For those planning to be at ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference, March 28-April 1 in Washington, DC, we hope you've been checking the schedule and have seen that a number of special events have been planned. Many of the organizers have provided preliminary descriptions and speakers, which will help you know more about the programs being offered.

Check out the following list, with links to more information, and plan your schedule now.

Friday, March 28

• Deil Wright Symposium (SIAM), 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Chinese Ballroom
• Marc Holzer SPPM Symposium, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., East Ballroom
• Fred Riggs Symposium (SICA), 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Pennsylvania and Rhode Island
• SAPA Symposium, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Senate Ballroom
• SPAE Symposium, 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Georgia

• PPMR Symposium, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Senate Ballroom
• Workshop: Embracing Paradox Perspectives, Noon - 4:00 p.m., Chinese Ballroom
• Engaged Research Workshop, 3:30 p.m. - 6:15 p.m., Pennsylvania

• Workshop: Cyberinfrastructure Methods and Security in Public Policy and Administration, 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Palm Court Ballroom

• Workshop: Civics Training and No-Blame Problem Solving, 11:45 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Chinese Ballroom
• SKPA/KAPA Poster Session, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Chinese Ballroom

Election Results Announced

ASPA is pleased to announce the following individuals have been elected to leadership positions for terms beginning in April 2025:

• President-Elect: Roger Hartley
• District I: Roseanne Mirabella
• District II: Thomas H. Stanton
• District III: Donovan Segura
• District IV: Tom Becker
• District V: Miha Vindis
• Student Representative: 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.



BookTalk: The Fragility of Merit: Presidential Power and the Civil Service Under Trump
January 9 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST

Speaker:
J. Edward Kellough, Thomas P. and M. Jean Lauth Professor of Public Affairs, University of Georgia

While the operation and structure of the public workforce is not a matter that is on the minds of most, the consequences for the nature and effectiveness of government are substantial. The Fragility of Merit provides a detailed examination of the importance of a professionally competent and politically neutral public service. Illustrating the fundamental fragility of the federal civil service in the United States and the underlying concept of merit in public employment, Kellough demonstrates how a particular view of presidential power grounded in unitary executive theory was used during Donald Trump’s first term in office. Join us as we hear from Kellough about this release.



More webinars are on their way! Keep your eyes on ASPA newsletters and other publications, or check our website for updated information.

From the Archives
KeepingCurrent: OIRA in the Classroom
Federal regulations set the rules of the road that affect our lives in myriad ways—from providing access to affordable medicine to reducing children’s exposure to harmful toxins. A critical part of designing regulations that work is hearing from the public. The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is taking new steps to make it easier for interested members of the public to voice their views in the federal rulemaking process. During this webinar, representatives from OIRA described the rulemaking process and encouraged ASPA members to get involved. (Members only)



Students and New Professionals: Public Communications: Skills, Application, Value
One of the most useful tools at a student or new professional's disposal is the ability to communicate appropriately in public. Whether you're giving a presentation, leading a meeting or having one-on-one dialogues with peers and colleagues, good communication skills are invaluable—and often lead you either to complete success or complete failure. Listen to this webinar and learn more about how to communicate well publicly. (Members only)

ASPA was alerted that Fabienne Maron, long-time staff with IIAS, passed away suddenly at the end of 2024. IIAS and IASIA are longtime partners of ASPA. Fabienne was known by many ASPA members and leaders through her dedicated service to the European Group on Public Administration (EGPA) which, with ASPA, hosts the Transatlantic Dialogue (TAD). She was a leading force in TAD's development and execution, as well as so many other programs.

Fabienne was a friend to many of us: current and former elected ASPA leaders, executive staff, scholars and students. She was a familiar face at partner events around the world. She will be missed.

The following tribute comes from IIAS:

It is with the greatest sorrow that we heard the passing away of our dear colleague and friend Dr. Fabienne Maron on December 30th, 2024. This sad event came as a shock to all of us as we were away on the end of year break. Our greatest regret is that we were not around when she said goodbye.

Fabienne will remain an icon of IIAS. She joined us in 2000 upon graduation with a PhD from UCLouvain. During her 24 year long service with IIAS, she was key to the spectacular development of the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA) as a leading professional network in the continent. The annual EGPA conference has since become the flagship scientific event of IIAS. The establishment of dialogues between EGPA and partner associations in the United States, Central and Eastern Europe and MENA regions is another testimony to her commitment to the internationalization of EGPA.

Through her career, she has become the go-to person for many people and organizations, amongst others championing the involvement of the younger generation of scholars into EGPA and other IIAS activities. Public administration as an institution was her life, her world. She spent her life disseminating the values of public service and commitment to people’s causes.

Fabienne was the friend of everybody, and the driver of the social bonds wherever she was active.

The IIAS, EGPA and IASIA communities will miss her dearly. The reality of her absence will soon hit hard in the Secretariat where we used to interact with her on a regular basis. 96 Rue du Commerce will never be the same.

To all those who are feeling the sorrow of her demise, we address our most sincere condolences. Yet, as her closest companions, we can't help but feel that we, too, are the ones most in need of such expressions of sympathy. As the dust settles on the shock of her death, we will be communicating about various commemorations including her funerals.

To begin, we would like to open a ledger for colleagues and friends who would like to express their solidarity or remember a moment they shared with her. We welcome messages at [email protected]. Contributions will be published on our website, honoring her life with a virtual wall of remembrance.

May the Soul of Fabienne Rest in Peace. We will cherish her memory by taking the greatest care of the institutions she has helped build.

The country's 39th president died on December 30, 2024 and this week has been dedicated to memorials for him in Atlanta; Plains, Georgia; and Washington, DC.

A public servant at his core, Carter began his career in the Navy, went on to serve as governor for the State of Georgia, became President of the United States and then a humanitarian and peacemaker for more than 40 years. Whether one agreed with him politically, he was a man ahead of his time and a model of civility and service throughout his life. ASPA honors this impressive life of service.

Rather than offering our own tribute, the following are a brief list of articles and tributes others have provided.

A Look Back at Jimmy Carter's Presidency

Jimmy Carter, Architect of the Last Major Civil Service Reform, Dies at 100

"A Domineering Governor": Jimmy Carter's Experience Running Georgia

As Carter Lies in State, Visitors Pay Homage: "An Honor to Witness"

U.S. Leaders Honor Former President Jimmy Carter's Legacy of Service and Citizenship

Jimmy Carter’s Funeral Begins by Tracing 100 Years from Rural Georgia to the World Stage

Jimmy Carter, Peacemaking President amid Crises, Is Dead at 100

In Photos: Jimmy Carter Lies in State in D.C.

Next Week: A Fun Online Networking Opportunity!

ASPA is pleased to invite you to a special event taking place January 16 from 1-2 p.m. EST: A special webinar looking at the digital tools at work within public administration and public service. Of course, AI will be on the agenda—as well as other popular tools that are in use across the sector. We’ll talk about the tools, the fun ways to use them, guidelines and guardrails to keep in mind… and whatever else comes to mind!

This special event will feature a brief (15 minute) presentation from one of our experts on the subject, Alan Shark, and some opportunities for you to talk one-on-one with fellow colleagues about this topic, what tools you’re using and why all of this matters to you!

We’ll provide a special link to access this event to those who are interested in receiving it. Email us to be added to the calendar invitation, which will be updated with a web link soon.

Event: ASPA Chats! AI in Public Service
Date: Thursday, January 16
Time: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST
Where: Online
Cost: Free
Who Can Attend?: Open to all who are interested

We look forward to seeing you online on January 16!

PS: Looking for more content like this? Plan to be at the 2025 Annual Conference where you'll get five days of presentations digging into this and similar topics!

Advertise with ASPA!

Did you know you can advertise your organization's services, university's schools, nonprofit's resources or professional services in ASPA publications? Did you also know the beginning of the year is a great time to line up commitments? ASPA's space for 2025 is already being booked and we'd love to book your listing too!

ASPA hosts advertising opportunities all year long, providing those looking to expand their brand with a variety of ways to do so, targeting all corners of ASPA's audiences. From a single website placement to a long-term ad in this newsletter and more, there are so many opportunities to use ASPA's media to promote your brand. Exposure is broad: Each placement will reach more than 3,000 people (30,000 for web placements) with a viewership that updates weekly. Your brand placement will never get stale in ASPA media! Options include:

• PA Times Online Email and Website
  Distributed via email to 12,000 people per edition with a 37 percent open rate
  85 percent of website viewers are new
  Email and web placement: $2,150 per month
  Purchase this pair for six months: $10,000
  
  
• ASPA's Website
  Accessed by 30,000 unique viewers per month
  82 percent of viewers are new
  Side navigation placement: $2,290 per month
  Purchase this for six months: $12,000
  
  
• This Newsletter, Bridge!
  Distributed via email to 15,000 people per edition with a 45 percent open rate
  Ad will be included in the archived version of the edition for long-term exposure
  Top placement: $780 per edition
  Purchase this for six months: $7,500

ASPA's 85th Anniversary: It's Still Going!

ASPA's 85th anniversary continues through April 1 and we're still celebrating through donations to support our mission.

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.

National Civic League Accepting Applications for the All-America City Award

The National Civic League is thrilled to announce that applications are open now for the 2025 All-America City Award! Since 1949, this prestigious award has celebrated communities that harness civic engagement, collaboration, inclusivity and innovation to address local challenges.

This year’s theme, "Strengthening Environmental Sustainability through Inclusive Community Engagement," highlights communities committed to environmental sustainability. The League is looking for communities that actively involve residents, businesses and government stakeholders in efforts to combat climate change and enhance community well-being.

Important dates to remember: Optional letters of intent are due by December 30, 2024, with final applications due by February 27, 2025. In March 2025, 20 finalists will be announced and invited to participate in the second stage of the competition in Denver, Colorado, from June 27-29, 2025. There, communities will present their efforts to a jury of experts for a chance to earn the title of All-America City! Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your community on a national stage!

For more details, download the 2025 application.

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration Special Issues

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration has published a special issue on "Administrative Burdens as a Global Public Management Phenomenon." The special issue's objective was to advance knowledge of administrative burden scholarship, focusing on the Asia Pacific region, while providing insights relevant to challenges around the world. All the articles published in this special issue are available at Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration: Vol 45, No 4. Login details are required to access this link.

The journal also has published a special issue on "Digital Transformation of Government in the Asia Pacific Region." The special issue's objective is to advance knowledge of digital transformation of government, focusing on the Asia Pacific region, while providing insights relevant to challenges around the world. To access this special issue, please visit Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration: Vol 46, No 4. Login details are required to access this link.

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!

Lessons from State and Local Experts
Three state and local experts share lessons they’ll carry forward into 2025: Mallory Bateman, Director of Demographic Research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; Scot Barker, Chief Innovation Officer for Burlington, Vermont; and Michael Gregg, Chief Information Security Officer for North Dakota.

Tips, Resources and the Fun Stuff

Colleges Warn Foreign Students to Get to Campus Before Trump Takes Office
[A] number of schools, including Harvard, U.S.C. and Cornell, are advising their international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald J. Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

The Cost of a Presidential Transition: Who Foots the Bill?
A well-resourced presidential transition enables an incoming administration to prepare for the complex task of governing, appoint key personnel and address immediate national and global challenges from day one. But how much does this crucial endeavor cost and where does this funding come from?

What Space Exploration Teaches Us About Resilience and Leadership
Space exploration lights up the imagination. The idea of a vast, unexplored cosmos full of discovery, adventure and wonder has inspired humans throughout history. Now that space exploration is coming within reach, though, humans must contend with the practicalities of outer space and the resilience needed to survive and thrive outside of Earth’s orbit.

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

• Chinese-Sponsored Hackers Accessed Treasury Documents in "Major Incident"
• Several Pentagon Commands Failed to Keep Good Track of Classified Mobile Devices, Audit Finds
• Agencies Report Over 1,700 AI Use Cases
• Traditional Weather Forecasting Is Slow and Expensive. AI Could Help.
• Legislation to Promote Better Federal Building Security Set to be Signed into Law
• "Ironic": Climate-Driven Sea Level Rise Will Overwhelm Major Oil Ports, Study Shows

• Republican Lawmakers Ask Trump to Kill IRS Direct File
• Looming Cuts Threaten IRS Plans to Keep Growing Workforce and Crack Down on Tax Evasion
• Our Approach to Improper Payments Is Failing; the 2024 Numbers Explain Why

• Stats Show NPO Workforce Took a Beating During COVID
• "This Is Critical": Town Hall Lays Out Plans to Stop Potential Cuts to the Federal Workforce
• House Republicans Seek Details on Federal Telework Agreements with Unions
• Trump’s Executive Action Strategy: Go Ahead, Sue Me
• Federal Employee Groups Prepare to Fend Off Attacks by Trump and Allies
• Republicans Signal Targeted Federal Hiring Surge and Easier Firing as Priorities in the Next Congress
• Trump Names His Planned Nominee for OPM Director
• Biden Finalizes Two Percent Pay Raise for Feds Next Month
• Trump Wants 10 Regulations Eliminated for Each New One Issued. Will It Actually Work?
• OPM CIO Announces Retirement

• Black Student Enrollment at Harvard Law Drops by More Than Half
• SSA Opens Online Application for Core Disability Program

Members in the News

An Open Letter to the Public Administration and Public Management Communities
By Don Kettl

Hold On, Elon and Vivek: Firing Federal Bureaucrats Isn’t the Solution
By Francis Fukuyama

Has Switzerland Built the Best Public Transportation System in the World?
By Don Moynihan

Want to Reform the Federal Government? Start with Career Execs
By Ron Sanders

Tell Me Something Good...

Snowy Owl Influx Excites Birders, Keeps MSP Airport Officials on Alert
An irregular but popular winter visitor is stirring the interest of Minnesota birdwatchers, wildlife specialists and even the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport... The impressive Arctic owl has turned up in above-average wintering numbers in Minnesota and other parts of the United States, including a return to the expanses of MSP.

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:

• NAPA Event: Evidence-Based Solutions for Improving Federal Government Performance
  Washington, DC | January 13
  More details here
  
  
• 2025 COMPA Conference
  Baton Rouge, LA | March 9-12
  Theme: Elevating Public Service through Public Servants
  Call for proposals; register here
  
  
• 2025 ASPA Annual Conference
  Washington, DC | March 28-April 1
  Theme: Not Robots Yet: Keeping Public Servants in Public Service
  Registration is open
  
  
• 2025 NFBPA FORUM
  San Francisco | April 9-13
  Registration is open
  
  
• 33rd NISPAcee Annual Conference
  Bratislava, Slovakia | May 22-24
  Theme: Polycrisis and Multilevel Governance: Impacts, Lessons Learned, Challenges and Opportunities
  Registration is open

• SECM Call for Nominations
  The Section on Emergency and Crisis Management is accepting nominations for its 11th annual dissertation award program, newly renamed the Dr. Louise Comfort Dissertation Award, supporting dissertation research in progress. The award supports research being performed by doctoral candidates who have successfully defended their proposal but have not completed their dissertation, working in the emergency and crisis management area. The winner will be recognized at ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference. Membership in the Section is not required to apply but will be required for award acceptance. All applications are due January 15, 2025. Contact Kaila Witkowski for more information.
  
  The Section also is accepting paper submissions for the William Petak Best Paper Award. The prestigious award is presented annually to the best paper on an emergency management topic delivered at the ASPA Annual Conference, in honor of William Petak, a founder of SECM and a seminal scholar in emergency management. You do not need to be a Section member to submit your work for consideration. The winner will receive a certificate and $200 cash prize. Submissions should be sent via email to Qian Hu no later than February 15, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. (ET). Please include a PDF of your email from ASPA confirming your paper’s acceptance to the conference. Ensure that all required documents are submitted in one email. Documents must be received by the deadline for consideration.
  
  
• Public Budgeting & Finance Call for Papers
  Public Budgeting & Finance (PB&F) invites scholars and practitioners to contribute to a special issue focused on comparative evidence and approaches to public budgeting. They are especially interested in original research manuscripts that explore and provide an analytical treatment of comparative budgeting: theories and practice; budgeting contexts and environments (political, cultural, economic); budgeting for inclusion, accountability and democracy; budgeting for climate risks, adaptability, resilience and community agility; priority-based budgeting; and budgeting for social impact, networked governance and participation. They invite scholars and practitioners to submit abstracts (up to 1,000 words) outlining their research projects to [email protected] no later than January 31, 2025. Completed manuscripts are due no later than October 3, 2025. Manuscripts will be reviewed on an expedited basis and may be in-print or published online as early as December 2025. For questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the editorial team which includes special issue editors Temirlan T. Moldogaziev, Cheol Liu and Ringa Raudla; and PB&F co-editors Craig Johnson and Justin Ross.
  
  
• LGBT Advocacy Alliance Section Announces Call for Nominations
  ASPA's LGBT Advocacy Alliance is excited to announce the 2025 ASPA LGBT Section Call for Nominations. The Section has established five awards: (a) two are research-based (book and journal article), (b) one is for service to the Section, (c) one recognizes contributions to the transgender community and (d) one is a recently adopted award for best dissertation. This award recognizes a dissertation that demonstrates excellence in LGBT research. Nominations for PhD and DPA students will be considered. Please consider nominating a colleague, co-worker, yourself or advocate for one of these awards. The deadline for nominations has been extended to January 31, 2025. Award co-chairs are Lorenda Naylor and Claire Mostel. Please send your nomination to Lorenda Naylor. Publications considered for an award must be published during 2024.
  
  
• SPALR Awards Call for Nominations
  The Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations is accepting nominations for several awards:
  Outstanding Practitioner Award: given in recognition of a practitioner in the field of public personnel administration who has made significant and notable contributions to the field.
  Jonathan West Outstanding Scholar Award: given in recognition of a scholar who has made substantial contributions to the academic literature in the field of public personnel administration.
  Dissertation Award*: given to recognize an outstanding dissertation in the field of public personnel administration completed the preceding year (2024). (*As agreed to during the 2024 business meeting, the dissertation award will be selected by a committee beginning with the 2025 award.) Please note that nominators will be asked to upload a digital copy of the dissertation.
  Stephen E. Condrey Service to the Section Award: given in recognition of the member who has made significant contributions to the Section during the preceding year.
  Mary Guy SPALR Lifetime Impact Award: given in recognition of the member who has made significant contributions to the Section throughout their career.
  Outstanding Book Award: given to recognize a book, published in the preceding year, that has made a significant contribution to the field of public personnel administration.
  Click here to submit a nomination. All nominations are due January 31. Contact Jerrell Coggburn with questions.
  
  
• NFBPA Forum 2025 Scholarship Program Open
  The National Forum of Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) has announced it has opened its Forum 2025 Scholarship Program. Those interested in attending this spring's Forum and applying for a scholarship may do so now. This initiative seeks to honor exceptional scholarship and leadership among African American and minority students currently pursuing full-time education at accredited, traditional four-year colleges or universities, with a preference for those attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), particularly those engaged in public service. NFBPA provides several scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students through its partnerships with corporate supporters, public sector organizations and individual contributors. Apply online now. All applications are due by February 10, 2025. Contact NFBPA via [email protected] with any questions.
  
  
• SASPA Announces Calls for Nominations
  ASPA's South Asian Section for Public Administration has announced calls for nominations for three awards:
  2025 Krishna K. Tummala Award for Emerging Scholars: This award is named in honor of Professor Krishna Tummala, emeritus professor of political science at Kansas State University. Tummala served as director of the MPA program from 1988 to 2011 and is internationally recognized for his scholarship on corruption and comparative public administration. His distinguished contributions have been recognized through accolades such as the Paul H. Appleby Distinguished Service Award from IIPA and the Fred Riggs Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in Comparative and International Administration. Tummala remains an active scholar and mentor in the field. Nominations are due February 15, 2025.
  
  2025 Sh. Jai Mangal Paswan Early Career Practitioner Award: The award is named after Sh. Jai Mangal Paswan, chief engineer from the Indian Engineering Services, 1978 Batch, Government of India. Sh. Jai Mangal Paswan graduated with a B. Tech degree from Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, Bihar, and was the first engineer from his village (Sitamarhi, Bihar). He was a first-generation officer from Sitamarhi district of Bihar, India to serve as the deputy director general (coordination), Government of India. He pursued an MBA from the faculty of management studies (FMS), University of Delhi. He worked on the intelligence bureau headquarters project by the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was involved with the border security force, border fencing and lightning project in the Jaisalmer district. He served the Government of India for 38 years before retiring in 2016. During his life, he contributed immensely toward the development of society by guiding young officers and service aspirants. He was a tremendous source of inspiration for the people of his village and his family. Nominations are due March 15, 2025.
  
  SASPA Inaugural Student Scholarship Award 2025: This scholarship is dedicated to supporting and celebrating South Asian students whose work demonstrates exceptional promise of advancing within the field of public administration. The award aims to recognize emerging scholars with a $250 cash prize. The goal is to help students bear the cost of attending ASPA's Annual Conference. Nominations are due February 15, 2025.
  
  Contact [email protected] with any questions.
  
  
• SNP Best Paper Award Call for Nominations
  ASPA's Section on Nonprofits (SNP) is pleased to seek nominations for its Best Paper Award. This award is granted annually to scholarly work that contributes to our understanding of nonprofit and philanthropic research and practice recognizing the interdisciplinarity of the field and its relationship to public administration, policy or other relevant literature. Author(s) of the selected award will be honored during SNP's business meeting at the 2025 Annual Conference. The award comes with one $500 stipend. Nominations should be submitted to Seongho An by February 15, 2025.
  
  2025 Travel Scholarship
  The Section also will award two travel scholarships for expenses for ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference. Award selection will be made based on a committee review of the timeliness and impact of the proposed nonprofit research. You must be a student presenting research at the conference and have a paper or poster approved for presentation to be considered for this scholarship. Interested parties must apply by February 15, 2025. Submit your completed application to Alisa Moldavanova.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• PMM Special Issue Call for Papers
  Public Money and Management announces a special issue: The Politics and Management of Policing. The policing of society is a core feature of the modern state, lying at the heart of relationships between citizens and the state, with questions of legitimacy, equity, power, authority, governance as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational performance as central matters of interest. Policing has some distinctive features, yet also offers insights to other public services. While police organizations are of particular scholarly and professional interest, the analysis of policing may include other groups, organizations and institutions concerned with order and safety in society, hence the focus is on policing not only police. With many countries contemplating or implementing reforms to police organizations, this topic is of wide interest to both academics and practitioners. The audience for readers of this themed issue is an interdisciplinary and broadly defined community of academics and professionals who share an interest in the research of policing, law enforcement and the provision of public safety from an organizational, managerial, governance and/or public policy analysis perspective. Editors invite articles exploring questions of policing and public management, for example concerning the legitimacy, equity, power, authority, governance and organizational performance in policing; the analysis of organizational functions such as strategic planning, human resource management, budgeting and evaluation, coordination of operations, control of accountability of policing, cooperation with public and private partners; whether and how policing is value-creating or value-destroying in different settings and social environments; changing roles and expectations of police at points of political and societal change and/or stress and austerity; comparative analysis of policing values, operations, consequences in or across different locales; political governance systems and their implications for the provision of an effective, fair and accountable police service—in both its ideal forms and its practical manifestations—for policing. All submissions are due June 16, 2025. 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!)

• AI Elephants in the Room: Power and Water
  By Barbara L. Neuby
  
  
• Ethical Leadership, Trustworthiness and the Bureaucratic State
  By Stephen M. King
  
  
• Navigating Land Use Acknowledgement
  By Tanya Settles