ASPA 2024 Annual Conference Early-Bird Registration Rate Expires Next Week

Early-bird registration rates for ASPA's 2024 Annual Conference are only available for a few more days. If you know you will be in Minneapolis, register now!

ASPA staff and leadership are excited to welcome you to Minneapolis, April 12-16. Make sure you register by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 21 to receive the lowest rates available—just $439 for members, $539 for nonmembers. We will not be extending this deadline. (Student and new professional members may register for only $259 at any time.) View all registration details online here.

We are looking forward to all of the research and insights we will share together at this year's Annual Conference, where we will explore our theme, "Building Resilient Communities." While everyone will be in Minneapolis to learn from their peers, share research and collaborate on projects, we also are ready for some fun! We have so many groups hosting receptions at the hotel this year; plan to join in some of these gatherings. The current list includes:

• ASPA's Section on International and Comparative Administration
• ASPA's Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations
• ASPA's International Chapter
• Florida State University
• ASPA's Hispanic Section (a Founding Celebration)
• Korean Association for Public Administration
• ASPA's Section on Professional and Organizational Development
• Founders' Fellows, Celebrating the Classes of 2023 and 2024

Of course, this is in addition to the Opening Reception, taking place Saturday evening, Chapter and Section business meetings and other events that will take place outside the hotel. Make plans now to join your peers and colleagues for all the networking you can handle! (If you are interested in hosting a reception at the hotel, send us a note and we'll be happy to help!)

Contact us with any questions. We are excited to see everyone in Minneapolis in April!



*ASPA registration rates do not include any extra fees that apply for special events. Individual registrants may pay increased rates to add on programing to their basic registration.

E-Learning at Your Fingertips

ASPA staff work tirelessly to keep your skills up to date and the information flowing all year long through our e-learning program. Visit our website to see more details about upcoming KeepingCurrent, BookTalk and Student and New Professional series programming.



Students and New Professionals: So, You Want to Work in State or Local Government?
December 14 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST

Presenters:
Marlon Brown, Chief Administrative Officer, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Christopher Tyler Burks, Moderator, Assistant Professor, Samford University
Monica Chaparro, Assistant City Manager, City of Virginia Beach
Alexander Trembley, Manager, Data Analytics and CQI Strategy, Hennepin County Minnesota

A perfect webinar for those getting their MPA, this event will focus on what it's like to work in state or local government—where the vast majority of public administration/public service roles can be found. There are so many positives: Directly helping those in your community, developing a close bond with a location, learning a specific set of job functions and executing them well, being a true expert in your field... and many more. Our speakers will address these, as well as the negatives they experience and some "inside baseball" observations you should consider as you think through career opportunities. They also will provide their reflections on the skills you need to perform well in these environments. Bring your questions—and your perspectives if you too serve in state or local government!—and use this opportunity to learn more about the role(s) you may be ready to make into a career.




From the Archives
BookTalk: Understanding Municipal Fiscal Health
The book examines the tools currently available to cities for designing a revenue structure, measuring fiscal conditions and measuring fiscal health. The authors go beyond simple theory to analyze patterns of fiscal health using actual financial, demographic and TEL data from an accurate data source, the Government Financial Officers Association survey. The book offers a solid basis of empirical evidence including quantitative case studies—complete with discussion questions—to help practitioners better understand the environment in which they are functioning and the policy tools they need to help advocate for change. Listen in on this webinar to learn more about this topic from the authors. (Members only.)

ASPA Student and New Professionals Webinar Series Continues through Winter

ASPA's student and new professionals webinar series continues with an event this week and will carry on through March 2024 with additional topics. These 90-minute webinars—free for all to attend, with or without an ASPA membership—are planned to help students and recent graduates with career development, job search fundamentals and more.

The following webinars are scheduled between now and March 7, with at least one more coming soon! Find complete details on our website.

• So, You Want to Work in State or Local Government
  December 14, 1 p.m. EST
  Register
  
  
• The Nonprofit Compensation Equation
  January 16, 1 p.m. EST
  Register
  
  
• Hot Jobs in Government
  March 7, 1 p.m. EST
  Register

• Resumes, Resumes, Resumes
• A CV for Success
• A Cover Letter Conundrum

Advertise with ASPA!

Did you know you can advertise your organization's services, university's schools, nonprofit's resources or professional services in ASPA publications?

ASPA hosts advertising opportunities all year long, providing those looking to expand their brand with a wide variety of ways to do so, targeting all corners of ASPA's audiences. From a single website placement to a long-term ad in this newsletter to advertising at the Annual Conference, there are so many opportunities to use ASPA's media to promote your brand. Print, digital or social, content- or image-based, we are happy to work with your needs to find a placement that suits your marketing program. More, exposure is broad: Each placement will reach more than 3,000 people (30,000 for web placements) with a viewership that updates and changes regularly. Your brand placement will never get stale in ASPA media!

Contact us before December 31 for an ad placement and we'll provide you with a 25 percent discount on any ad you reserve* for the first quarter of 2024. Options include:

• PA Times Online Email and Website
  Distributed via email to 10,000 people per edition with a 34 percent open rate
  85 percent of website viewers are new
  Email and web placement: $2,150 per month (discount applied: $1,612.50)
  Purchase this pair for six months: $10,000 (discount applied: $7,500)
  
  
• ASPA's Website
  Accessed by 30,000 unique viewers per month
  82 percent of viewers are new
  Side navigation placement: $2,290 per month (discount applied: $1,717.50)
  Purchase this for six months: $12,000 (discount applied: $9,000)
  
  
• This Newsletter, Bridge!
  Distributed via email to 10,000 people per edition with a 38 percent open rate
  Ad to be included in edition when archived for long-term exposure
  Top placement: $780 per edition (discount applied: $585)
  Purchase this for six months: $7,500 (discount applied: $5,625)

Calling All Authors! PA TIMES Online Now Accepting Applications

ASPA is seeking authors for PA TIMES Online for 2024. If you are reading the nuanced articles we publish through this online forum, you know our authors provide the profession with new concepts, idea starters, thoughtful research updates and valued commentary. Now is your chance to apply to join our list of columnists or invite one of your colleagues to do so!

We are looking for columnists who can write about a range of subjects. Topics include:

• Infrastructure and technology
• Emergency management
• Energy and the environment
• Budgeting
• Social equity
• Public finance measures
• Volunteerism
• Procurement and supply chain management
• Federalism
• Evidence based decisionmaking
• Local government administration challenges

Open rotations include year-long quarterly columns and monthly columns for the first half of the year. (Publication deadlines will be provided by the PA TIMES Online editorial team.)

Interested in being considered? Submit an application, including a sample column, for review. First-time authors and students are welcome to apply!

All applications must be submitted by December 20, 2023 for consideration.

Public Integrity Receives Impact Factor

Taylor and Francis is proud to announce that Public Integrity has received its first impact factor of 1.6.

Clarivate has, for the first time in the 2022 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) release, extended impact factors to journals indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index. The top cited article from the journal in the 2022 JCR is "Towards a More Just Nonprofit Sector: Leveraging a Critical Approach to Disrupt and Dismantle White Masculine Space" (Ashley E. Nickels and Kirk A. Leach, volume 23 issue 5, 2021, accessible here). The article received 11 citations in the assessment period.

In addition to the new impact factor, Public Integrity’s CiteScore increased significantly in 2022 to 5.0, from 3.9 in 2021, and readership of the journal (via downloads through tandfonline.com) has increased by 14 percent year to date in 2023.

T&F Portfolio Manager Hannah Shakespeare and Global Head of Portfolio Vicki Whittaker extends every congratulations and thanks to Public Integrity. Special thanks go to the journal’s authors and wonderful editorial team, led by Editor in Chief Amanda Olejarski and Managing Editor Sue Neal, for their continuing work in developing the journal’s demonstrable impact and reputation in the field. It is our great pleasure to work with you all.

National Civic League All-America City Award

The National Civic League (NCL) announces that applications are open for the 2024 All-America City Award. With a rich history dating back to 1949, this award has been honoring communities that harness the power of civic engagement, collaboration, inclusivity and innovation to effectively tackle local challenges.

The 2024 theme, "Strengthening Democracy through Local Action and Innovation," aims to spotlight communities bolstering democratic processes through innovations such as making it easier to vote, engage in community affairs and participate in leadership roles.

Mark your calendar! The deadline for optional letters of intent to apply is this Thursday, December 14, 2023; final applications must be submitted by February 13, 2024. NCL will announce the top 20 finalists in March, who will have the opportunity to convene in Denver, Colorado, from June 7-9, 2024, to showcase their community's achievements at the All-America City Award event. Don't miss your chance to shine on this national stage!

For additional information, watch this informational webinar and download the 2023 application.

October's PMM Is Free to View

Taylor and Francis is proud to announce that the October edition of Public Money and Management is free to view for three months—through the end of the year. This is the third of the PMM/CIGAR collaborations and can be found online here. Including topics such as AI, the commodification of the public good, social media and more, this is a packed edition. Download your copy today.

And, follow their LinkedIn page for future updates like this!

Public Administration Today Highlight



Public Administration Today features white papers, research and blogs from across the profession. If you're interested in more—especially your own curated news feed in your inbox every week—visit the website, create an account and check off your interest areas so you can stay up to date about the latest research being released!

Help for Rural Governments Tackling the Opioid Crisis
Via Route Fifty: The Reaching Rural Initiative helped officials in Harnett County, North Carolina, develop an opioid emergency response plan and a program to direct formerly incarcerated individuals to treatment.

Tips, Resources and the Fun Stuff

Now, What Was I Looking For?
Why your short-term memory falters and how to make it better.

Want to Know If Your Data Are Managed Responsibly? Here Are 15 Questions to Help You Find Out
Responsible data stewardship must take many factors into account including legal requirements, data governance, cybersecurity and user privacy.

Crystal Consults and Tarot Readings: Energy Healers Become the Go-To Home-Repair Pro
Homeowners across the country are turning to gurus, shamans and other energy practitioners to cleanse bad vibes and elevate their spaces.

Why Co-Creation Is the New Leadership Style
Co-creative teams don’t obsess about having all the answers. They explore what’s possible with powerful questions. They get energized by shared principles.

In the News

Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from recent weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!

Infrastructure

• Officials Hopeful New Executive Order Will Help Lagging Security Implementation at Federal Facilities
• Okta Breach Includes Theft of Data on Nearly All Help Desk Users, Including Some Feds
• SSA Restructures Tech Shop to Center on the CIO
• Government Runs on a 64-Year-Old Language. Could AI Help Change That?
• Biden Administration to Require Replacing of Lead Pipes Within 10 Years
• Human Operators Must Be Held Accountable for AI’s Use in Conflicts, Air Force Secretary Says
• VA Creates New Monitoring System After Glitch Affects More Than 120,000 Veterans’ Claims
• Twenty Federal Agencies Miss Deadline for Implementing Cyber Incident Tracking Requirements, Watchdog Says

• What a Major Income Tax Case Before the Supreme Court Means for States
• It's One of the Biggest Experiments in Fighting Global Poverty. Now the Results Are In
• Biden to Invest $8 Billion Toward Vision for Nationwide Expansion of Passenger Rail

• Supreme Court Appears Ready to Deal Another Blow to Federal Agencies' Administrative Powers
• IRS Commissioner Expects to See Enforcement Hiring to "Ramp Up" in Coming Months
• OPM Launches Cyber Rotational Program for Feds
• "Telework Is Not One-Size-Fits-All": Agencies Defend Hybrid Work for Feds in Front of House Lawmakers

• Mellon Foundation Doubles Funding for U.S. Monuments, Pledging a Total $500 Million
• Food for Thought: Data Tool Maps Food, Climate and Racial Equity Risks
• UMass Amherst Public Policy Researcher Finds Police Bodycams More Important than Race, Gender in Public’s Assessment of Use-of-Force Cases
• LGBTQ+ People Are Nearly Twice As Likely to Be Displaced After Disasters, New Research Shows

Members in the News

States vs. Locals: The Never-Ending Conflict
By Don Kettl

Data Literacy: The Drive to Educate the Public Sector Workforce
By Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene

Tell Me Something Good...

Need some good news in your world? Check this out:

The Portland Airport’s Astonishing New Roof Tells a Local Timber Story
The massive project—a years-long deep dive into sustainable forestry—used only timber from within 300 miles of the airport. When passengers pass through the newly remodeled Portland International Airport in spring 2024, they’ll be able to point up to specific Douglas fir beams around the oval skylights and know that they came from the ancestral lands of the Coquille Indian Tribe in Southwestern Oregon.

Around Public Administration

Here are the most recent updates from across the profession. Did we miss you? Send us your news and we'll include it in the next round!

Upcoming Events:

• 2024 COMPA Conference
  New Orleans, Louisiana | February 25-28
  Theme: Reshaping Public Administration: A Search for Self-Determined, Participatory and Sustainable Governments
  The Call for Proposals is open; registration is open
  
  
• 2024 ASPA Annual Conference
  Minneapolis, Minnesota | April 12-16
  Theme: Building Resilient Communities
  Registration is open
  
  
• 32nd NISPAcee Annual Conference
  Caucasus University, Tbilisi, Georgia | May 23-25
  Theme: Public Administration in Post-Conflict Reconstruction
  The call for proposals is open; registration is open
  
  
• NAPA 2024 Social Equity Leadership Conference
  University of Connecticut | June 20-22
  Theme: Achieving Diversity, Equity Inclusion and Access in an Increasingly Divided World
  The call for proposals is open; registration is open
  
  
• Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality
  Sponsored by the Roy Wilkins Center, University of Minnesota
  Cape Town, South Africa | September 3-5
  The call for papers is open; registration is open

• SPAR Best Book Award 2024
  ASPA's Section on Public Administration Research (SPAR) invites your nominations for the SPAR Best Book Award. The Section welcomes nominations for books on public administration published in 2022 and 2023. The criterion for the award is a book that significantly contributes to research in public administration. All research methods are welcomed, as are books across the wide range of public administration research. Books primarily written as textbooks will not be considered. The Section welcomes international publications written in English. Only books that contribute to public administration research and theory will be considered. This recognition will be awarded at ASPA's 2024 Annual Conference. A nominating committee comprised of SPAR members will review each nomination and choose the award winners. All nominations for books published prior to October 15, 2023 must be received by November 15; all nominations for books published after October 15, 2023 must be received by December 15. Nominations should list the book title, author and publisher, and include at least a one-page summary outlining the unique contributions of the book. The nomination documents should be sent to the review committee chairperson by email. A copy of the book (hard copy or electronic version) must be sent to each member of the review committee by the dates listed above. Contact the review committee for more details.
  
  
• 2024 SICA Call for Awards
  ASPA's Section on International and Comparative Administration (SICA) is seeking nominations for its awards program. All nominations must be received by December 15.
  
  The 2024 Fred Riggs Award for Lifetime Achievement in International and Comparative Public Administration: The Fred Riggs Award was established by SICA in 1985 to recognize scholars who made significant and widely recognized contributions to the conceptual, theoretical and/or operational progress in the fields of international, comparative and/or development administration. This award is named in honor of Fred W. Riggs, a pioneer in these fields and a leading founder of SICA. The award is made annually at the SICA Business Meeting held in conjunction with ASPA's Annual Conference. Each letter of nomination should indicate in some depth the person's intellectual achievements and relevant qualifications for the Fred Riggs Award. You should include the nominee's CV, as well as any other supporting documents. There should be at least two letters of recommendation with at least one letter from a SICA member. All nomination materials should be sent directly to Aroon Manoharan.
  
  The 2024 David Gould Scholarship: The David Gould Scholarship offers talented graduate students in the fields of public administration, public policy or international development some support to facilitate their participation in the ASPA Annual Conference. This scholarship is named in honor of David Gould, an active SICA member and long-time professor of public administration at the University of Pittsburgh. He was among those killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, December 21, 1988. Each year one or two students receive a nominal stipend ($500) to attend ASPA's Annual Conference and SICA’s Riggs Symposium. For the 2024 conference, the stipend will help students defray registration costs. In order to nominate a graduate student for a Gould Scholarship, please send a letter of nomination by a faculty member and the student’s CV to Charlene M. L. Roach.
  
  The 2024 Jeanne-Marie Col Leadership Award: Established by SICA in 2016, the Jeanne-Marie Col Leadership Award recognizes individual members who have made significant contributions to the development of the Section. Send all nominations to Jeanne-Marie Col Leadership Award Chair Aroon Manoharan. Letters of nomination should indicate detailed contributions of nominees to, and leadership roles within, SICA. You should include an explanation about how the nominee’s contributions have helped to transform and enrich SICA and how SICA will continue to benefit in the future from the nominee’s work. Include relevant supporting documents as well. Each nominee will require at least two letters of nomination from SICA members. The Jeanne-Marie Col Leadership Award committee will give due consideration to all nominations and related materials after the submission deadline. The committee will announce the winner in January 2024 and present the award at the SICA Business Meeting at ASPA's 2024 Annual Conference.
  
  
• 2024 COMPA Conference Call for Proposals
  The COMPA 2024 conference will take place February 25-28 in New Orleans. The theme is "Reshaping Public Administration: A Search for Self-Determined, Participatory and Sustainable Governments." The conference serves as a call to all public servants—scholars, public and nonprofit practitioners, and community advocates and stakeholders—who seek to rethink the future of local communities by revisiting past and present experiences as the foundation for engaging debate on reshaping self-determined, participatory and sustainable local community initiatives. COMPA 2024 challenges public administrators, researchers, scholars, policy wonks, think tanks, nonprofits, faculty, students and both scholars and practitioners across multiple fields and professions to rethink the future of local communities by revisiting past and present experiences as the foundation for engaging debate and reshaping self-determined, participatory and sustainable local community initiatives. We will examine the future of local government and tackle those issues that most directly impact each of us. We welcome research and praxis from different backgrounds and methodological orientations, current updates to traditional models and frameworks, and other emergent perspectives on all issues of public service related to the theme. All proposals are due December 15. Click here for more information.
  
  
• 2024 Marc Holzer Public Performance Symposium Call of Proposals
  ASPA's Section on Public Performance Management (SPPM) extends an invitation to academics and practitioners to submit proposals for the 2024 Marc Holzer Public Performance Symposium, taking place during ASPA's 2024 Annual Conference on Friday, April 12, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The symposium’s theme, "Navigating Performance Ecosystems for Resilient Performance Management," captures the essence of navigating distinct aspects of resilient communities through the lens of public performance. This theme seeks to explore how public performance can play a pivotal role in advancing the development of resilient communities that are adaptable, inclusive and sustainable. The discourse of the symposium aims to push the boundaries of existing practices, provide innovative solutions and motivate diverse audiences to deepen the application of resilient practices in performance management and transformative strategies for enhancing resilient and effective public systems. A proposal submission must include 1) title and abstract (limited to 200 words), 2) presenter’s information (name, affiliation, position and email). All proposals are due by December 20, 2023. Please direct your submission to [email protected]. Given the limited availability of panel slots, the organizing committee will promptly review proposals submitted on time. The symposium is sponsored by SPPM, the National Center for Public Performance at Suffolk University Boston and Public Performance & Management Review.
  
  
• Public Budgeting & Finance Call for Papers
  Since 1981 scholars and practitioners of applied government finance have turned to Public Budgeting & Finance to find understandable, reliable, thoughtful and critical analyses of the issues and practices important to the field. In this spirit, Public Budgeting & Finance invites contributions to a special issue focused on property tax administration and policy. Editors are seeking two types of contributions in the special issue: (1) full manuscripts containing original research; (2) proposals providing commentary on policy and/or practice. Completed manuscripts containing original research will be peer-reviewed on an expedited basis. Full manuscripts should be sent no later than December 31, 2023. Editors are especially interested in high-quality empirical manuscripts that explore and provide evidence relevant to policy and/or practice. The papers can intersect with property tax administration in any way. Editors are interested in all aspects of property tax administration, as well as topics that focus on the intersection of the property tax and public policy issues of enduring societal importance. Major considerations will be high-credibility research and topics of broad importance with the potential to influence subsequent policy and research. Manuscripts should be submitted via the PB&F submission website as a new submission toward a special issue. Editors also invite commentary proposals that will undergo editorial review (not peer review). These submissions can be commentaries on current policies or the state of research. Editors also would welcome teams proposing “point and counterpoint” essays that respond to one another. Proposals should include a working title and an abstract or thesis statement not to exceed 250 words. Editors will invite authors of selected proposals to submit full essays not to exceed 5,000 words. Send proposals to [email protected] no later than December 31, 2023. For questions, please reach out to co-editors Craig Johnson and Justin Ross. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality Call for Papers
  The Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, September 3-5, 2024 at the University of the Western Cape, Bellville Campus. Bringing together leading scholars, affected communities and global changemakers to discuss and implement remedies to racial and social inequality, this conference will take place at a critical juncture when globally interdependent peoples face acute instability, uncertainty and social injustice. The matrix of issues and problems we hope to address include spatially interdependent and intersectional forms of economic development that manifest unevenly within and between countries in health disparities, educational disparities, structural poverty, gender inequality, food and water insecurity, energy and climate crisis, political disenfranchisement and violence, mass incarceration, traditional and digital technologies disparities, youth disenfranchisement, community violence, the structural exclusion from wealth and more. The focus of this conference will be to map these pressing problems and find and set into motion solutions, remedies and action steps to address the roots of inequality. This Call for Papers is open to scholars and activists from around the world, not only South Africa and other African countries, and with particular encouragement for emerging scholars and community-engaged researchers. Committed to a non-racial vision for our world, and with situated knowledges, we also welcome presenters offering cross-national, cross-continental and internal comparative regional perspectives within nations and across continents so that the bases of solidarity, similarity, interdependence and difference might be explored. All abstracts must be submitted by January 3, 2024. Click here for more information.
  
  
• SPALR Annual Awards Call for Nominations
  ASPA's Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations is seeking nominations for its annual awards. All nominations must be received by Section Chair Salta Liebert by January 8, 2024.
  
  
  • Outstanding Practitioner Award – given in recognition of a practitioner in the field of public personnel administration who has made significant and notable contributions to the field.
  • Jonathan West Outstanding Scholar Award – given in recognition of a scholar who has made substantial contributions to the academic literature in the field of public personnel administration.
  • Dissertation Award – given to recognize an outstanding dissertation in the field of public personnel administration completed the preceding year (2023).
  • Stephen E. Condrey Service to the Section Award – given in recognition of the member who has made significant contributions to the Section during the preceding year.
  • Outstanding Book Award – given to recognize a book, published in the preceding year, that has made a significant contribution to the field of public personnel administration.
    
    
• Public Finance Journal and GFOA Sponsor the GovFi Prize
  What if there were resources to support, recognize and reward academic writing in public finance? There now is such financial resourcing for four specific questions. There is $500 for up to four initial proposals for each of the questions. Articles are required to be produced for publication for each $500 start-up funding to be published in a future edition of the Public Finance Journal. The selected researchers or research teams will be informed in writing, will complete the research as described in proposal and submit the article for publication to the Public Finance Journal, and agree to all terms to have your article published. The four questions are: Is the 80-20 Rule Operative for Financial Analysts’ Use of Financial Reports?; What Is the Cost of Compliance with GAAP Accounting and Reporting Standards?; What Does the Public Really Want to Know About Public Finance?; and Do Financial Reports Impact Policy Making?. All abstract proposals are due January 22, 2024. Click here for more information.
  
  
• NAPA Social Equity Leadership Conference Call for Proposals Open
  Polling shows that three in four Republicans believe the country “should promote traditional social and moral values" while two in three Democrats show “greater tolerance of diverse lifestyles and backgrounds.” (NBC News Poll, April 26, 2023) The divide is almost identical on government doing more to increase social justice, reduce political correctness and promote LGBTQ rights. For instance, six in 10 Americans “will not work for a company that doesn’t speak out against racial injustice.” (USA Today, March 8, 2023) This divide presents the major challenge to advancing social equity in the midst of these divisions. The National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) 2024 Social Equity Leadership Conference (SELC) seeks to identify means of advancing social equity policies despite the existing political divisions. The SELC committee values the principled and social justice basis for social equity policies. It is merely seeking ways to expand the social equity tent and enlist more support for social equity policies regardless of the political climate. While it is easy to argue in favor of social equity and social justice from the standpoint of principle, we also should embrace the pragmatic reasons for supporting social equity policies. The SELC committee wishes to amplify the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion to the economy, the workforce, organizational culture and the communities we serve. The 2024 SELC also will seek to feature social equity policies and programs to demonstrate their efficacy and their replicability in other communities. All proposals are due January 26, 2023. Click here for more information.
  
  
• STPA Student Paper Competition
  ASPA's Section on Transportation Policy and Administration (STPA) invites undergraduate and graduate students who have written research papers related to transportation policy and administration to submit them for consideration for its 2024 Student Paper Competition. Papers should be prepared according to a standard style such as APA. They should be 20-35 pages and include citations and references. The review committee encourages students to submit copies of conference papers or unpublished manuscripts. Literature reviews and review essays are not eligible for consideration, nor are papers co-authored with faculty members. The maximum number of student collaborators is limited to three. The committee will evaluate papers in a blind review process. The best paper will receive a cash award of $250 and a commemorative plaque. STPA will pay the conference registration fee for the awardee to attend ASPA's 2024 Annual Conference. In the event the selected paper is a co-authored manuscript, the Section will pay the registration fees for the co-authors (limited to two individuals). All papers are due February 1, 2024. Submit papers to Theodore W. Johnson.
  
  
• 18th Annual E-PARCC Teaching Case and Simulation Competition Call for Submissions
  The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs invites submissions for its 18th annual E-PARCC competition to further stimulate the creation of effective and innovative teaching cases and simulations. E-PARCC, a project of the “Collaborative Governance Initiative,” provides free online resources for those who teach conflict and collaboration around the world. More than 3,000 visitors per month from more than 40 countries take advantage of E-PARCC materials. The E-PARCC competition now consists of two tracks: (1) collaborative problem solving, collaborative governance and network governance and analysis; and (2) collaborative methods in international development. Entries for the competition should be tailored for one of the two tracks. Among other options, entries might focus on the use of collaborative methods to: identify public policy and management problems and/or create and implement policy and management solution; develop innovations that improve the design, delivery and evaluation of public services and programs; apply participatory and consensus building methods to address and overcome societal divisions; and improve open, transparent and accountable government and governance through advocacy and public action. All entries must be original and not published elsewhere. Submit the entry with the cover page to [email protected] by February 15, 2024, with the subject line: E-PARCC (your last name). Contact Catherine Gerard, interim director of PARCC, with any questions. Click here for more information.
  
  
• SECM Call for Papers: William Petak Award
  The Section on Emergency and Crisis Management (SECM) is proud to announce its solicitation of papers for the William Petak Award, given each year to the best paper on an emergency management topic delivered at ASPA's Annual Conference. The award honors William Petak, a founder of the Section and a seminal scholar in emergency management. Anyone presenting a paper on emergency management at the conference is eligible to submit their paper for review. The winner will receive a cash prize of $100. Submissions should be submitted no later than March 1, 2024. Contact Jason Rivera with any questions or with your submission.
  
  

PA TIMES Online

Here's a selection of current pieces on PA TIMES Online, covering a range of issues within the profession. We accept individual articles on a rolling basis; if you have a piece you think would fit our publication, submit it to [email protected] for consideration. (Please review our submission guidelines in advance!)

• Revisiting Citizen Engagement—The Antidote for Political Division
  By Patrick S. Malone
  
  
• The Crux of Leadership Philosophies
  By LaMesha Craft
  
  
• Public Service in a Society of Equals
  By Lisa Saye