2023 Webinar Archives
Programs are listed in reverse order, from most recent to least. Professional development programs and BookTalks are listed together throughout the below catalog.
Please use the password StaySmart2023 to access the below recordings through ASPA's Vimeo account.
November 30 | 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST
Sponsored by Public Administration Review and ASPA's International Chapter
Susan Gordon,
U.S. Intelligence Officer
Don Kettl, Moderator,
Former Dean, University of Maryland School of Public Policy
Andrew Podger,
Former Commissioner, Australian Public Service
Zoe Rouwhorst,
Policy Officer, Government of the Netherlands
Ron Sanders, Moderator,
Former Chair, U.S. Federal Salary Council
It takes courage to be a public servant these days...courage to speak truth to power, or as the Australians say, to provide “frank and fearless advice” to those elected or appointed political officials. That’s a challenge under any circumstance, but when you factor in such things as the Trump administration’s aborted Schedule F proposal or its prospective reprise by the American Enterprise Institute, all ostensibly to ensure that career civil servants are more "accountable" to the electorate, the "courage factor" goes up exponentially. Listen to this insightful conversation as speakers address what it looks like to have administrative courage, and the outcomes they have experienced.
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November 28 | 1 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Section on Ethics and Integrity in Governance
Haris Alibašić,
Associate Professor and Public Administration Program Coordinator, University of West Florida
Cindy Davis, Moderator,
Manager, Graduate program Integrity, University of Texas at Tyler and Section Chair, SEIGov
Stuart Gilman,
Senior Partner, Global Integrity Group
Rachel Pittaluga,
Professor of Political Science, Valencia College
Recent years have seen a rise in questions about the ethics of the United States Supreme Court. In the past, the high court was considered the most trusted of the three branches of American government. Controversies such as political activism and financial disclosures have raised concerns as to whether this trust is misplaced. This webinar addressed the ethical dilemmas that have plagued the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years and examined what could be done to re-invigorate the high court's ethical image.
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October 31 | 1 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
Robert Blaine,
Senior Executive and Director, Center for Leadership, Education, Advancement, and Development (LEAD), National League of Cities
Toni Samuel, Moderator,
CAP Board Member and Special Projects Director, National League of Cities
Marking the three-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, our speakers discussed how cities and towns have performed and how they addressed accountability for the funds in their local infrastructure projects. They also discussed what the National League of Cities has accomplished through initiatives, training and resources to support performance and accountability for the infrastructure funding.
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October 17 | 1 p.m. EDT
Göktuğ Morçöl,
Professor, Public Policy and Administration, Penn State University
What are the roles of governments and other actors in solving, or alleviating, collective action problems in today’s world? The traditional conceptual frameworks of public administration and public policy studies have become less relevant in answering this question. This book critically assesses traditional conceptual frameworks and proposes an alternative: a complex governance networks (CGN) framework. Listen to this discussion with Göktuğ Morçöl as he discusses the implications of CGN for the convergence of public administration and public policy education and so much more.
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October 5 | 1 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
Mark Funkhouser,
President, Funkhouser & Associates and Former Mayor and Auditor, Kansas City, Missouri
Richard Greene, Moderator,
Chair, Center for Accountability and Performance and Principal, Barrett and Greene, Inc.
Jason Hadavi,
Deputy City Auditor, Austin, Texas
Jennifer McGuirk,
Auditor, Multnomah County, Oregon
Rob Sand,
Iowa State Auditor
One of the most potent ways in which cities, counties and states can fight against the absence of trust in government is through the audit function. There has never been a time within memory when creating trust in government has been such a challenge. Yet, there is a perennial threat to auditors’ independence, the bedrock of their standing in government and ability to serve their residents. It is often a battle between political expedience and self-protectiveness and the auditors’ ability to do their jobs well and without interference. What is the story behind this struggle? This panel, including auditors representing all three levels of local government, shared behind the scenes stories to help attendees get a better understanding of auditors’ need for independence and the difficulty some have in preserving it.
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September 19 | 1 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) with $130 billion of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) dedicated to local governments. Have the requirements for evidence-based approaches and annual performance reporting enhanced state and local performance management and reporting? How have local jurisdictions adapted their existing processes to address these requirements and have they been able to leverage them to build capacity for the future? This webinar featured speakers from U.S. Treasury and local government representatives as they discussed challenges and opportunities around this unprecedented infusion of federal dollars. Michael Jacobson (King County, Washington) moderated this conversation.
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September 7 | 1 p.m. EDT
Luciano Andrenacci, Moderator,
Argentine Political Scientist, School of Politics and Government, Universidad Nacional de San Martín
Michael Barzelay,
Author, London School of Economics
Patria de Lancer Julnes, Introductions,
Rosenthal Endowed Professor and Director, School of Public Administration, University of New Mexico
Sponsored by the University of New Mexico School of Public Administration
What, fundamentally, is public management? This question is rarely answered clearly and confidently, whether by students of public management or academics in the field. This book's argument is grounded in Herbert Simon's ideas about design-oriented professional disciplines. However, author Michael Barzelay's argument runs counter to the idea that public management is a design science. It envisions the discipline as a professional practice that requires the thoughtful and skillful use of purposive theories of public organizations, along with reverse-engineered design-precedents, in problem-solving for public programs and organizations.
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September 5 | 1 p.m. EDT
Lauren Azevedo,
Assistant Professor, Penn State Harrisburg
Brittany Haupt,
Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Crisis Communication Planning and Strategies for Nonprofit Leaders examines the unique position of nonprofit organizations in an intersection of providing public services and also being a part of emergency and crisis management practices. This resource discusses the evolution of crisis communication planning, the unique position of nonprofit organizations and the crises they face, along with provision of conceptual and theoretical frameworks to generate effective crisis communication plans for nonprofit organizations to utilize within diverse crises. Check out this webinar and learn what the authors shared with our live audience!
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August 15 | 1 p.m. EDT
GLA Harris,
Senior Associate Dean and Professor, Arizona State University
Jeanette Taylor,
Alderwomen of 20th Ward in Chicago
Dwight Vick,
Instructor, Texas A&M University
Tenure at a Crossroads, Again? goes beyond the explication of tenure to explore the contemporary challenges facing academia at the K–12 and higher education levels. This edited volume is unique as it grapples with issues from multiple viewpoints—that of the university/college administrator to professor to the K–12 educator. Watch the webinar and hear more about this important topic.
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Sponsored by Policy Pathways
July 27 | 1 p.m. EDT
Jacques Houssou,
Licensed Private Investigator
Colonialism is domination by an outside power over an independent people or area and often involves the utilization of resources by the controller to increase wealth or power. The end of colonial regimes had a significant impact on the economies of West African countries. While experiencing changes toward democratization, the legacy of colonialism on the economies of francophone countries in West Africa led to massive economic decline. By drawing upon the history of his home country of Benin and spotlighting the palm oil industry, our expert discussed the effects of colonialism and capitalism on the palm oil industry in Benin and much more.
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Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
July 19 | 1 p.m. EDT
Emily Burns,
Performance Analyst, City of Rock Hill, South Carolina
Howard Waldie, IV,
Chief Innovation Officer, City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Effectively implementing best practices in local government often requires prioritization of incremental changes. For these changes to take root and produce real and sustainable positive change, practitioners must skillfully adapt best practices to consider the organization’s culture, resources and bandwidth. Watch this webinar to learn how leaders in Myrtle Beach and Rock Hill, South Carolina, are smartly adding unique adaptations in process improvements and strategic planning to move their organizations forward.
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Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
June 27 | 1 p.m. EDT
Jennifer Fairweather,
Chief Human Resources Office, Jefferson County, Colorado and Former President, Public Sector HR Association
Richard Greene, Moderator,
Chair, ASPA Center for Accountability and Performance
Dawn Sweazea,
Director of Talent Acquisition, State of Missouri
Reid Walsh,
Chief Human Resources Officer, NEOGOV
In recent years, the state and local public sector workforce has been under ever-mounting pressure as shortages abound of skilled personnel in virtually every field. As a result, even when public sector leaders have the best motivations for basing decisions on evidence, data and performance measurement, they may be stymied by the lack of people to fill the jobs necessary to make this happen. The irony is this: For many years, these kinds of efforts have been challenged by a lack of resources. But even in a day when federal dollars have helped many cities and states to be fiscally sound (at least for now), in the absence of skilled implementers, the future is uncertain. What are the specific challenges and what can be done about them? This webinar delved into those questions in a series of short individual presentations, a group discussion and a Q&A session.
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June 20 | 1 p.m. EDT
Mary Guy,
Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado Denver
Willow Jacobson,
Robert W. Bradshaw Jr. Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Government, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and MPA Program Director, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jessica Sowa,
Professor, University of Delaware
Tough issues face human resource managers. With the specter of Schedule F hanging over federal jobs, the time to understand why good government requires job protections is now. And there are no easy answers for the right blend of remote versus in-person work; or how employees can find meaningfulness in their jobs; or how to forestall workplace violence; or how to ensure equitable processes. Listen in as Willow Jacobson moderates this discussion with Mary Guy and Jessica Sowa about the three dimensions to human resource management—people, process and performance—and how these frame the challenges of our times.
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June 8 | 1 p.m. EDT
Ed DeSeve,
Coordinator, Agile Government Center, National Academy of Public Administration
Joe Mitchell,
Director, Strategic Initiatives and International Programs, National Academy of Public Administration
Agile government is defined by NAPA as “...mission centric, customer focused, communication and collaboration enabled, and continually demonstrates success to customers and the public. Agile government involves small teams and customer participation, empowered by leaders to take rapid action to deliver timely, transparent results.” Ed DeSeve and Joe Mitchell discussed the principles of agile government and how it will shape the future.
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June 1 | 1 p.m. EDT
William D. Eggers,
Executive Director, Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights
Donald F. Kettl,
Professor Emeritus and Former Dean, University of Maryland
In the face of ever more complex societal challenges,
Bridgebuilders provides an essential new model for transforming the public sector and getting things done. Pandemics. Climate change. Refugee resettlement. Global supply chains. We face a new generation of complex problems that stretch across the public and private sectors and flow over organizational boundaries. To meet the moment, we need a fresh, new approach that strengthens institutions and government agencies by breaking free from organizational boxes and rigid, top-down leadership. As William D. Eggers, executive director of Deloitte's Center for Government Insights, and Donald F. Kettl, public management scholar, discussed during this event, we need a government of bridgebuilders who collaborate with partners—inside and outside government—to get the job done. These leaders manage horizontally instead of vertically, they see their role as connectors and they identify which players have the assets needed to solve the unprecedented problems at hand.
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May 30 | 1 p.m. EDT
Lauren Azevedo, Moderator,
Assistant Professor, UNC Charlotte
Cynthia Lynch,
Associate Professor, Hawaii Pacific University
Alisa Moldavanova,
Associate Professor, University of Delaware
Sheela Pandey,
Associate Professor, Penn State Harrisburg
Robbie Robichau,
Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
This webinar featured five presenters discussing tenure in nonprofit scholarship, including such concepts as: communicating a nonprofit research agenda to a department or school that is not nonprofit focused (or to non-nonprofit scholars); putting portfolios together and information and documentation required; and demonstrating nonprofit worthiness for general academia. Listen in on the discussion!
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May 25 | 1 p.m. EDT
Wally Bobkiewicz,
City Administrator, City of Issaquah, Washington
Craig Maher,
Director, School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Bruce McDonald,
Associate Professor, North Carolina State University
The book examines the tools currently available to cities for designing a revenue structure, measuring fiscal conditions and measuring fiscal health. It explains how artificial policies such as tax and expenditure limitations influence fiscal policies, and how communities can overcome socioeconomic and state-policy barriers to produce strong fiscal conditions. 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.
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May 16 | 1 p.m. EDT
Allan Lichtman,
Distinguished Professor, American University
Bill Shields, Jr., Moderator,
Executive Director and CEO, ASPA
The "keys to the White House" is a system Allan Lichtman created to predict the outcome of presidential elections in the United States. Using “the keys,” he has correctly predicted the outcomes of all presidential elections from 1984 to 2020 (with the exception of the 2000 election). Bill Shields moderated this conversation; listen in as he and Allan look at what the keys say for the 2024 presidential election.
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April 27 | 1 p.m. EDT
Alan Shark,
Associate Professor, Schar School, George Mason University
Students of public administration, public policy and nonprofit management require a strong foundation in how government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are connected with information technology. Whether simplifying internal operations, delivering public-facing services, governing public utilities or conducting elections, public administrators must understand these technological tools and systems to ensure they remain effective, efficient and equitable.
Technology and Public Management explores the latest trends in technology, providing real-life examples about the need for policies and procedures to safeguard technology infrastructure while providing greater openness, participation and transparency. We hope you enjoy this discussion with author Alan Shark!
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April 25 | 1 p.m. EDT
Maria Aristigueta, Moderator,
Charles P Messick Chair Professor, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware
Nicholas Hart,
President, Data Foundation
Kathy Newcomer,
Professor, George Washington University
The Foundations for Evidence-based Policy Making Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) was an unprecedented law with bipartisan support that drew heavily upon the recommendations of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (the commission) to require federal agencies to build capacity for both generating and using evidence to inform decisionmaking. Nick Hart, the policy director for the commission and now president of the Data Foundation, and Kathryn Newcomer, professor at George Washington University and coauthor (with Hart) of Evidence-building and Evaluation in Government, discussed current challenges to evidence-building efforts in federal agencies.
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April 13 | 1 p.m. EDT
Bonnie Stabile,
Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Student and Academic Affairs, Schar School, George Mason University
Donald Trump's election precipitated one of the largest outpourings of political protest on a single day in U.S. history with the 2017 March for Women. The emboldened #MeToo and #TimesUp movements reacted not only to the historical injustice of sexual offenses perpetrated upon women, but women’s associated underrepresentation in positions of power and public authority.
Women, Power, and Rape Culture examines the principal events, actors and paradigms in the politics of rape, sexual assault and harassment since Trump’s election. Unlike other studies, it connects these traumatic events to women’s underrepresentation in the public sphere. Chapters consider the power of presidential speech, judges and Congress to create structural barriers to women’s representation as well as the stultifying effects of weak college and university responses to sexual violence. Disparities in women’s representation in positions of public authority are considered in light of the disproportionate burden imposed on women by a culture that discounts the prevalence of rape and harassment and by the policies that inadequately address them, allowing them to perpetuate. Listen to this recording and learn more about this important resource.
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April 12 | 2 p.m. EDT
ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance held its annual awards ceremony—this time virtually—and also a tribute to the late Harry Hatry. If you missed it, you can view it via the below link any time, no password required.
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March 29 | 1 p.m. EDT
John M. Kamensky, Moderator,
Emeritus Fellow, IBM Center for The Business of Government
Christopher O’Connell,
Evidence Team, Office of Management and Budget
Lauren Stocker,
Associate Director, Office of Shared Services and Performance Improvement, General Services Administration
President Biden released his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget earlier this month, accompanied by his management priorities—both government-wide and agency-specific. These all are available to the public on a central website, performance.gov. This session provided an update on progress throughout the past year, along with a summary of new initiatives for the coming year, with an emphasis on the status of the first-ever set of governmentwide and agency level learning agendas. Those attending received an overview of the president’s management priorities and implementation in the coming year.
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February 16 | 1 p.m. EST
Kim Desmond, Chief Race and Equity Officer, Department of Race and Equity, City of San Diego
Jacque Larrainzar, Race and Equity Program Analyst, City of Oakland
Zina Merritt, Chief Diversity Management Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Jenny Wong, Moderator, City Auditor, City of Berkeley
The drive toward creating DEIA in the public sector is a significant issue for many governments, as well as the people they serve. How can they establish an environment that fosters these goals and then be held accountable for their success or failure—and how can they achieve better measurement toward improved outcomes? This webinar explored a number of related questions including what can governments do to get better at centering racial, economic and gender equity throughout the work they deliver?; how can they best be set up to achieve equity and inclusion outcomes, including effective measurement toward these outcomes?; and what are some tools and best practices that can be used to evaluate programs and services through the lenses of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility? Beyond a roadmap for how to improve equity outcomes in government, attendees also learned how to evaluate the performance of programs and services by applying equity tools and best practices.
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February 16 | 1 p.m. EST
Akshay Mangla, Associate Professor, University of Oxford
Meghna Sabharwal, Moderator, Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Making Bureaucracy Work by Akshay Mangla advances a novel theoretical argument anchored on bureaucratic norms, the informal rules of the game that guide how public officials understand their duties and relate with citizens on the ground. It finds that legalistic bureaucracies generate improvements in school infrastructure and enrollments, but perform poorly on complex tasks involving coordination with societal actors. Worse, they impose administrative burdens on marginalized groups, weakening societal participation. By contrast, deliberative bureaucracies encourage flexible problem-solving by state officials. Listen in on this webinar as Mangla reveals the complex ways bureaucratic norms interact with socioeconomic inequalities on the ground, illuminating bureaucracy’s role in promoting inclusive development.
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February 9 | 1 p.m. EST
Brint Milward, Professor, University of Arizona
Branda Nowell, Professor, North Carolina State University
Why should public administrators care about Branda Nowell and Brint Milward’s recent Cambridge University book,
Apples to Apples: A Taxonomy for Understanding Networks in Public Management and Policy? A taxonomy provides empirically observable and measurable characteristics to tell one class of network from another. Nowell and Milward argue that their network classes—structural-oriented, system-oriented and purpose-oriented—are taxonomic in nature; subject to empirical verification and independent of any label used to name the network. They argue that without knowing what kind of network you want to create, implement or evaluate, you are in danger of comparing apples to oranges and making the wrong assumptions about how to govern or evaluate the network. Enjoy this excellent book discussion!
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