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ASPA 2023 Annual Conference Puts Democracy Front and Center
More than 1,200 public administration professionals, scholars, researchers and students joined each other online last week for ASPA’s 2023 Annual Conference, discussing the theme: “Protecting Democracy for the Next Generation: The Role of Public Administration.” While weighty questions of democracy resonated across the sessions held, presenters and discussants alike were united in the belief that we are far from Doomsday and an active and invested citizenry always will encourage democratic norms.
“I want to defend the idea of bureaucratic autonomy,” said Donald C. Stone lecturer Francis Fukuyama of Stanford University at the beginning of his remarks. “Central control of bureaucracy today is not insufficiently constrained—it is overly constrained and cannot produce the outcomes desired. Delegation needs to be broadened, not restricted... The downgrading of public administration has been a mistake. We need to upgrade it.”
Fukuyama’s lecture was one of several keynote lectures that reminded attendees how integral public administration is to a functioning democracy. From Anne Applebaum’s opening keynote emphasizing the difference of “rule of law” vs. “rule by law” to Jeremy Vine’s reflections on how “experience, not expertise” has become the dominant voice in public discourse to Janice Underwood’s reminder that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) enables justice and democracy, speakers and attendees alike emphasized that democracy and effective public administration are deeply connected.
“If you’re feeling nostalgic for an idealized version of the past and you believe we've lost it, then you are interested in destroying the present to get back the previous time,” observed Applebaum. “The danger isn't that something should be great—it's that greatness has been lost and we need to destroy the present... What institutions need to be destroyed? If you doubt public institutions, that also undermines the existing state.”
While much of Applebaum’s remarks were centered on global efforts against democracy—particularly in Ukraine—the trends she observed carried clear parallels for the United States. “Public servants are people who owe a loyalty precisely to the nation, to the citizenry; they're not meant to be captured by one political movement or another,” she stated. “The destruction of public service is going to be a real challenge for ASPA and others. The idea is now out there.”
These concerns were echoed by United Kingdom journalist Jeremy Vine, who was interviewed by ASPA Executive Director and CEO Bill Shields. “There’s an extreme lack of trust and very little is believed,” Vine said. “The key thing I’ve understood in journalism is the gap between experience and expertise. The end user is now the expert. People are so powerful with information but the information market is unregulated and most of it is claptrap.”
 Vine’s discussion emphasized the importance of public administration to a functioning society, despite the civil service’s image problem in the United Kingdom (and other nations). “A lot of people think about and respect the low-paid workers: people who do the hands-on work... The challenge for the civil service is it can’t answer criticism, so the narrative becomes, ‘It’ll work if you just fire all the managers,’ but the managers are the ones that make the rest run. There’s no amount of blame that can’t be assigned when the counterparty can’t answer back.”
Familiar with blame and criticism, the 2023 Elliot Richardson Lecture was delivered by U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Commissioner Thomas Hicks, who focused on the important work the EAC undertakes to ensure average citizens have access to the voting booth. Emphasizing accessibility, integrity and transparency, Hicks discussed the many ways the EAC fights for voting access for all Americans—particularly those with disabilities—as well as securing elections to protect our democratic rights and freedoms.
Hicks emphasized the role election workers play in this process: “Election officials are the most trusted sources of information and we want to make sure you are an informed public when it comes to the election process,” he reminded attendees. “Election officials are the backbone of our democracy.”
 During one of this year’s highlights, long-time ASPA member Michael Massiah received the 2023 Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity award and gave this year’s lecture, regaling attendees with stories from his childhood, college years and service at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “My role at college was to be of value to the other students,” he noted as he reflected on his early equity work. “They needed to learn about my culture and be equipped to deal with the society they were going to encounter.”
Reflecting on his college work experience with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant, he observed the importance of learning from those around you. “I was responsible for going out to the community to gather input about the high rise plans from the architect. What I came back with was a greatly improved set of inputs to alter the design. That taught me the importance of involving communities in the business of government.”
While plenary addresses all took a serious tone as speakers reflected on the state of democracy and public administration, concurrent sessions looked for bright spots and progress for the profession. Presentations emphasized the excellent work happening at all levels of government.
Sessions and symposia from ASPA Chapters and Sections also highlighted the excitement across the Society:
 The final keynote of the conference was given by U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Janice Underwood, who received the 2023 Nesta M. Gallas award for her career’s work advancing DEIA initiatives. “The prize for DEIA is fairness, justice and belonging,” Underwood stated. “We need to leverage it as a principle of democracy. We need to reject DEIA as a moral imperative or a nice thing to have. Equity champions must leverage data-driven business cases and national security imperatives.”
Her remarks provided an excellent summation of the conference, reminding all attendees not only where we have come from but also where we are headed.
All sessions were recorded and will be online for two months for attendees to (re)watch. If you missed any of these—or the 190 others also on the agenda—make time to go back and learn from the valuable research and thought leadership in the archives.
If you were not registered for the conference but wish to gain access to the online platform now, contact us and we’ll provide you with options.
ASPA Annual Conference Career Path Programming Continues Next Week!
ASPA's Annual Conference always includes a day-long career planning event for those working toward their degree and who have recently entered the workforce. This year's event, the Student and New Professional Summit, will take place online via Zoom next Monday, April 4.
No matter where you are in your career path, this program has something for you and our expert presenters will not only provide you with valuable information but also leave plenty of time to take your questions and help you with anything you need. It's a hands-on learning experience designed to immerse you in career conversations and leave you better equipped for next steps.
This year's agenda topics include:
- Getting Started
- Paths to Success
- Marketing Yourself on the Page
- Lunch and Conversation
- Cover Letters: Why They Matter
- Navigating the Job Search and Interview
- The Compensation Equation
- Getting Involved in the Field
- Networking: More Than Happy Hour and Business Cards
You can find more information and confirmed speakers online here.
Sound like something you need? Those registered for the conference receive free access to this event; all others may register on our website for just $199.
Career consultants charge hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for this information. Make the decision now to spend your day with us on April 4 and gain confidence in your job search and career path needs.
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.
BookTalk: Public Management as a Design-Oriented Professional Discipline
April 11 | 1 p.m. EDT
Presenter:
Michael Barzelay, Professor, London School of Economics
What, fundamentally, is public management? This question is rarely answered clearly and confidently, whether by students of public management or academics in the field. The book's argument is grounded in Herbert Simon's ideas about design-oriented professional disciplines. However, 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.
BookTalk: Women, Power and Rape Culture: The Politics and Policy of Underrepresentation
April 13 | 1 p.m. EDT
Presenter:
Bonnie Stabile, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, George Mason University
The election of Donald Trump 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 also women’s associated underrepresentation in positions of power and public authority. This book 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.
From the Archives
BookTalk: COVID-19, the LGBTQIA+ Community and Public Policy
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities, both in the United States and throughout the world. As studies emerge to help us understand the effects of the pandemic on every facet of modern life, it is critical that its effects on the LGBTQIA+ communities not be overlooked. While some studies analyzing the impacts have been conducted, and some efforts are being made to collect data that can impact policy development, reliable data resources are limited to a few enterprising states and have not been systematically shared. This webinar explores how the pandemic has affected these communities and what steps need to be taken to ameliorate those effects.
ASPA Swears In 2022-2023 National Council, Officers
The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the nation’s leading professional association for public service, has announced its elected leadership for 2023-2024. Patria de Lancer Julnes, Rosenthal endowed professor and school director, University of New Mexico, will serve as ASPA’s president for the next two years. She will chair ASPA’s National Council, the organization’s governing body.
John Bartle, dean and professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha, has begun a two-year term as ASPA’s president-elect, ascending to the presidency in 2025. In addition to Julnes and Bartle, the Council’s membership includes the following individuals:
- District I Representatives (covering Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont): Michael Ahn, Maria D’Agostino and Malcolm Oliver
- District II Representatives (covering Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and West Virginia): Marlon Brown, Diane Disney and Thomas Stanton
- District III Representatives (covering Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee): Terry Murphy, Miriam Singer and Ronald Sanders
- District IV Representatives (covering Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming): Merlene-Patrice Bourdeau-Quispe, Ana-Maria Dimand and Kelli Truver
- District V Representatives (covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah): Galia Cohen, Juliet Lee and Aziza Zemrani
- International Representative: Pan Suk Kim
- Student Representative: Jennifer Martinez-Medina
This year’s Council took their positions at the closing session of ASPA’s 2023 Annual Conference, the premier public administration gathering of the year. More than 1,200 practitioners, researchers and students shared the latest in research and practice across public administration during the five-day event.
“I know I speak for ASPA’s staff and membership when I extend my gratitude to our leaders for their commitment to our Society, both now and in the years ahead,” said ASPA Executive Director and CEO Bill Shields, Jr. “I look forward to working with all of them on the exemplary programming that ASPA will continue to produce as their terms evolve.”
National Council members are responsible for the oversight of ASPA, which represents more than 10,000 public servants, scholars, researchers and students across the country and around the world. Governing a $1.3 million budget and setting organizational policy, Council members are responsible for ensuring a strong network of affiliates, ongoing educational resources and fundraising efforts that shore up reserves against future uncertainties.
“Each of these elected leaders bring with them the confidence and support of their colleagues and peers,” Shields continued. “By contributing their unique skills to our ongoing deliberative work, they will stand at the forefront of ensuring ASPA’s 84-year legacy well into the future.”
Membership Matters: Sponsor a Colleague or Student into ASPA!
It's the beginning of a new governance year for ASPA, and a perfect time for all members to think about introducing someone in your life to our society! Whether you have a favorite service or simply enjoy being a part of ASPA Chapters and Sections, share those experiences with someone you know today and encourage them to join you. Our community is stronger when more voices are a part of it and peer-to-peer influence makes a big difference.
From a variety of e-news digests (like this one!), to conferences, webinars and Chapter events, to journals, magazines and other publications, ASPA provides a range of services that connect you to others in your local area, subject area and the profession at large. Encourage your friends and colleagues to get involved and start making career connections right away.
Ready to sign someone up? Contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.
We look forward to continuing our work together, strengthening public service. We need all of our members to help us get there! Sponsor someone today!
Public Administration Today Highlight
Public Administration Today features white papers, research and blogs from across the profession. This edition's highlight looks at urban structures! 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!
Repurposed Lampposts in Stockholm, Sweden
This blog post's author began thinking about urban structures that embody equality in their service: "The lamppost is one such structure. No matter who you are or what you have, they cast the same light on everyone. And while all lampposts by themselves embody equality of service, those in Hötorget, aka Haymarket Square, in Stockholm, Sweden, are, to quote Orwell, more equal than others."
NISPAcee 2023 Conference in Belgrade, Serbia
NISPAcee has announced its 2023 conference will take place May 25-27 in Belgrade, Serbia, with the theme, "The Future of Public Administration Enabled through Emerging Technologies."
Contemporary public administration is tackling the challenges of globalization, social and demographic changes, migration and climate change. Layered and complex reform trajectories and instruments are needed to modernize public administration, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and achieve high standards of reliability and accountability. All sectors of society, including public administration, will have to play a role in the effort toward a green transformation. Faced with rapid and accelerating socio-economic change, public administration needs to take into account the opportunities offered by new technologies, as well as develop new services aimed at openness, transparency and citizen participation accordingly. The conference will pay particular attention to the topic of the digital transformation of public administration. The issues to be taken into consideration are: the role of the public sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as the challenges of implementing new technologies in the transformation of public administration. Moreover, in the knowledge society, the capacity to innovate and ability to implement innovations are very important for the public administration of the future.
The call for papers is open to all topics and all methods and approaches relevant for the theme, from conceptual and theoretical papers to case studies and policy and applied level assessments, from "large n” quantitative analysis to in-depth qualitative investigations. The conference will provide a forum for an open exchange of theoretical ideas and applied level experiences. Special attention will be given to the NISPAcee region but the conference will aim to integrate and connect the experience and perspectives emerging from countries of the NISPAcee region to the current global experience and perspectives regarding the described main theme of the conference. All paper submissions are due by April 10, 2023. Click here for more information.
AU Summer Diversity Program Seeks Applicants
The second annual Summer Diversity Academy at American University will take place May 15-19, 2023. Its goal is to provide an opportunity for scholars underrepresented among public affairs faculty to receive quality feedback on research projects and mentoring advice on strategic planning of an academic career. The program will provide a one week in residence experience at the American University School of Public Affairs in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. The program is open to advanced PhD students and junior faculty and will provide constructive criticism for the participants from American University faculty and fellow attendees on the participants’ research projects. Additional sessions will focus on the publication process, peer reviewing of manuscripts, creating professional networks, and the job market in public affairs. To apply, candidates should address a letter of application to Ken Meier by Saturday, April 1, 2023.
Tips and Resources
Three Scientific Reasons Why Emotional Wellbeing Equals Success
The National Center for Emotional Wellness describes emotional wellbeing as “an awareness, understanding, and acceptance of feelings and an ability to manage effectively through times of change or challenge.” The past couple of years have put us through very challenging and intense times, and it’s left many of us not knowing how to move forward when we feel stuck or burned out.
Study: Majority of Radicalized People Didn't Get Mental Health Care
Radicalized individuals either didn't trust the system or health care providers were unable to provide mental health services for them.
Three Customer Experience Tips for Feds from Feds
Two professional customer experience experts offered advice for other practitioners across the federal ranks this month.
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
Public Finance
Public Service
Social Equity
Members in the News
Say No to Politicizing the Civil Service, But Yes to More Flexibility
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There’s No "Easy Button" for Cutting Government
By Ron Sanders
Finding Public Sector Workers in High Schools
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Data-Based Decisionmaking Is Flawed When the Data Is Flawed
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An Attack on Auditor Independence Jeopardizes One State’s Fiscal Future
By Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene
Government Reform Isn’t Dead. It’s Just Changed.
By Mark Abramson and John Kamensky
Why Is It So Hard to Cut Federal Spending? Three Popular Ideas That Won’t Fix the Federal Debt
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The Urge to Federalize—and Politicize—Every Local Disaster
By Don Kettl
Tell Me Something Good...
Need some good news in your world? Check this out:
U.S. Mint Releases 2023 Women Quarters Honorees
The American Women Quarters program celebrates the unique stories of heroic women throughout history. This year's collection honors women who made achievements in aviation, the arts, education and human rights. Bessie Coleman, Edith Kanaka'ole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Idar and Maria Tallchief are just a few of those now minted for history.
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