Is it possible that New Public Management reforms within the public sector will lead to bureaucratisation? This project will test the hypothesis - built on Swedish and international research on public administration - that these reforms will lead to an expansion of public bureaucracy into new domains (so-called "secondary functions") such as audit systems, performance measures, strategy and marketing, and the institutionalisation of "temporary" projects. The consequence is the proliferation of a new bureaucracy, and a focus upon organisational control systems, rather than primary functions (such as health care or education). A wider consequence is that trans-organisational, professional specialisation is counteracted to the advantage of organisational thinking. The hypothesis is tested in three case studies with separate questions:

1. Are projects launched by the EU, or at the national level, translated into possibilities of organisational expansion on the local level?
2. Will control systems such as "quality management" lead to a focus on secondary, rather than primary, functions within hospitals and universities?
3. Is professional autonomy counteracted by organisational thinking within hospitals and universities?