ASPA is excited to welcome everyone to Washington, DC next March—especially our members, who currently can receive a special registration discount!

Through Monday, October 14, at midnight (eastern), members pay only $429 to register for the entire five-day event.*

Take advantage of this special opportunity for this discounted registration rate demonstrating how much we value our members' ongoing support and participation. This rate will not return; beginning October 15, member rates will increase to $449 for members and nonmember rates will be $559. Student and new professional member rates are available any time. A full schedule of rates appears online now.

This five-day event will include:

• More than 150 concurrent sessions
• Fourteen presidential panels and plenary addresses
• Eight symposia
• Three workshops
• Opening Reception
• Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Luncheon
• SWPA National Awards Breakfast

ASPA Slate of Nominees Announced

We are pleased to announce that ASPA's Nominating Committee has placed the following individuals on this year's election ballot. Those standing for election are:

President-Elect

• Michael Ahn
• Agatha Caraballo
• Jeremy Hall
• Roger Hartley

• Roseanne Mirabella
• Malcolm Oliver (incumbent)

• Saltanat Liebert
• Thomas Stanton (incumbent)

• Seraphin Bernard
• Brett Johnson
• Donovan Segura
• Tomicka Williams

• Thomas Becker (incumbent)

• Joel Vallett
• Miha Vindis

• Christopher Bellingham
• Linda Nathan

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.



KeepingCurrent: Balancing Response and Reserves—Allocation of Resources in Crisis Situations
October 10 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT

Speaker:
Amy Forsyth, Journalist

Following ASPA's 2024 conference, which centered around building resilience in communities, particularly in the wake of environmental disasters, we are happy to host Amy Forsythe to engage in conversation around the importance of balancing finite budgets and resources. Forsythe will look at cases such as Alaska, California and others, each with the unique challenge of responding to disasters as they arise (flooding, wildfires, earthquakes and more). Often, those responses take place while also maintaining resources and planning for large-scale disaster situations such attacks from foreign bodies and global warming consequences, particularly related to military resources and deployment.




KeepingCurrent: The Impact of AI on the 2024 Election
October 17 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT

Speaker:
Lee Rainie, Director of Internet and Technology Research, Pew Research Center

More than 75 percent of Americans fear artificial intelligence abuses will affect the 2024 presidential election. Many are not confident they can detect faked photos, videos or audio. Seventy-eight percent of Americans expect AI will be used to manipulate social media, create fake information and convince people not to vote in this year’s election. About 70 percent think most voters are unable to detect fake content and nearly half doubt their own abilities to spot digitally altered media. Those are some of the findings of a national survey on AI & Politics conducted April 19-21, 2024, by the Imagining the Digital Future Center and the Elon University Poll. All are welcome to join what promises to be an engaging presentation of these contemporary statistics in light of the upcoming 2024 election!




KeepingCurrent: Measuring Equity
October 29 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT

Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance and Frederickson Center for Social Equity

Speakers:
Katherine Barrett, Moderator, Chair, H. George Frederickson Center for Social Equity and Principle, Barrett and Greene, Inc.
Richard Greene, Moderator, Chair, Center for Accountability and Performance, and Principle, Barrett and Greene, Inc.
Michael Jacobson, Deputy Director, Performance and Strategy, King County Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget
Jennifer McGuirk, Auditor, Multnomah County
Krystal Reyes, Chief Resilience Officer, Tulsa Oklahoma
Sarah Treuhaft, Senior Director of Policy and Partnerships, Institute on Race Power and Political Economy at the New School

The phrase “what gets measured gets managed” may have dubious origins, but clearly it is fundamentally true. With that in mind, as many states and localities endeavor to create a more equitable environment for service delivery, government workforce and the treatment of residents generally, it is critical that we develop approaches to measuring success or failure in this realm. With that in mind, ASPA's new H. George Frederickson Center for Social Equity is joining forces with its long-standing Center for Accountability and Performance to produce a provocative, informative webinar focusing on the ways equity can and should be measured in the public sector and the challenges that effort presents.




From the Archives
KeepingCurrent: Peer-Reviewed Journals: Publishing from the Practitioner Perspective
Public administration practitioners can and should publish in peer-reviewed journals. It increases the credibility of their first-hand knowledge, the credibility of the practitioner as an expert and adds their experience to the permanent, searchable body of knowledge. It also strengthens journals by making them more credible and relevant. This webinar explored this topic including journal editors' perspectives. (Members only)



Students and New Professionals: Persuasive Presentations: The Art of Effectively Conveying Research Results
This webinar provided attendees with different tactics to get more comfortable with presenting your research—especially if they’re of a scientific nature—to a variety of audiences. Whatever your level of presentation skills, this webinar provided great pointers! (Members only)

Annual Awards Program Opens Nominations Form

ASPA’s annual awards program has opened its call for nominations. Now through November 8, you may nominate someone (including yourself!) to be recognized by ASPA and its members as one of public administration's most dedicated public servants.

• Do you know a current or former city official who has dedicated themselves to the public good?
• Do you know an unsung scholar who produces excellent research?
• Do you know a public official who has stood up for equity and integrity in government?
• Do you know someone who has bridged the academic/practitioner divide and encouraged best practices as a result?
• Do you know someone who is all-around excellent?

Of course you do!

Make the most of this opportunity to nominate them to be recognized for their efforts this March during ASPA’s 2025 Annual Conference! More than 20 awards honor a variety of practitioners and scholars who advance excellence in public service at all levels. Just some of the awards categories for which one can be nominated include:

• National Public Service Award
• Nesta M. Gallas Award
• Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award
• Public Integrity Award
• Elmer B. Staats Lifetime Achievement Award
• Paul P. Van Riper Award
• Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award
• Walter W. Mode Scholarship
• Wallace O. Keene ASPA Conference Scholarship

This is an abbreviated list; find all of our categories online here. Please also be aware that the nominee does not have to be an ASPA member to be considered for all categories. City managers, local government service providers, public health advocates, nonprofit executives, organizations and more are eligible and our committees look forward to considering a wide range of nominees. Review the criteria for each award and think carefully about who you will nominate.

Every year more than 30 public servants are recognized by ASPA as exemplifying the best of public administration, but only those who are nominated can be considered! Review ASPA's awards program details and begin work on your nomination today.

All awards submissions are due November 8, 2024.

ASPA Student and New Professionals Webinar Series Planned for Fall/Winter

ASPA has started hosting a series of webinars geared toward our student and new professionals for this fall, taking place each month between now and February 2025. These events—free for all to attend!—will help students and recent graduates with career development skills and strategies.

The following webinars will be scheduled shortly; full details will be added to our website as soon as they're available.

In the works:
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Financial Literacy
Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution
Future Planning for a Career in Public Service

These events are planned for students and recent graduates but anyone may attend. As is the case with all of ASPA's webinars, these events are free for live participation; members automatically receive access to our webinar archive to view the programs after the events have concluded. Keep reading this newsletter (and other ASPA emails!) and register for any of the events that are of interest as links are provided.

We look forward to seeing our student and new professional members online!

No-Blame Problem-Solving Materials Available for Access

If you missed our webinar earlier this fall providing hands-on civics training ("No-Blame Problem Solving"), there's good news: The Citizens Campaign has designed a special set of materials for ASPA members to use any time!

As citizens, you know you have the right to vote and the right to protest—but you probably don’t know that you have new 21st century rights and powers that let you get in the game of government problem solving. This leadership training program teaches you how to solve problems in your community and across the country, empowering you and your fellow citizens to get results on the issues you care about. You don’t have to sit on the sidelines waiting to react. You can become a “citizen leader” on the frontlines of government decisionmaking.

This isn’t the civics your parents and grandparents studied. It’s active, practitioner-informed leadership training, employing a powerful no-blame approach. Attendees will finish this program and receive a certificate demonstrating knowledge and skills gained during this hands-on workshop.

Find the materials online here. Once you have completed the program, The Citizens Campaign will send you your certificate.

Interested in participating in this program in person? We will host it again, next time at ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference. Add it to your conference registration (it's free!) and join fellow conference attendees to complete the training together on Monday, March 30!

ASPA Celebrates 85th Anniversary All Year

In case you have missed it so far, ASPA is celebrating our 85th anniversary all year long! No small feat for any nonprofit association, it is a real cause for celebration for ASPA and we hope you'll join us.

Our field has faced enormous change and challenge since our founding in 1939. Yet we have remained steadfast in our mission of advancing excellence in public service. Indeed, we have an important story to tell. We are an association on strong financial footing, conducting a robust program of in-person and virtual events that matter. We are home to the top-rated journal in our field. We are redefining membership in a way that attracts a growing number of practitioners. And, we make tangible investments in the development of our student and new professional members.

We do all of this with a small but dedicated staff committed to excellence. As you interact with our staff and volunteer leaders throughout this year, we ask you to think about the resources it takes to provide those connections and invite you to participate in our 85-for-85 campaign.

Please consider making a special donation in some denomination of $85 to honor our history and accomplishments... and position ASPA well for the next 85 years.

Make your donation on our website any time (log in information is required; contact us for your details) and know that not only are you supporting ASPA now, but also that you will be on the front lines ensuring that ASPA will be sending messages like this one to future generations of professionals dedicated to the public good.

Use our website now or contact us for help setting up your donation. Monthly payment plans are available!

Thank you for celebrating our 85th anniversary and supporting the future of public service.

FIU Research Workshop: Cyberinfrastructure Methods and Security in Public Policy and Administration

FIU will be hosting a two-part research workshop, including during ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference, bringing together public policy and administration students and scholars to explore cyberinfrastructure methods and cybersecurity questions. Cyberinfrastructure refers to the digital infrastructure based upon distributed computer, information and communication technology. High performance computing (HPC) has enabled new algorithms based on AI techniques (including machine learning methods) that can analyze big administrative data to answer questions that had previously been unapproachable. At the same time, security concerns have escalated across public agencies, especially in the post-COVID era. Workshop planners invite public policy and administration researchers who are broadly interested in using data science and machine learning methods; employing HPCs to manipulate large data sets (especially administrative); using natural language processing (NLP) methods; and examining cybersecurity topics.

This workshop is open to all public policy and administration scholars; sponsorships are available for scholars who are affiliated with American institutions (educational, research, nonprofit or government organizations). Organizers will select applications that have a close relationship with the above four themes. Scholars should be willing to attend events associated with the workshop. Those affiliated with non-American entities are welcome to participate, but will not be eligible for funding support.

The workshop will include two events:
(i) Virtual Learning Workshop (January 31, by Zoom, 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. EST): Participants will present research questions and methods, along with any preliminary analyses. We will discuss the papers in peer groups, facilitated by instructors.
(ii) ASPA 2025 Conference Workshop (March 30, Washington, DC): Participants will present their final papers. We plan to have a special issue in Public Administration Quarterly related to these papers, but participants are free to submit to any journal in the field. Acknowledgement of funding is expected with the journal papers.

Application Process: Please submit the Qualtrics application available here. Applications received by October 1, 2024 will receive priority consideration. Organizers will announce selected applicants by October 31, 2024. The FIU faculty in charge are Sukumar Ganapati, Shaoming Cheng and Howard Frank.

The workshop is organized as a part of the National Science Foundation sponsored “Advanced Cyber Infrastructure Training in Policy Informatics” (Award #1924154). Consistent with the project, the research workshop’s objective is to increase public administration and policy scholars’ capacity with cyberinfrastructure skills. Hence, the project will cover the ASPA 2025 Conference registration costs and include a $300 gift card payment for participation in the workshop and conference panel. If there are multiple authors, funding will be given to one presenting co-author. Contact Sukumar Ganapati with questions.

Public Integrity: New Article Collection Available

Public Integrity and publisher Taylor & Francis are pleased to announce that a new special issue, "Qualitative Methods as Liberatory Tools" is available now in front of the paywall to read and download for a limited time!

Guest Editors Staci M. Zavattaro and Ashley E. Nickels bring together papers designed to expand knowledge in public administration and policy and break out of potentially hegemonic strongholds. The authors in the collection explore topics such as power dynamics, social equity, advocacy and activism, and narrative dominance. The articles also can introduce readers to potentially new-to-them methods such as diary design, Afrofuturism and critical discourse analysis.

Public Integrity Seeks New Associate Editors

With rising numbers of article submissions, Public Integrity continues to look for additional associate editors to join its team. Primarily, PI’s associate editors work closely with Editor in Chief Sue Neal to manage the review process for journal submissions. Additionally, associate editors have the opportunity to participate in journal strategy and represent the journal at conferences. PI welcomes academics at all levels of their professional journey for consideration as possible associate editors. This is an excellent opportunity to provide service and stay abreast of the latest research in the field of public ethics and integrity.

If you are interested in being considered for this opportunity, please send your CV and write a short email outlining your experience with academic publishing to Sue Neal.

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!

Resources for Communities Following Natural Disasters
Recent natural disasters have significantly impacted communities and their educational institutions. Since 2017, there have been more than 500 presidentially declared major disasters across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and U.S. outlying areas. The U.S. Department of Education closely follows the impacts of natural disasters on students, educators, staff, families and others.

Tips, Resources and the Fun Stuff

Why We Shouldn’t Romanticize Failure
We expect people will learn from their setbacks. New research suggests the truth is more complicated.

Federal Employees Face Biggest Hike in Health Care Premiums in Over a Decade
Health care premiums will spike for federal employees next year. Employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program will see an average increase of 13.5 percent on their premiums for 2025. That is nearly double last year’s increase of 7.7 percent and is the biggest increase in well over a decade.

The Peaceful Transfer of Power Starts Now
Why we need to talk about election anxiety in the federal workplace.

Misinformation Has Surged Following Hurricane Helene. Here's a Fact Check.
As recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene continue across the southeastern U.S., federal and state officials have warned that misinformation and conspiracy theories are hindering efforts to provide aid and accurate information to victims. Misinformation often surges following major weather disasters, but with Hurricane Helene hitting several battleground states just weeks before a tightly contested election, the spread of false claims has accelerated. Here are four fact-checks on the main claims about Helene recovery efforts.

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

• Federal Agencies Have Deployed 3,600 Employees in Helene Response
• Supreme Court Clears Way for Biden Limits on Methane and Mercury Pollution
• Exclusive-Conservative Think Tank Targeting NASA Employees’ Communications About Musk, Trump
• Commerce Launches Initial Phase of Its Space Traffic Coordination System
• GSA's Identity Service on Track to Meet Key Standards, Program Director Says
• IRS Direct File to be Available in 24 States Next Year
• In Landmark Move, EPA Requires Removal of All U.S. Lead Pipes in a Decade

• FBI’s Carahsoft Raid Tied to Years of Price Fixing Allegations with Other Vendors
• OMB Releases AI Procurement Guidelines
• Port Union Agrees to Suspend Strike
• OMB Needs to Provide Public Details on Its Plan to Finish Federal Programs Inventory, GAO Says
• U.S. Deficit Hits $1.8 Trillion As Interest Costs Rise

• Why Do Employees Want to Be Feds? Benefits Are a Big Reason
• An Exodus of Agents Left the Secret Service Unprepared for 2024
• MSPB Nearing Full Elimination of Five-Year Appeals Backlog
• SBA’s Inspector General Will Serve Double Duty in Acting Social Security Role
• "All Hands on Deck:" From Hawaii to Texas, FEMA Employees Pitch in on Helene Response
• USPS Makes Its Pitch to Again Slow Delivery for Some Mail

• Social Isolation Could Be a Factor in Why More Older Men Are Dying from Extreme Heat
• USDA Wraps Equity Commission, Vows to Continue Work
• Four Practices Critical to Retaining Workers with Disabilities: EEOC

Members in the News

The Campaign and Federalism: Big Talk and Empty Promises
By Don Kettl

Tell Me Something Good...

USPS Employees in Hurricane-Ravaged Areas Deal with Loss—and Still Make Their Deliveries
Postal workers are navigating downed power lines, fallen trees, sinkholes and their own tragic circumstances as they carry mail for devastated communities. When Hurricane Helene touched down in Asheville, North Carolina, last month, Shawntane Duckworth stepped outside and into the storm. So many trees were falling onto her apartment building—more than three-dozen ended up falling on the property grounds—it felt unsafe to stay inside. The next day, however, Duckworth headed into work—a post office, where she serves as a letter carrier, to deliver mail. There was not much to do when she arrived at the powerless facility. She put on her headlamp and began sorting the mail for delivery, though no carriers went out on their routes that day.

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 Vietnam Symposium on Leadership
  Theme: "Shaping Regional Development: International Insights and Practices from Urban and Public Management"
  Hanoi, Vietnam | October 29-30
  Registration is open
  
  
• 2024 NECoPA
  Co-hosted by Pace University and Baruch College, CUNY
  New York | November 1-2
  Theme: Building a Flexible Public Service through Innovation and Collaboration
  Call for proposals; registration is open
  
  
• 2025 ASPA Annual Conference
  Washington, DC | March 28-April 1
  Theme: Not Robots Yet: Keeping Public Servants in Public Service
  Call for proposals
  
  
• 2025 NFBPA FORUM
  San Francisco | April 9-13
  Registration is open

• Call for Papers—Financial Accountability and Management
  Financial Accountability and Management Journal seeks to gather scholarly perspectives from different countries and sectors on key questions related to changing modes of coordination between public sector organizations and their implications for public sector accounting, audit, budgeting and financial management practices and processes. This special issue seeks articles that focus on advancing our theoretical and empirical understanding of these crucial, yet under-researched themes, such as vertical funding allocations to local governments, financial sustainability and resilience implications of the reassignment of public services and tasks in vertical settings, the administrative burden caused by vertical settings in the public sector, and etc. A workshop will be held at Cardiff University, Wales, UK, on July 7-8, 2025, hosted by the Public Sector Accounting, Finance and Taxation Research Group (PACCFINTAX) at Cardiff Business School. Authors wishing to present at the workshop should submit a paper proposal (maximum two pages in length) to Dennis De Widt by January 31, 2025. The deadline for submission of full papers via the journal’s online platform is October 31, 2025. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Call for Papers—SDGs: International Journal of Public Administration
  International Journal of Public Administration seeks manuscripts that intend to deepen the various dimensions relevant to sustainable development goals (SDGs), strictly linked to sustainability and digital transformation, and the relationship between social, economic and environmental value. In this view, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, constitutes a global governance plan of action proposing a roadmap for national, regional and local governments, as well as private sector organizations, to navigate the major social, environmental and economic challenges. These are resumed in 17 SDGs, which affect five critical areas, including people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The key principle behind submissions should be a mind-blowing and provoking approach able to stimulate the needed changes in the evolutionary landscape of the public sector widely intended, and about the way(s) through public value can be created in the coming years under the polar star represented by the UN SDGs and relating it to the two main areas of sustainability and digitalization. All proposals are due November 1. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Call for Papers—Smart Government: International Journal of Public Administration
  International Journal of Public Administration seeks manuscripts that address the pressing need for advancing theoretical frameworks with sound empirical studies that investigate the research gaps in algorithmic bureaucracy across diverse administrative contexts and regimes. The objective is to motivate finer-grained theoretical models and empirical analyses examining bureaucracy and digital reforms in the AI and smart government era. We aim to explore the bidirectional relationship between bureaucracy and AI implementation across various institutional contexts using international and comparative perspectives. This special issue welcomes studies that provide clarity in either direction to contribute to strong theoretical and empirical research on bureaucracy and AI reforms. Proposals are due November 15. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Special Issue: Public Budgeting and Finance—Adversarial Collaborations in Public Budgeting and Finance
  Adversarial collaboration, an approach proposed by Nobel Prize Laureate Daniel Kahneman, is a method for resolving scientific disputes that arise from conflicting theoretical or ideological views. Authors or teams with opposing views work together on a research project to enhance or clarify understanding of a disputed knowledge area in a mutually satisfying manner. The project is designed to eliminate clear biases or weaknesses that could skew the conclusions. The participation of adversaries throughout the study ensures shared accountability and careful communication of the research. Furthermore, there's typically a pre-commitment to publish the results, irrespective of the findings. Despite their potential, adversarial collaborations aren't as prevalent as other open science innovations aimed at enhancing credibility through transparency, like data sharing, open materials and study preregistration. Public Budgeting & Finance intends to address this shortfall with a special issue (set for late 2026 or early 2027) focused on publishing and recognizing adversarial collaborations. This initiative is open to all topics relevant to public finances. Proposed projects will be evaluated and accepted on a rolling basis through May 2025. Accepted proposals are expected to complete manuscripts by April 1, 2026. Selected teams will be invited to present results at a special conference or dedicated session on the theme of Adversarial Collaborations in Public Finance, and travel funding will be extended to invitees. For more information, contact co-editors-in-Chief Craig Johnson and Justin Ross. Click here for more information.
  
  
• ABFM Announces Annual Award Honorees
  Congratulations to ABFM's 2024 award honorees, who will receive their awards this fall at the Section's 2024 conference. Bob Bland will receive the Aaron Wildavsky Award; Marilyn Rubin will receive the Paul Posner Pracademic Award; Shayne Kavanagh will receive the S. Kenneth Howard Award; Peter Jones will receive the Scholarly Engagement Award; Luis Navarro will receive the Michael Curro Award; and George M. Guess and James D. Savage will receive the Best Book Award. Click here for more information.
  
  

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!)

• The Role of Public Administration in Zambia’s Drought Crisis
  By Noah Ndhlovu
  
  
• External Toxic Manipulative Leadership
  By Ygnacio “Nash” Flores
  
  
• When Local Elected Officials Advocate for Professional Management
  By Michael R. Ford