Evaluating old and new competency frameworks Discussion 2. Competency management in Belgium: The flemish and federal governments on the move - Annie Hondeghem and Myriam Parys Competency management in the Flemish administration Federal government: The Copernican revolution Discussion 3. Competency-based management in the Dutch senior public service - Elzeline van Vulpen and Francisca Moesker The Dutch senior public service Competencies Implementation and applications of the SPS competencies Competency-based management in the SPS: Today and tomorrow Appendix: All 42 behavioural aspects of SPS competencies (in alphabetical order) 4. Competency assessment in finnish higher education - Turo Virtanen Academic competencies Academic competency assessment Case study: assessing academic competencies in the University of Helsinki Discussion 5. The competency dimension of leadership: A study of top managers in Swedish public administration - Louise Moqvist Leadership Concepts and theoretical frameworks A study of top managers in the Swedish public administration Discussion 6. Modest beginnings for competency management in German Public Services: Developing competencies for already competent lawyers? - Elke Loffler, Beate Busse and Ursel Hoppe The exceptional situation of the German public sector New competencies for the modernisers in the German public sector Competency management in the state of Schleswig - Holstein 7. What competency management in the French civil service? - Gilles Jeannot and Yves Lichtenberger The competency debate in French enterprises General civil service status: different from but not necessarily contradictory to a competency-based approach Competency-based frameworks Managing learning capacities: the case of state civil engineers Recognising competencies in traditional employment: The case of integration of young employees in local authorities 8. The competencies required in Public Management: A case study in Italy - Francesco Cerase Developments in the process of governing and public administration systems Implications and consequences for competencies in public administration practice Changing competencies in public administration practice: An empirical study Worker perceptions of competencies 9. Competencies for countries in transition: A case study of the Polish civil service - Witold Mikulowski The conceptual framework Competency problems of public administration in countries in transition Polish research and education systems: developing competencies in the field of public administration Competency management in the Polisch civil service Discussion Part III: Conclusions Competency management: The state of the art in the public sector? - Annie Hondeghem The spread of CBM in the public sector Horizontal and vertical integration Specificity of the public sector Some of the problems encountered