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ASPA Announces 2022 Annual Conference, Call for Proposals
ASPA is pleased to announce that its 2022 Annual Conference will take place March 18-22 in person in Jacksonville, Florida—and its call for proposals is now open! This year's conference will feature more than 130 panels across seven tracks and will center around the theme, “Democracy under Threat: The Future of Equality in a Post-COVID World.”
The past several years have witnessed emergent and growing threats against both social equality and public health. The gulf between the "haves" and "have nots" is not new but recent decades have seen it widen dramatically, encouraged by economics, partisan politics, racism, sexism and more. Far too often, policies characterized and put forward as benefiting the middle class and poor have, in fact, provided much greater benefit to the most affluent members of society.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened things: Those with the most often have benefited; those with the least often have been the most victimized and fallen further behind. Simultaneously, attacks on democracy and integrity of governance—both in the United States and abroad—have frustrated service delivery, lowered morale, increased burdens and reduced trust in government to an all-time low and further impeded countries’ abilities to combat the pandemic. Where do we go from here?
The questions we are tasked to solve are never ending. Living wage or minimum wage? Universal child care or private systems? Flexible work environments or status quo? Broadband for all or pay to play? Access to health care and at what cost? Fix the bridge or build a road around? Who gets vaccines? Who gets to vote? Most important: Who gets to decide and whose rights and freedoms matter more? Our answers will impact how we define and encourage democracy and equality—and effective public administration as a result.
The 2022 Annual Conference will address the most challenging concerns our society faces right now: Upholding democratic institutions and advancing equality. Practitioners, scholars and students from around the world are encouraged to attend and contribute their research and practice to this critical dialogue. We will need ideas and strategies from a variety of cultures and perspectives to move forward and shore up our threatened systems.
Tracks include:
- Social Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
- Managing for Meaningful Public Service
- Effective and Equitable Public Policy and Service Delivery in an Era of Growing Inequality
- Financial Management and Planning for Uncertainty
- Protecting and Replacing Aging Structures
- Comparative Government and International Administration
- Good Governance and Democracy in an Uncertain Political Environment
All submissions are due by October 29, 2021. Click here to view full track details!
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
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 Students and New Professionals series programming. Members, visit our webinar archives to catch up on what you have missed!
Park University Hauptmann Lecture:
Public Administration's Triple Bottom Line—People, Process and Performance
September 9 | 1 p.m. EDT
Presenters:
Erik Bergrud, Moderator, Chief Strategic Communications Officer, Park University
Mary Guy, Professor, University of Colorado Denver
An annual lecture hosted by Park University, the Hauptmann Lecture has a long and storied history. ASPA is proud to produce this year's lecture online and make it available to all ASPA members to attend. Click here to learn more about the Hauptmann Lecture.
This year's lecture will focus on what Mary Guy calls the "triple bottom line": people, process and performance. In the tradition set forth by Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann, Guy will explore how the triple bottom line reflects stewardship of the common good and advancement of civil society. Guy teaches courses on public administration, public management, organizational behavior, human resource management and leadership and ethics at UC Denver and is a past president of the American Society for Public Administration. She recently was announced as an inaugural co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration. Her teaching and research has focused on the human processes involved in public service delivery. She has written widely about social equity and the emotive demands of street level work, as well as workforce diversity and the difference gender makes in policy development and implementation.
KeepingCurrent: Optimizing 911 and Using Its Data to Enhance and Evaluate First Responder Services
Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
September 22 | 1 p.m. EDT
Presenters:
Brian Aagaard, Research Analyst, RTI Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science
S. Rebecca Neusteter, Executive Director, University of Chicago Health Lab
911 calls for service represent the beginnings of and define virtually every criminal justice and emergency services encounter. Yet this critical area is by far one of the most neglected and least understood. Developing a foundational understanding of these data, and their accompanying opportunities and gaps, will inform a research and programmatic agenda to help elevate equitable crisis response and lay the groundwork to develop, implement and evaluate a larger body of alternatives to police response. Learn more about this issue from two case studies presented by the RTI Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science and the University of Chicago Health Lab.
Recent Webinar Series Motivated by PPMG Special Issue
If you participated in any of ASPA and American University’s recent webinar series looking at the intersection of public administration and the law, take a look at Perspectives on Public Management and Governance's (PPMG) Special Issue on Law & Governance, which is available (open access) for a limited time. The issue’s special editors from the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas note that “understanding what the law is, and how it constrains administrative action, clears the way for inquiry into how administrative actors deploy law to strategically develop and change administrative governance.”
Members interested in viewing the webinar recordings can find them in our archives.
Fall Is the Perfect Time to Join ASPA!
Whether you are in school, know someone who is in school, teach or are not connected to higher education at all, "fall" remains an annual marker of new beginnings for many of us—making it the perfect time to start new professional relationships and (re)join ASPA!
How does ASPA gain new members? You help us! You talk to your friends, recommend us to colleagues, encourage students to start their public administration careers with as many resources as possible and otherwise serve as a walking billboard for the great work ASPA offers that can help advance excellence in public service. (At least, we hope you do!)
We especially encourage professors to promote ASPA to their students as the school year gets started. Now is a great time to encourage new cohorts to broaden their resources and make new connections to forward their careers in public service. We all feel like we lost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic; help your students catch up!
If you need someone else to help you find the words, here’s a video from former Student Representative (and current National Council Representative) Ana-Maria Dimand talking about why she finds membership so valuable.
Whether you are connected to higher education or simply know young public servants and scholars, help us introduce ASPA services and programs to the next generation! We are relying on your help to grow and continue advancing excellence in public service.
Contact us for more information about how you can share details about ASPA membership with your network!
ASPA South Asian Section Launches Website
ASPA's newest Section, the South Asian Section for Public Administration (SASPA), has launched a website to showcase its programming and expertise. SASPA's purpose is to take ASPA's activities and networks to the South Asian region, while simultaneously allowing for South Asian scholars and practitioners to be involved in ASPA activities in the United States. The Section is looking to build a free-flowing professional network of scholars and practitioners in this subject area. Visit their website for more details—and contact us if you would like to join the Section!
Public Integrity Launches New Feature
The editorial team at Public Integrity is excited to announce it has adopted a new feature section: "Vantage Point." The purpose of this section is to encourage the identification and discussion of emerging issues in the field of public sector ethics outside the context of a traditional research manuscript. "Vantage Point" welcomes diverse submissions by individuals engaged in public service as professionals, scholars or students, including:
- commentaries
- reflections on current events and/or happenings within public administration
- notes from the field (e.g., what is happening on the ground; promising practices in public administration; reflections on best and not-so-best practices)
- invited essays
- opinion pieces
- responses to published pieces
- classroom strategies
- reflections and challenges from inside the classroom from the perspective of MPA, DPA and PhD students
Submissions should follow the journal's general submission guidelines and scope and aims. The editorial team encourages shorter pieces (rather than full length articles of about 3000-4000 words) but longer pieces will be considered. When submitting, please be sure to indicate that the piece is being submitted to "Vantage Point" to facilitate timely processing of your manuscript. Manuscripts will undergo a single-blind review process.
Bucharest Summit Catalog Now Available
The Romanian National Institute of Statistics and MediaUno Media Group hosted a summit this past June, “2021 Bucharest Summit: Cooperation for Development,” in which ASPA leadership took part. The catalog from that event is available now for viewing online. A follow-up event, “Building the Post-Pandemic World: The Path to a More Sustainable, Safe and Resilient Society,” will take place this fall. Click here for more information.
Tips and Resources
Study Sessions, Parties and Dorm Life: How College Students Can Minimize COVID Risk on Campus
College students across the nation are back on campus, bracing for another tumultuous semester amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. And as their universities grapple with mask recommendations, vaccine mandates and distancing rules, students are charged with making serious health-related decisions. Health experts have some risk-reduction advice to make those tough calls a little easier.
Does Sunlight through Glass Provide Vitamin D?
You can’t get adequate UVB exposure sitting indoors or in a car.
Sorry, These Retirement Rumors Just Aren’t True
Looking at three retirement myths regarding the Thrift Savings Plan early withdrawal penalty, retiree cost-of-living allowances and the impact of annual pay adjustments on the value of retirement benefits.
Coronavirus in the News
While you can find our usual assortment of news headlines from the past several weeks below, here are stories specific to the coronavirus that are noteworthy.
Infrastructure
Public Finance
Public Service
Social Equity
(Otherwise) 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
ASPA members are in the news in a variety of ways. If you have been featured, please send a link to the article to us and we will be happy to include it in a future newsletter.
The Public Sector Retirement Explosion
By Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene
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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:
Calls for proposals and other updates:
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Florida Chapter Podcast Releases New Episode
The latest podcast, “Public Sector Works” features Paul Scher, the former supervising medical conduct investigator for the New York State Department of Health. Join Scher and podcast hosts Tom Hotz and Ben Paley as they discuss public sector best practices of physician, osteopath and physician assistant licensure regulation, compliance and discipline. Click here to listen to the podcast.
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Call for Proposals: NECoPA 2021
As the nation’s diversity of identities and perspectives continues to increase, public administrators face the continued challenge of including new voices in governing while responding effectively to new public needs and interests. Governments find themselves confronted with growing demands to address historic inequities in policing, education, criminal justice, health care access and exposure to environmental decline. The best solutions to these vexing and complex challenges will require public administrators to not only add diversity to their organizations, but also ensure new voices can be heard, included and adhered to in their decisionmaking processes. As we combat and recover from a global pandemic that fell disproportionately on some communities and exacerbated existing inequalities in our society, including more diverse voices in government will be critical in effectively addressing post-pandemic challenges. How can public administrators ensure the diversity they bring in is reflected in their organizational priorities? How can the field of public administration help identify the practices and strategies best suited for more inclusive decisionmaking? What does a more inclusive public organization look like? Can public organizations increase the number of voices that guide their programs without losing focus or efficiency? When diverse stakeholders disagree on priorities and directions, how should public administrators respond? We solicit panels, papers and posters from work that answers these questions and others related to our central theme, “Responsive Public Service Needs Inclusiveness in a Diverse America.” The proposal deadline has been extended. All proposals are due by September 22, 2021. Click here for more information.
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ABFM Announces Award Honorees
The Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM) announced its 2021 award winners, who will be honored at its Annual Conference this fall in Washington, DC. The Aaron Wildavsky Award for lifetime scholarly achievement in budgeting and financial management will be presented to M. Peter van der Hoek. The S. Kenneth Howard Award to honor lifetime achievement by a practitioner in the field of budgeting and financial management will be presented to Edward Lehan. The Michael Curro Award for the best paper by a graduate student will be presented to John Stavick. The Jesse Burkhead Award for the best article in Volume 40 of Public Budgeting & Finance will be presented to Christian Buerger for his article, "The Influence of Finance Policies on Charter School Supply Decisions in Five States." ABFM also will recognize its 2020 honorees at the ceremony: 2020 Wildavsky Award honoree Merl Hackbart; 2020 Howard Award honoree F. Stevens Redburn; 2020 Curro Award honoree Felipe Lozano-Rojas; and 2020 Burkhead Award honorees Michael Miller and Robert Pavosevich.
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!)
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