As a field of knowledge, strategy has been taught and practised for over half a century. However, there is still a distinct lack of consensus surrounding the effectiveness of strategy in public administrations. This thematic issue of the International Review of Administrative Sciences is devoted to advanced research which claims that in the age of results-based management, public leaders must opt for a process-based approach to strategy. In doing so, the emphasis is put on the complexity of strategic processes that make it possible to support and maintain the institutions that serve the common good and the general interest and that deliver public services using the results of public action. From a process-based point of view, the strategy of public administration then assumes that analysts and public leaders need to be more aware of the specificities of state institutions. In particular, a thorough knowledge of the ways in which public officials interact with the fundamental values, structures, regulatory frameworks and administrative tools of public administrations is necessary.