Vol.31 No.2 Febuary 2008 - Public Administration Gateway
Transcription
Vol.31 No.2 Febuary 2008 - Public Administration Gateway
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION INSIDE: PA TIMES ACTIVATING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Downsizing of Democracy? 3 The place and purpose of citizens in public life has been the subject of much debate and discussion, fueled in large part by political scientist Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone Hypothesis,” which has focused attention on the relative decline of civic participation in the United States in recent decades. –Christopher J. Koliba Chinese Homeowner Associations: A School of Democracy? 4 Chinese homeowner associations (HOAs) are citizen-initiated and self-governing neighborhood organizations that set goals freely and maintain autonomy from governmental agencies.–Feng Wang, Terry L. Cooper Engaging Communities: Albania as an Example 5 How can citizen participation be encouraged–and useful? Even in “transitional” former communist countries, people with little experience can participate effectively. In Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, real citizen participation was prohibited under the 50-year communist dictatorship. Residents were left mistrustful of government and skeptical about engagement.–Barbara A. Coe A Proposal for a National Service Learning Program 6 With the decline of active citizenship throughout the nation and its communities, revitalization of this civic culture can create a sustainable foundation for continued leadership in altruism, service, and democracy.–Sheri Baxter Insights on Perf. Mgmt. Frederickson Perspective Ethics Moment Where Things Stand 8 11 12 13 ASPA TIMES Newman Elected ASPA VP 15 ASPA Creates Chapter Development Award 15 PA TIMES Announces 15 2007 Best Article Winner President’s Column: Building on a Bold Beginning: Standing Up for Public Administration 16 17 18 19 20 23 24-25 26 For more information on how to be published in PA TIMES, please contact Christine Jewett McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org. FEBRUARY 2008 PA TIMES 31 Years • 1977-2008 A Powerful Voice for Public Service . . . Clinton Answers ASPA’s Questions Society Poses Questions on Bureaucrat Bashing and Public Administration Related Issues to All Presidential Candidates Washington, DC–The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) has sent a series of concerns and questions to all U.S. presidential candidates for their response. In addition to encouraging them to refrain from prejudicial attacks on public servants, the Society has asked them to describe specific initiatives they would take to: • Encourage the best and brightest individuals to pursue careers in public service; • Address the imbalance between contractors and public servants at the federal level; • Promote minimum professional standards for executive administrative positions; and • Inculcate core public service values in the civil service during their presidency. Please note that these responses are the views of the candidate and not necessarily those of ASPA or its members. Sen. Clinton was the first to respond and her views are printed here. Others will be shared as they are received. ASPA Concern 1: A major personnel crisis is said to be developing in government because of expected retirements and quality of worklife issues. Specifically, the combination of a boomer generation getting ready to retire and a government that lacks the incentive structure necessary to attract and retain talented, dedicated servants have created a “quiet crisis” that is now coming to a head. Meredith Newman Elected ASPA VP File Photo ASPA President, Harvey White speaks with NY Senator Hillary Clinton about her support for the U.S. Public Service Academy during a press conference in May of 2007. Question: What steps would you take as President to encourage the best and brightest individuals in the United States of America to pursue public service as a career choice? Clinton: I strongly believe that we will have a federal government that is only as strong as the dedicated people who serve in it. For too long, government service has been denigrated, when it should be commended. That is why I have proposed creating a U.S. Public Service Academy, which would See CLINTON, pg. 2 Organizations Team to Steer Boomers to Government Jobs The Partnership for Public Service and IBM Collaborate to Get Baby Boomers into Mission Critical Government Jobs Washington, DC–The war for talent is hitting the federal government hard, as more than one-third of the full-time permanent federal workforce gets ready to retire or leave in the next five years, according to the Partnership for Public Service at the recent launch of FedExperience Transitions to Government– an initiative to help match government’s critical With few exceptions, efforts to stop the bashing of public servants have not prevailed. Edward J. Curran’s bold presentation on the ABC “This Week” news in 1997 is one of these exceptions.–Harvey L. White ASPA Award Winners New Members Section News ASPA in Brief Public Service Profile Career Center Recruiter VOL. 31 NO. 2 hiring needs with the talents of baby boomers looking for encore careers where they can find interesting and challenging work. At the launch, the Partnership and IBM, a major potential source of talent, announced that they will pilot the Transitions to See JOBS, pg. 2 States Face Homeland Sec. Challenges Meredith Newman has been elected as vice president of the American Society for Public Administration and will assume the position of president in 2010. See interview with Newman on page 15 of this issue. Issue Brief Examines Governance, Policy, Priorities of State Homeland Security Departments Washington, DC–States are working more closely and more effectively with federal agencies than ever before to share information that could prevent terrorist attacks, but their relationship with the federal govern- ment in a number of other key security areas remains a work in progress, according to a new issue brief from the National Governors See HOMELAND SECURITY, pg. 10 PAGE 2 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Clinton First Candidate to Answer ASPA’s Questions From CLINTON, pg. 1 provide a four-year subsidized college education in exchange for a five-year commitment to public service upon graduation. The U.S. Public Service Academy, modeled after the U.S. military academies, would produce a new generation of leaders dedicated to serving their country. I believe that the government must start its recruiting efforts early in order to bring the country’s best and brightest into the federal government. I also support loan forgiveness for public servants. I worked to enact legislation that provided forgiveness for the outstanding balance on student loans after 10 years of public service. In addition, I will work to make government service exciting again by appointing qualified, experienced people to serve. We will not be able to work together to solve our nation’s major problems unless people have restored their faith in government, and that is what I will work to achieve as President. ASPA Concern 2: Almost all presidential candidates during the past 30 years have used negative stereotypes of public employees as a component of their campaign for the White House. These stereotypes portray public servants as loafing, shiftless, bumbling bureaucrats who add little or nothing to our society. This stereotyping has made no distinction between the few disruptive and dysfunctional employees and the hundreds of thousands who serve our nation with distinction daily. The failure to make this distinction has contributed to the generally negative perception citizens have of government and to the difficult experienced in attracting young talented individuals to work in public service. Questions: What will your campaign do to avoid demonizing public servants who serve our nation? And, as president, what will you do to help instill respect for public servants? Clinton: I have fought against efforts by conservatives to denigrate public service. I believe it is part of a concerted strategy to undermine the role of the federal government in providing services and tackling major challenges. Throughout my campaign and my years in public life, I have sent a strong message that public service is important to the success of our country by making investments to recruit talented people into the field and then to train and support them so that they succeed. I will make sure that agencies are adequately funded and staffed so that they are able to achieve their goals; failing to do so is a disregard of the importance of the work of and the people at these agencies. I also have a plan to restore Americans’ confidence, trust and respect in the government. I believe that these reforms, once in place, will instill respect for the government and its public servants. • First, I will permanently ban all Cabinet officials from lobbying my administration once they have left office. When Cabinet officials leave government service, they should not be able to lobby their agency or former employees. • Second, I will extend the whistleblower See CLINTON, pg. 10 Treasury Department Will Pilot PPS, IBM Older Workers Jobs Program From JOBS, pg. 1 Government initiative with the U.S. Department of Treasury. The goal is to identify, recruit and hire interested IBM employees and retirees and match them to key federal government jobs. Nearly 14,000 mission-critical jobs need to be filled at the U.S. Department of Treasury in the next two years, including 7,950 IRS agents and tax examiners. Procurement, IT and accounting positions are also on their “most wanted” job list. Working with AARP, Civic Ventures and other stakeholders, the Partnership and IBM will expand the effort to other agencies and encourage other corporate leaders to join the initiative. For IBM, the pilot program represents the next phase of its new Global Citizen’s Portfolio, a suite of programs to help employees succeed in a globally integrated economy. It will serve as a major step in developing the transition assistance tools and capabilities to aid its employees in pursuing new careers in the government. This program is an expansion of the company’s successful Transition to Teaching initiative, which has been adopted by other companies and governments. At the FedExperience initiative launch, the Partnership released “A Golden Opportunity: Recruiting Baby Boomers Into Government,” a report that lays out the case for, and barriers to, connecting baby boomers with federal job opportunities. The primary recommendation of the report is to create a model for the federal government, which spurred the Transitions to Government pilot project launched today with IBM. Based on a nationwide survey of older workers age 50 to 65, report findings include: • Older, experienced workers are planning to continue working…and for quite a while. Seventy-one percent of workers age 55–59 surveyed reported they plan to work for at least six years; 29 percent, 11 years or more. • Old workers’ skills align with government’s talent needs. Many occupational areas where government currently hires higher percentages of older workers–IT, engineering, legal and accounting–are the same areas in which federal agencies say they will have mission critical openings. • Older workers are interested in government service. Fifty-three percent of older workers surveyed are at least somewhat interested in federal government work–of those, 26 percent are extremely or very interested. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed agree “there are good jobs for people like me in the federal government.” PA TIMES Volume 31, Number 2 February 2008 PA TIMES is a tabloid newspaper published 12 times a year by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), a not-for-profit corporation. Advertising and subscription information appear in the box to the right. ©2008 American Society for Public Administration 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Ste. 840, Washington, DC 20004 (703) 209-0560 (phone) (703) 991-4916 (fax) patimes@aspanet.org (e-mail) On the Internet: http://www.aspanet.org Editor-in-Chief: Antoinette Samuel, ASPA Executive Director Managing Editor: Christine Jewett McCrehin Editorial Board: Russell Williams (2004-09), chair; Wilett Bunton (2007-08); Mary Clark (2006-08); Jonathan Justice (2003-08), Mary Kweit (2005-08), Arthuretta Martin (200608), Saundra Reinke (2005-09), Robert W. Smith (2005-08), William E. Solomon (2003-08), Dwight Vick (2007-09). * Note: Board member terms listed in parentheses. Subscriptions: PA TIMES is published monthly, 12 issues per year. Domestic subscriptions are available at $50 per year first class delivery. Foreign subscriptions are $75 per year international air delivery. (Subscriptions must be prepaid, U.S. dollars). Contact Matt Rankin at mrankin@aspanet.org. Single Copies: of PA TIMES are available for $1.50 each (1-10) and 75¢ each (over 10). Contact Matt Rankin at mrankin@aspanet.org. Reprint Requests: Contact Christine Jewett McCrehin cjewett@aspanet.org. Article Submission/Author Guidelines: Contact Christine Jewett McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org. • Experienced workers who enter government service like it. Most experienced workers who recently entered government in mid and senior-level positions prefer federal service to their previous jobs. The report flags five key barriers the federal government must address in order to successfully tap older, experienced workers to fill mission critical job openings. The barriers include: • Lack of knowledge. Only 11 percent of older Americans are knowledgeable about government job opportunities. • Negative Perceptions. Sixty-six percent of respondents believe the federal government is ineffective in solving problems today and helping people. • Isolation. Only 50 percent of federal job openings are open to nongovernment candidates. • A broken hiring process. Fifty-seven percent of older Americans believe the federal government application process is fairly or very difficult compared with other jobs. • Mutual skepticism. Large segments of the federal workforce and new employees coming from outside government are skeptical of one another. The federal government offers many flexibilities of interest to older workers, like flexible work schedules, job sharing, increased vacation time for experienced new hires and teleworking arrangements. Additional facts about government work of interest to the older, experienced job seeker include: • There are jobs for every interest and skill, with more than 2,000 separate job categories at 15 cabinet-level agencies, 20 large and 80 small agencies. • Jobs are available all over the world. About 86 percent of federal jobs are located outside of Washington, DC and close to 50,000 are stationed abroad. Areas with highest number of federal workers include New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Norfolk-Virginia Beach and Los Angeles. • The federal government values diversity. About 17.6 percent of all workers are African-American, 7.6 percent are Hispanic, 5.2 percent are Asian/ Pacific Islanders and 1.9 percent are Native American. For more information visit www.ourpublicservice.org. Advertise in PA TIMES Advertising: PA TIMES features several advertising avenues: Display Advertising is available to announce conferences, educational programs, publications, products, etc. and The Recruiter lists employment opportunities. ASPA reserves the right to edit text to conform with the layout and design of this newspaper. Display Advertising* Full page (10.2” x 13.75”) Half page vertical (5” x 13.75”) Half page horizontal (10.2” x 6.75”) Quarter page (5” x 6.75”) Eighth page (5” x 3.5”) $1050 $660 $660 $440 $220 For Multiple-run Discount Rates, March International Supplement Rates and October Education Supplement Rates, email cjewett@aspanet.org. 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ASPA’s Advertising cancellation policy: Cancellations will be billed full price. Send Display ads and insertion orders to: cjewett@aspanet.org Send Recruiter ads and insertion orders to: recruiter@aspanet.org American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 3 Activating Civic Engagement SPECIAL SECTION Downsizing of Democracy? Christopher J. Koliba The place and purpose of citizens in public life has been the subject of much debate and discussion, fueled in large part by political scientist Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone Hypothesis,” which has focused attention on the relative decline of civic participation in the United States in recent decades. It was Alexis de Toqueville who, benefiting from the lens of a societal outsider, observed and celebrated the associational character of the American polity. The classical view of participatory democracy to emerge out of his initial analysis situates voluntary associations as the proverbial grease for the engines of democracy–serving as spaces where citizens meet to discuss and formulate opinions regarding the public issues of the day and ultimately organizing to exert influence over the political system. Putnam amasses a multitude of statistics to support his argument that American civil society is suffering from severe citizen disengagement. He places the onus of this decline on the citizens themselves, blaming changing work patterns (more women entering the workforce) and increased television viewing as the sources for this decline. It is doubtful that any of this is new to the readers of the PA TIMES. As we collectively consider “revitalizing civic participation,” it is important to note that harkening back to an era of deeper citizen engagement in government needs to be prefaced by a structural reality. A book written in 2002 by Crenson & Ginsberg, titled, Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined Its Citizens and Privatized Its Public, deconstructs this structural reality. Like Putnam, Crenson & Ginsberg are The MARCH 2008 PA TIMES special section is titled: Why a Public Service Academy? There is still space available for advertising and articles. Deadline for both is FEBRUARY 20, 2008 Contact: cjewett@aspanet.org concerned about declining citizen participation, however, they radically depart from Putnam in citing the cause. “The era of the citizen is now coming to an end,” they write in the early pages of their book, adding, “Today, Western governments have found ways of raising armies, collecting taxes, and administering programs that do not require much involvement on the part of ordinary citizens. Despite the nation’s initial democratic exceptionalism, contemporary political elites have substantially marginalized the American mass electorate and have come to rely more and more on the courts and the bureaucracy to get what they want.” …the American political system has shifted from mass mobilization to special interest groups that do not need to rely on a large constituency in order to exact influence. Distinguishing “personal democracy” from “popular democracy,” they explore the ways in which public policy decisions and public administrative systems have evolved into “new techniques of governing,” that “disaggregate the public into a collection of private citizens,” leading them to experience democracy as an increasingly personal rather than collective enterprise. Political reforms designed to increase citizen participation in governance have resulted in citizens acting alone, as individuals, to access the mechanisms of governance. Greater individual access to government has allowed Americans, “to get what they want on their own, without hitching their interests to coalitions of like-minded fellow citizens,” say Crenson & Ginsberg. With the growing tendency to treat citizens as customers, government agencies are retooling their services to place an emphasis on customer service– individualizing the point of contact thereby empowering the individual citizen and doing away with the need for citizens to embark on collective action. The scope of the citizen-turned-customer’s dilemmas become personalized. Not only can citizens-turned-customers access government directly, special interest groups, created to serve collective concerns, do not need to rely on mass mobilization to exert political influence. Throughout the subsequent chapters of their book, Crenson & Ginsberg examine the ways in which the focus of the American political system has shifted from mass mobilization to special interest groups that do not need to rely on a large constituency in order to exact influence. A new generation of “policy entrepreneurs” and “private attorney generals” has evolved, skilled in gaining access to policy makers and manipulating the judicial system in an effort to influence public policy outcomes. As a case in point the authors cite the civil rights movement, which has evolved from a mass mobilization of citizens intent on expanding the rights and privileges of marginalized groups to the narrowed sphere of affirmative action, a policy initiative that has shifted focus to the litigation process. Within the environmental movement, large associations like the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Foundation are membership organizations that generally only require their constituencies to contribute money to support their cause, allowing citizens to delegate the policy battle to professionals who have the skills and access to influence change. As a student of public administrative history, it is difficult to argue with the authors’ assertions regarding the personalizing and essentially privatizing effects that the expansion of access to government and the rise of policy entrepreneurs have wrought on authentic citizen participation. The major flaw with their argument, I believe, lies in Crenson & Ginsberg’s solution to this problem: namely, their continued insistence on the Call for Proposal Reviewers (New ASPA Book Series) ASPA staff is seeking volunteers to help review book proposals for our new book series, ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy. We are now receiving exciting new proposals, and we need input from ASPA members to help ensure that future books meet our members’ needs. At this time, we are especially seeking practitioners to conduct brief, blind and timely preliminary reviews of book proposals. Each review will take about 20 minutes and includes a short feedback form. If you are interested in helping out, please reply to the Series Editor-in-Chief Evan Berman, at berman@LSU.edu. When responding, please include your primary area of expertise. More information about the ASPA book series is available at www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/BookSeriesCall.cfm. Come, please help us out–we want your advice! need for a political elite to mobilize citizens for collective action. Citing a lack of “spontaneous collective action” in modern American history, the authors hearken back to an era when politicians needed the might of the mass mobilization of their constituencies to exert influence. “Citizens become politically engaged because states and political elites need them and mobilize them,” claim Crenson & Ginsberg, adding, “If citizens remain passive, politically indifferent, or preoccupied with private concerns, the reason may be that our political order no longer provides incentives for collective participation in politics…” Crenson & Ginsberg tend to blur the lines between political elites and the larger political order. If it is the political order that deserves our attention, which I believe it does, then we are not left waiting for the next charismatic political leader. to come along to stimulate a mass movement. Rather, we can turn our attention to reforming American institutions, which the authors’ claim, “operate increasingly to disaggregate and depoliticize the demands of citizens.” Government policies and practices are promoting privatized citizenship because government has increasingly privatized and personalized its functions. Until we tackle these trends, all talk of “revitalizing civic participation” is for naught. We are certainly not stuck in a static system. The public administration field is in the midst of shifting from a focus on government, with the public bureaucracy as the unit of analysis, to governance, with the governance network or system as the unit of analysis. The closed “iron triangles” of government, industry and interest groups not longer exist (if they ever did). The evolution of information technology is giving rise to new forms of co-production that extent well beyond local residents taking their trash to the dump. Such trends as “citizen-science” and “citizen-journalism” hold great promise. Concepts like “collaboration” and “partnership” are more than just fads that will melt away with the press of time. Cooperative behavior is much more endemic than economists may care to think. The challenge for public administrators is to envision new ways to harness our cooperative disposition that not only engage citizens in authentic ways, but create new mediating institutions in the process. Such structures will have permeable boundaries and operate as complex, adaptive systems, anchored in democratic norms. Such governance systems or network are a double-edged sword to those of us concerned about citizen participation. On one hand, such networks are hard to pin down. On the other hand, their breadth allows for citizens to access them and indeed actively participate within them through multiple points of entry. ASPA member Christopher Koliba is director of the MPA Program and assistant professor of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. He is also acting director of the University of Vermont Office of Community-University Partnerships. Email: ckoliba@uvm.edu PAGE 4 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Activating Civic Engagement SPECIAL SECTION Chinese Homeowner Associations: A School of Democracy? Feng Wang, Terry L. Cooper Chinese homeowner associations (HOAs) are citizen-initiated and self-governing neighborhood organizations that set goals freely and maintain autonomy from governmental agencies. They emerged in China in the mid-1990s and burgeoned after China’s 1998 urban housing reform largely as a grassroots response to the severe infringement on property rights by local governments, developers and property management firms. Unlike Western countries where property rights are well established, in China, the principle that “citizens’ lawful private property is inviolable” was not written into the law until the Fourth Amendment to the Chinese Constitution passed in March 2004 (Amendment, Article 21). However, the Constitutional Amendment did not reduce infringements on homeowners’ common properties by developers and management firms. Furthermore, homeowners found that their political rights usually are constrained, which impairs their ability to protect their property rights. To protect common interests, Chinese HOAs take a variety of actions, such as engaging in demonstrations against government and developers, initiating petitions, advocating for legislation and supporting candidates to run for the Local People’s Congress in competition with Communist Party-nominated candidates. Internally, Chinese HOAs mobilize residents to participate in self-governing neighborhood affairs. An HOA Committee, the executive agency of an HOA, is elected by homeowners through a democratic voting procedure. Because their authority comes from residents rather than the government, HOA Committees maintain their independence from government agencies and set their own agendas, including the external activities listed above. Therefore, Chinese HOAs are considered an emerging urban social force to provide a meaningful opportunity for civic engagement and to achieve democratic neighborhoods. However, most studies on Chinese HOAs are normative explorations and few empirical studies have investigated their real impacts. We conducted face-to-face interviews with leaders and residents from 92 HOAs in Beijing, China during 2006 to 2007. The main goal of this survey is to investigate empirically the internal political life of the newly emerging Chinese HOAs and their impacts on civic participation and local democracy. We examined the following three aspects of internal political life of Chinese HOAs: • Governing structure: To what extent does the governing structure of Chinese HOAs provide participatory opportunities for residents? • Operation of elected HOA committees: Do Chinese HOA committees promote open deliberation on issues of common interest? Do they solicit inputs from residents in their decision-making and maintain transparency? • Leadership: Do HOA leaders make decisions adhering to democratic procedures, especially when facing conflict or controversy? Do they trust residents’ civic efficacy in neighborhood governance? Participatory Governing Structure Our findings show that most Chinese HOAs have created elaborate structures that aim to provide members as many participatory channels as. A building captain system, for example, tries to involve more general members to work for the association, such as sending newsletters and notices to residents. Some Chinese HOAs set up monitoring committees as an institution for residents to oversee the work of HOA committees. Some Chinese HOAs establish a representative assembly where neighbors elect a number of representatives to form a decision-making body. Because these representatives normally represent homeowners living near them, this ensures a formal and regular channel for residents to participate in decision-making processes. One point that needs to be emphasized is that all these forms of governing structures are institutional innovations by Chinese HOAs to encourage resident participation because none of them appear in the governmental regulations. Operation of Elected Committees The HOA elected committees normally operate in a democratic manner: Committee meetings are open to residents; The committee actively communicates with members so that residents are well informed on neighborhood issues and have opportunities to provide inputs on important neighborhood issues. Our findings show that most HOA committees (80 percent) open their committee meetings to all residents although the regulatory rules do not mandate them to do so. In the interviews, when being asked why they did not participate in HOA committee meetings, no residents said that the lack of venues is a major reason. Our study finds that most Chinese HOA committees make significant efforts to communicate with their residents via different ways, including sending newsletters, reports and public notices or soliciting inputs. Among the surveyed HOAs, 15 percent of committees communicate with their members more than three times every month, 24 percent of them attempt to reach out to members with ongoing neighborhood issues from one to three times every month, and 25 percent communicate with their members at a rate of between once per month and once every two months. Civic-oriented Leadership Most Chinese HOA leaders tend to deal with conflicts in a democratic manner. In the survey, 86 percent of HOA leaders follow a majority rule in decision-making when serious conflicts arise. They also place a high trust in residents’ civic efficacy. Many Chinese HOA leaders trust their residents’ civic efficacy in self-governing neighborhood affairs and changing governmental responsiveness. Eighty-five percent of leaders believe their residents have an excellent, good or moderate ability to self-govern neighborhood affairs and solve neighborhood issues. Only 15 percent do not consider that their residents have self-governing ability. As for leader attitudes towards resident external efficacy in changing governmental responsiveness, 84 percent of leaders consider citizen participation can extremely, very much, or moderately improve governmental responsiveness to neighborhood issues/needs, while 16 percent do not trust citizen participation can improve governmental responsiveness. To protect common interests, Chinese HOAs take a variety of actions, such as engaging in demonstrations against government and developers, initiating petitions, advocating for legislation and supporting candidates to run for the Local People’s Congress… Theses findings are striking because the authoritarian tradition rooted in Chinese society does not provide cultural support for citizen participation nor does the current political system provide institutional support. Moreover, the findings contrast with the HOAs in the United States, which often are criticized for their autocratic operations and negative impact on civic participation. One reason for the difference is that Chinese HOA committees do not have power as substantial as the boards of HOAs in the United States. Because regulations of Chinese HOAs do not clearly specify their power and responsibilities, Chinese HOA committees obtain their legitimacy and define their authority through a bottom-up democratic process, which requires active citizen participation. Another reason that Chinese HOAs are more likely to adopt democratic characteris- Announcing... a new publication from ASPA Public Administration with an by H. George Frederickson Order now at www.aspanet.org Public Administration with an Attitude approx. 220 pages — $14.95 softcover © 2005 American Society for Public Administration tics in their internal governance compared to their counterparts in the United States is that they have a different governance focus. In the United States, internal neighborhood issues are the major focus. To deal with issues within the neighborhood, a certain degree of regulation is required. By contrast, Chinese HOAs are mostly occupied with dealing with external parties (developers and property management firms) to protect common property rights. Compared with developers and property management firms, HOAs have fewer economic and political powers. As a result, organizational power from member support and participation is critical to HOA committees. Establishing more open and democratic internal governance is an effective way to mobilize resident participation and obtain more organizational power. Our study also finds that HOAs with a more democratic internal life are more likely to promote civic awareness and neighborhood participation. The findings suggest that in large neighborhoods that normally have difficulties with active resident participation, Chinese HOAs need to develop more formalized and democratic governing structures, such as a representative assembly system, to encourage residents to participate in neighborhood governance. Moreover, HOA committees should make more effort to communicate with residents. Feng Wang is a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. Email: fengwang@usc.edu ASPA member Terry L. Cooper is The Maria B. Crutcher Professor in Citizenship and Democratic Values at the University of Southern California and director of Civic Engagement Initiative at the School of Policy, Planning and Development. Email: tlcooper@usc.edu Public Administration with an Attitude brings together some of H. George Frederickson’s most penetrating and thought-provoking columns from the pages of PA TIMES. In the book, Frederickson takes on the issues facing today’s public administrators with the intellectual integrity that established him as a leader in the field. If there is something wrong or right with the way public policy is being administered, Frederickson lets you know. Like his column, Public Administration with an Attitude is easy to read and jargon-free, and, of course, it is often witty. Students preparing for public service careers will benefit not only from the wisdom and insight in Public Administration with an Attitude, but from the pervading theme of the honor and dignity of public service. Practicing public servants will enjoy the rich use of examples, the telling of great public administration stories, and especially the descriptions of public administration heroes and heroic moments. This book is a lot more interesting than a spreadsheet (...and more accurate)! American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 5 Activating Civic Engagement SPECIAL SECTION Engaging Communities: Albania as an Example Barbara A. Coe How can citizen participation be encouraged–and useful? Even in “transitional” former communist countries, people with little experience can participate effectively. In Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, real citizen participation was prohibited under the 50-year communist dictatorship. Residents were left mistrustful of government and skeptical about engagement. People were, however, successfully encouraged to participate through a project known as Communities Engaged in Social and Economic Development of Albania (CESEDA). The project, which aimed to encourage poor, rural residents to participate in revising and implementing Albania’s poverty-reduction strategy was conducted by World Learning for International Development (WLID) from 2003 to 2005, funded by WLID and USAID. It provides one example of a proven process, with results significantly exceeding the targets. Government responded positively to 52 percent of the priorities presented by villagers. Furthermore, community groups, sometimes with government, and sometimes solely on their own, completed 58 projects in 50 villages including roads, bridges, schools, cemeteries and sewage treatment facilities. Villagers usually did the work themselves while sometimes (but not always) receiving materials and/or equipment from government. …community groups, sometimes with government, and sometimes solely on their own, completed 58 projects in 50 villages including roads, bridges, schools, cemeteries and sewage treatment facilities. Perhaps most important, as one participant in a women-only group (who preferred to be unnamed) said: “By organizing a network of women, [CESEDA] empowered and taught us how to work in a team. This was an education to us.…Every time we come up with an idea we gather to discuss it. First it is a small group, meaning the network of the women created by CESEDA. But when we see that the idea could be actualized, then we expand the discussion to the women of the village.” Process A report card process to evaluate local public services first attracted participants and taught them how to work together and how to influence government policy and operations. Then, an action planning process enabled participants to articulate their goals, analyze their local conditions and develop and implement actions to realize their goals. • Report card process. Field coordinators (in male/female teams of two) contacted informal and formal village leaders– village heads, physicians, teachers, and school administrators– to convene groups of 16 to 20. After an initial information meeting, groups met and evaluated services and conditions and identified priorities. Field coordinators consolidated the report cards for the village. A small group of citizens selected by the larger group presented the results to government officials, who revealed any resources or plans for addressing the priorities. • Action Planning. Field coordinators then led an action planning process. First, groups identified the desired outcome or goal, such as a fully functioning potable water system. Second, they described the current conditions, or baseline, and resources available. The third step was taking action, experimentally, and then observing the result, not following a rigid plan. At the end of a project, completion and celebration energized people for next goals. This approach contrasts sharply with those with a problem focus. Although problem-focused approaches sometimes do name goals, a negative focus tends to disempower and discourage participants. Groups focusing on problems often become sidetracked and stalled. Alternatively, communities report that imagining a positive outcome enlivens and encourages them. Big goals can be broken into sub-goals to avoid overwhelm. Objectively describing the current state enables people to understand what action steps will be needed. Also, by making evident the difference between the desired and present state, energy is generated that draws the community to action. When groups learn how to stay focused on a clear goal, they are able to sustain progress. Challenges and Lessons Learned Challenges in the CESEDA Project were considerable: The first was stimulating participation, particularly by women, because societal norms often discouraged women from being seen in public. Women were also busy with field and household labor. Government involvement was seen as men’s work. Finding appropriate meeting places was difficult, since women were not supposed to meet where men gathered. Some remote villages were too difficult to engage. In villages where public meetings had been manipulated by political candidates, people were often less responsive. To gain participation, information meetings stimulated interest. The report card process, inviting people to express their opinions about government, was particularly appreciated. Scheduling meetings at convenient times and places made attendance easier. Groups often met at lunchtime, early in the morning, after work, or after mosque on Fridays. Schools, health clinics and other public institutions, bars and shops and, in good weather, outof-doors, served as meeting places in these areas, which lacked actual meeting rooms. Women-only groups led by female coordinators, helped to involve more women. Providing information illustrating how to link with government also gave groups a head start. Once people had experience and success, they were eager to do more; other villages learned from them. Probably the greatest challenge to achieving effective participation is helping participants think deeply about both goals and the current state. People often characterize goals and the current state superficially. For example, groups would name interim goals, such as a school building, as the goal. When asked probing questions such as: “for what purpose do they want a school?” the community might see a deeper aim, such as access to quality education for their children, which might not call for a school in every village. Groups often initially see the current situation and the resources available superficially. For example, in describing a water system that does not deliver water, they may fail to note that the delivery system is good but the water supply is blocked. Groups often fail to mention money, labor and ideas at hand; an “asset mapping” exercise helps identify these resources. Through questions, groups may notice other resources such as a school in a neighboring community that, with a better road, could provide quality education for several communities. Questions that help groups look for more strategic approaches, such as road improvement and waste management to support several health and economic goals, are likewise useful. Citizen groups also often hold unsubstantiated beliefs that stall action. For example, citizens at first thought it useless to meet with government officials because “they know about the situation, they will not help, other villagers would not contribute, or the priority is unachievable because it takes a lot of money.” Action proved otherwise. Field coordinators’ needed to guide groups to stay focused on their goals, be more clear about the current state, and to experiment with actions. They also had to recognize when beliefs were barriers and help the participants think clearly about the facts. Through guidance and practice, communities learn how to stay focused. Barriers to citizen participation were high in this situation. Success was substantially aided by using an approach designed to foster and sustain action over time. The approach stresses local goals and local knowledge, rather than imposition of outside ideas. The report card process draws people in, begins the empowerment process and sets the stage for follow-on activities. The action planning framework helps people stay focused on possibilities and goals, to look objectively at their situation, to experiment with actions and, in the process, to be empowered and motivated. ASPA member Barbara A. Coe is an international development consultant currently residing in Italy. She was chief of party of the CESEDA project. Email: barbaracoe@yahoo.com PAGE 6 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Activating Civic Engagement SPECIAL SECTION A Proposal for a National Service Learning Program Sheri Baxter As a world leader for democracy and an active civic culture, the United States must ensure its position as a model for other nations and ensure its internal health remains prosperous. With the decline of active citizenship throughout the nation and its communities, revitalization of this civic culture can create a sustainable foundation for continued leadership in altruism, service, and democracy. The United States’ democratic strength and global leadership depend on its ability to serve others, to create an environment of tolerance and understanding, and to build collaborative partnerships to foster social capital. In addition to the declining civic culture in the United States, the education system has shown consistently decreasing academic results from its youth. Recent educational reforms mandating standardized tests show minimal progress, but hinder broad educational growth to ensure the nation’s competitive academic edge. Remaining a global leader in academics will contribute to the nation’s capacity to ensure scientific and technological development, research and innovation. Establishing a National Service Learning Program will assist with educational and civic reform, while fostering social capital in the nation’s communities. Mission, Purpose and Goals The National Service Learning Program would be a compulsory, integrated learning program incorporated into every public school. Service learning is a teaching strategy that incorporates the application of academic concepts and theories into community service projects as a core part of classroom instruction. It engages students in social and political problems, community issues, problem solving and service through the application of course concepts in real-life experiences that provide a true benefit to the community and its residents. Service learning is not an additional educational component, but a teaching approach integrated into the curriculum to enhance every child’s learning experience. This proposal focuses on the education of our youth, in addition to their cognitive and personal development, as well as implementing social change and revitalizing our national civic culture. A National Service Learning Program will provide the following benefits: • Higher test scores and grades, improved behavior grades, students that are more interested in school, a decrease in expulsions and suspensions, an increase in attendance and graduation rates, and an increase in the number of high school graduates continuing to college. • Improved development of low-achieving children or children of low socioeconomic status, which can assist in closing achievement gaps. • The involvement of students in the community will create “expert citizens” that are more civically minded, more interested and knowledgeable on political and social issues, more likely to be active adult citizens, and exhibit a greater sense of empowerment to foster social change. • The experiences of service learning will improve communication and leadership skills, problem-solving and decisionmaking abilities, self-confidence, and personal values and ethics to create a nation of young adults with a more qualified skill set, social attitudes and strong work ethic for increased success in college, career and life. Establishing a National Service Learning Program will assist with educational and civic reform, while fostering social capital in the nation’s communities. • Service learning will fulfill established social and political needs in the community to support the social, physical, health, or developmental needs of individual community members or groups to promote social change. • Service learning will develop multiple partnerships in communities between schools, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, community members, and businesses to increase the social capital of communities and providing an arena ripe for social change. technical assistance, and training to ensure successful implementation. • Technical assistance and training for teachers and administrators to ensure appropriate and ongoing training and support to ensure educators are adequately prepared and knowledgeable to implement service learning in their classrooms. • A National Service Learning Technical Assistance Center to develop and disseminate information and resources and provide technical assistance which will assist in the development and institutionalization of service learning. • Administration will be conducted at the federal level, but flexibility will be provided for individualization of programs by state, school districts, and individual schools. • Establishment of a National Service Learning Board to develop national program standards, objectives, and outcome, and a formal evaluation process. • Informal and ongoing evaluations at the local level to assess program functioning and outcomes. Program operations. The following are required components for a national program in regards to its operational attributes and the academic curriculum: • Service learning projects must be linked with course concepts and to the overall educational curriculum to ensure the greatest academic benefits to students. • Community service projects associated with service learning programs must be meaningful to the student’s learning and provide an authentic and identifiable need for the community and its residents. • Inclusion of students in the planning of service learning activities, to a level appropriate to the child’s developmental age and grade level, to create improved cognitive outcomes and personal development. • Collaboration with community-based and nonprofit organizations, community members, business, foundations, and parents. • The inclusion of ongoing, formal, and informal reflection pieces to allow for the discussion of course concepts, their application to service projects, conceptualize the experiences of students in the service projects, and provide a forum to allow for individual growth. Presently and in the upcoming years, the United States will continue to face social and political challenges to its development as a nation and as a global leader. See PROGRAM, pg. 7 • Service learning will create stronger partnerships with parents involving them in their child’s education at a greater level. These goals are consistent with those established by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and its preceding law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, to ensure high academic assessments, meeting the educational needs of low-achieving students, providing youth with a more valuable and enriched education program, increasing the quality of teaching in the nation’s schools, increasing participation of parents in their children’s education and promoting school-wide reforms for more effective education programs. Program Structure and Requirements The number and rate of service learning programs established in colleges and public schools in the United States has increased tremendously over the past few decades. This boom in service learning programs has resulted in an influx of research that has discovered the critical components for successful service learning programs. Administration, structure, and evaluation. The following characteristics will be included for the administrative development, evaluation and standards of a National Service Learning Program: • The incorporation of service learning in the mission, goals, school requirements, and culture of state education programs, school districts, and local schools. • The establishment of a designated service learning office or individual in each state’s education department and local school district to support the administration, funding, resources, Executive MPA Program #5406*893*82547 85 596 &5681.64 )260242* '9+32, (.6:2,. $.335;7 %6*-9*8.7 #3*77 5/ ! Erin Akins Ailsa Burnett Andrew Duke Jesse Ellis Craig Fifer Megan Kelly William Marsh Paul Miller " Joseph Robertson Allen Scarbrough Erin Schaible Tracy Selmer Kara Van Graafeiland Matthew Vaughan Michelle White Kimberly Williams pia.gmu.edu mpa@gmu.edu 703.993.9466 American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 7 Activating Civic Engagement SPECIAL SECTION Transparency vs. Efficiency: The Quandary of Public Participation Earl Mathers In Gallatin County, MT, involving the public in the governance process is not discretionary. Indeed, public officials, elected and appointed, are strongly committed to public participation and believe that the quality of decisions will be improved through authentic discourse and deliberation with citizens. There are ample opportunities for the media, interest groups and the general public to be involved in a variety of local government issues and forums. Ensuring transparency and engaging citizens at various levels is routine in Gallatin County as it is in most jurisdictions today. If representative democracy in a former era was characterized by the politicsadministration dichotomy, deliberative democracy of the 21st Century should be portrayed as a “politics-administrationpublic trichotomy.” The ascendancy of public participation in Gallatin County is driven by a variety of factors including an informed and educated citizenry as well as a compelling set of public policy debates. In addition, value conflicts among diverse groups of residents create an atmosphere in which polarization can inhibit consensus building. Nowhere has this phenomenon been more evident than with Gallatin County’s protracted quest to build a new detention center. For nearly a decade, Gallatin County has been striving to replace its dysfunctional detention center. The primary problem is that the design of the facility makes inmate supervision exceptionally difficult, thus compromising both inmate and detention officer safety. Despite the successes of school districts and municipalities in passing a variety of bond elections, two detention center initiatives have failed with the voters. Indeed, Gallatin County has succeeded with certain other initiatives including a 911 levy 18 months ago. Strong statistical evidence, testimony and a variety of jail incidents portray serious deficiencies at the current facility. The silver lining is that jail overcrowding and other problems have led Gallatin County to engage a consultant, David Bennett, to assist with the design of a range of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration. Many of Bennett’s recommendations have been implemented and the County’s Court Services Department manages the programs. The success of some Court Services programs has garnered national recognition. Effective alternative sentencing programs notwithstanding, Gallatin County’s rate of incarceration is unrealistically low in comparison with both state and national statistics. This fact, along with expert opinions across Gallatin County’s criminal justice community, indicates that many offenders that should be serving time are either released or simply not adjudicated. While the failures of the past have provided a certain frame of reference for the development of strategies… entrenched resistance appears to have coalesced into several factions making it difficult to build widespread support. Gallatin County officials and the committees involved in the jail issue have endeavored to make the process of planning a new facility as transparent as possible. Numerous public hearings, open meetings, presentations at various forums have been used in concert with the dissemination of written materials and the displaying of models of proposed facilities. To the greatest practical extent the media has been informed as well. Meetings with editorial boards have been conducted, are augmented by appearances on talk radio programs and media representatives generally attend relevant planning sessions. Citizen committees have been appointed to study the issue. These groups have had a variety of resources at their disposal, including leading national consultants, to aid with the process of gathering and analyzing information associated with detention facilities and best practices. At this writing, Gallatin County’s prospects for gaining voter approval for a new facility continue to be uncertain at best, nearly 10 years after its first detention center initiative was launched. There are a number of likely reasons for the failure of earlier detention center initiatives and some of the same pockets of resistance threaten Gallatin County’s current process. While the failures of the past have provided a certain frame of reference for the development of strategies to mollify opposition, entrenched resistance appears to have coalesced into several factions making it difficult to build widespread support. In essence, addressing the concerns of one group may increase opposition from another faction and this has heightened concerns among political leaders. While a certain percentage of the electorate seems to oppose the detention center initiative in any form due to its $33 million price tag, the majority appear to be divided in terms of their support for two major alternatives. The first alternative is to build on the site of the existing law and justice “campus” while the second alternative involves a Greenfield site on the edge of Bozeman. Although most representatives of the criminal justice community, consultants and citizen volunteers directly involved in the process favor the new site, the County Commissioners, based on input they have received from other constituents, have endorsed the existing site. The real dilemma for Gallatin County at present lies in how to overcome the missteps of the past and unify stakeholders in a manner that will create broad support for the current initiative. Many believe that unified support for a plan that can be clearly defined and justified to the voters will be successful. While this may appear to be a product of basic reasoning, developing consensus around the complex issues involved is no mean task. An action plan has been devised that will provide even more definitive information while engaging all key stakeholders in the process of mitigating concerns and identifying potential areas of compromise. Gallatin County officials believe that the conflict around the detention center initiative is not intractable and that it will be possible to develop a clear and consistent message that resonates with voters. ASPA member Earl Mathers is county administrator for Gallatin County, MT. Email: Earl.Mathers@gallatin.mt.gov Service Learning Program Proposed From PROGRAM, pg. 6 We will be further challenged globally by other countries around the world in economic, scientific and technological advances. To maintain liberal democracy, competitive advantage and position as a world leader, we need to ensure we have the tools to ensure our nation’s success. Building upon the fact that our citizens are our greatest resource, creating a foundation for the development of a strong future of youth citizens will create a vital and active citizenry, higher academically performing students and more educated and prepared citizens to take this nation into its future. A National Service Learning Program will invest in the education and development of our youngest citizens, preparing the country for the future and also builds social capital and creates social change for a stronger, more capable nation today. Sheri Baxter is a Ph.D. student in public policy and administration at Walden University and has an MPA from the University of Alaska. Email: sheriboberry@att.net 121027_WALD6229_PaTms_Feb 1/21/08 9:39 AM PAGE 8 Page 1 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration PUT YOURSELF WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF. Success in the future requires collaboration—public, private, and nonprofit sectors working together. Walden’s Master of Public Administration and Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration degrees online help you influence those vital partnerships. With nearly 40 years of experience in distance learning, Walden prepares leaders to navigate today’s new landscape, where the boundaries between sectors are increasingly blurred. Make the decision that helps you turn your ideas into effective policy. Call or visit us online. ADVANCED DEGREES ONLINE FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS V AS ISIT PA ’S US A IN 69 th T DA AN BO LL NU OT H AS , M AL C #1 AR O 7 A CH NF T T 7 – ERE HE 1 1 NC . E 888-889-5292 WaldenU.edu Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org; 312-263-0456. American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 INSIGHTS ONPERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PAGE 9 by JOHN KAMENSKY Creating Accountability in Collaborative Networks: Can It Be Done? John Kamensky How do you tackle complex management challenges like the response to Katrina, counter-terrorism, watershed management, the Human Genome Project, or going to Mars? Traditional bureaucratic hierarchies don’t seem to work. Marketdriven approaches, such as competition and choice, don’t seem to be effective. The central organizing principle in a collaborative enterprise is …the mission …The most important issue is not an individual’s status but rather “can you contribute to the mission?” The use of collaborative approaches is being touted, but there are concerns about how to ensure their accountability for getting things done. Collaborative approaches seem to hold promise, but their expanded use is being held back, in part because of the unease of leaders in being able to address the accountability issue. Public administration scholars are busy examining the promises of collaborative networks in getting the public’s work done–Donald Kettl, Robert Agranoff, Myrna Mandell, Michael McGuire, Brent Milward, and Keith Provan have all conducted practical research helpful to public administrators. Even the Government Accountability Office has developed case studies of the use of collaborative networks. Collectively, they are beginning to sketch out some useful practices, and are describing efforts by practitioners to make sense of their changing world. Interestingly, this same challenge of how to structure large organizations to be more responsive when tackling complex challenges, is alive in the private sector as well. I’ve recently read a new business book that seems to have some relevance to managing government: The Collaborative Enterprise: Managing Speed and Complexity in Knowledge-Based Businesses, by Charles Heckscher, a professor at Rutgers University. He has found CEOs in large corporations are–like today’s government executives–struggling with the legacy of large bureaucracies that are increasingly less responsive to today’s challenges in a knowledgebased economy. Like government executives, they are experimenting with collaborative approaches in their organizations as ways of overcoming the unresponsiveness of traditional hierarchies. For businesses, it is a fight for survival and relevance. And like the public sector, a key challenge is how to develop accountability for performance within a collaborative environment. He has found that the private sector doesn’t have The Answer, but neither does anyone else. Still, his observations can be helpful to public managers. Heckscher succinctly describes how the culture created by traditional bureaucratic hierarchical model culture clashes with collaborative cultures. He also describes how to begin to make the shift–in part by addressing the need to create clear accountability for performance in collaborative environments. The Clash Between Bureaucratic and Collaborative Cultures. The traditional bureaucratic culture is comprised of two different patterns. One is the highly rational, disciplined system of hierarchy and defined roles. The other is a paternalistic mindset focused on informal communities and loyalty to one’s boss. The norms of bureaucracy are stability, homogeneity, conformity, deference, and inwardness. “Good performance” is defined by the boss, who sets targets and evaluates performance. Accountability is to the boss, within the hierarchy. Heckscher observers that in a collaborative enterprise, people are interdependent with others and, as a result, are intolerant of those who don’t pull their own weight. They put little stock into local attachments and paternalism. Their measure of performance is not the boss’s judgment, but rather “what is expected in collaborative enterprises is performance that helps others and moves everyone toward achieving the collective mission and goal. It is, in short, a notion of performance as contribution.” This is the focus of individual accountability in a collaborative network–contribution to performance. The central organizing principle in a collaborative enterprise is not the office or the position held by the officer holder, but rather the mission or collective purpose. The core of the values system is your contribution to this mission. The most important issue is not an individual’s status but rather “can you contribute to the mission?” The Challenge of Creating Accountability in Collaborative Networks. In a hierarchy, it is relatively clear how to establish accountability, and where to point to when there is a failure in performance. You simply look at the chain of events and the chain of command. For example, the failures in the appropriate treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison ultimately resulted in punishments for those in the chain of command. The military reflects the epitome of the traditional bureaucratic hierarchy. But it is also finding that this approach does not work well in fighting terrorism in an urban environment in Iraq. As a result, the military is increasingly adopting the use of collaborative networks, such as with Sunni militants, and is having to navigate the conflicts between the bureaucratic and collaborative cultures. Milward and Provan, in a 2006 report for the IBM Center for The Business of Government, observed that “…maintaining accountability is critical for network performance and for continued flow of resources.” Until the accountability issue is resolved, increasing the use of collaborative networks will be difficult. Milward and Provan say “Network managers have a major responsibility to ensure that those who participate in a network are responsible for their share of network activities and are held accountable for their actions.” But what constitutes “accountability” in a networked, interdependent environment? In an environment of collaborative accountability, according to Heckscher: “people should be judged on their contribution to the mission or purpose of the organization–not on doing a “good job.” This would include the reliability and competence of an individual and the extent to which they add value, not merely meeting targets. But who makes this assessment? Heckscher says there is no single right answer, but that this is oftentimes done via a 360-degree assessment of individuals, including program customers, bosses, and peers. Collaborative accountability differs from bureaucratic accountability both on what is assessed, and how it is assessed. Collaborative accountability is an assessment based on contribution, by driving strategic awareness throughout the system, and by connecting rewards and sanctions to these broader themes. Heckscher says that assessments should not rely solely on 360-degree appraisals, but also include a system of reputational assessments, not unlike that done via scientific peer reviews. But what about creating accountability for a collaborative system, not just the individuals in the system? One approach for assessing the performance and accountability of a collaborative system is via a Balanced Scorecard. Scorecards tend to reflect both the perspectives of different stakeholders, as well as the strategies the members of the collaborative enterprise are using. Rather than orienting people to their accountability for narrow pieces of the system, they would be expected to orient themselves based on their contributions to the whole, and be assessed on that basis. A key element of this working is a high degree of transparency in the performance information produced in this system so all the players–including the public–have insights into what is going on. A 2004 study by Mark Imperial for the IBM Center is an excellent case study of how See KAMENSKY, pg. 12 PAGE 10 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Clinton Addresses ASPA’s Concerns About Public Service From CLINTON, pg. 2 shield to all government employees and contractors to ensure normal access to jury trials in federal court to defend themselves when they speak out in the public interest. • Third, I will create a U.S. Public Service Academy designed to cultivate a new generation of young leaders dedicated to public service. • Fourth, I will restore the practice of competitive bidding in times of national emergency, ending the abuse of no-bid contracts. I will post every contract online so that Americans can scrutinize the details and hold their government accountable. • Fifth, I will cut the number of contractors working for the federal government by 500,000 over the next 10 years through an Executive Order. • Sixth, I will work to restore the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment to provide authoritative and objective analysis of complex scientific and technical issues for the federal government. • Seventh, I will ensure that the budget and the budget justification for every government agency are available online in a timely manner. • Eighth, I will create a new Results America Initiative to track government effectiveness. The initiative would modernize data collection to address critical gaps in our knowledge and making the findings available on the web so that Americans can get real-time information on a host of issues, from their local air quality to traffic flow to the conditions of critical infrastructure. ASPA Concern 3: There has been an accelerating use of government contractors and grantees during the last decade. Reports indicate that the federal government uses three times the number of contractors and grantees to provide crucial services than the entire military and Federal Civil Service personnel combined. There is a growing concern that the government does not have the workforce with the skills to manage these contractors who often do 90 percent of the work on essential projects. This trend may also make it difficult for government to provide vital services during a disaster or crisis situation. Questions: What is your position on this reported imbalance between contractors and public servants? And what steps would you take as President to ensure that government has the capacity to provide vital services during a disaster or crisis situation? Civil servants serve the public and that work must be respected. Clinton: Over the past seven years, the Bush administration has steadily outsourced critical government functions to private companies, adding more than 2.4 million private contractors to the federal payroll for a total of 7.2 million. Today, government contractors have essentially become yet another special interest, with the top 20 contracting firms spending nearly $300 million since 2000 to lobby the government. The Bush administration has contracted out vital government services without even running a competition. As we saw in postKatrina Louisiana and Iraq, that has too often resulted in incompetence, as unqualified people have been put in charge of delivering critical services. When I am President, I will clean up our contracting system by significantly reducing the number of contractors and providing transparency in the process. I have proposed cutting at least 500,000 federal contractors to save approximately $10 to $18 billion a year. I will put an end to no-bid contracts and I will ensure that in the instances where contractors might be necessary, I will ensure that we run a fair process for evaluating the proposals. I will also ensure that every government agency publishes its budgets online to ensure that any public service that is contracted out to private companies will be known to the public and open to scrutiny. The Department of Homeland Security spends more than $15 billion annually, more than 40 percent of its discretionary budget, on contracts and acquisitions and it has become increasingly reliant on private contractors to perform inherently governmental work. For example, private contractors staff 60 percent of the Department’s intelligence office. I will prohibit inherent government functions from being contracted out, to increase competition in contracting. Last year, I introduced and passed into law a provision to block the Bush administration from continuing to contract out essential positions in the Federal Protective Service. I also worked with a number of organizations to enact language into law to block the privatization of the operation of our nation’s locks and dams. And I introduced legislation to establish a comprehensive national system for skilled construction workers to assist first responders in disasters; I will work to enact this legislation when I am President. ASPA Concern 4: Comptroller General David walker and others argue that: “It’s time to reconsider our approach to political appointments. This includes recognizing the differences among policy, operational and adjudicatory types of executive level positions. As they note, “We need capable career executives to help lead this fight [fight against terrorism] because the stakes are very high.” Their call is for the hiring of nonpartisan COOs and CMOs with proven track records, particularly in major entities like the Defense Department or the Department of Homeland Security.” Questions: What is your position on establishing minimum standards for operational and adjudicatory type executive level positions? And, would you be amenable to external reviews of these appointees’ credentials as a part of the confirmation process? Clinton: When I am President, I will appoint the most qualified, dedicated, public-minded people to serve in government. When we were working to improve disaster response after Hurricane Katrina, I proposed that we require proper qualifications for the director of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)–and my proposal eventually become law as part of an overall reform package of FEMA. But when the President signed it, he specifically said that he wasn’t going to necessarily follow the directions of having a qualified person head FEMA. He used what is called a signing statement, to pick and choose from the provisions in the law of what he would and would not enforce. When I am President, the entrance to the White House will no longer be a revolving door for just the well-connected–but a door of opportunity for the well-qualified. I will ensure that our government is run by qualified people who have a proven record of success. ASPA Concern 5: The Comptroller General David Walker also recently suggested the need for a “core set of values and principles” to define the job of the civil servant, “the glue that binds us together.” The American Society for Public Administration, the National Academy of Public Administration, the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, the International City/County Managers Association and other purport that these “core values” must include a commitment to effectiveness, efficiency, ethics and integrity and social equity, with the goal of advancing excellence in public service. Questions: Are these, or other core values you can identify, important to define the job of the civil servant? And if so, how would you help inculcate “core values” in the civil service during your presidency? Clinton: Yes, I believe that those core values are important to define the job of a civil servant. My plan to reform our government is rooted in those same values –a commitment to effectiveness, efficiency, ethics and integrity, and social equity, with the goal of advancing excellence in public service. Civil servants serve the public and that work must be respected. I will also ensure that federal departments are adequately funded and staffed, which is not the case today and sends the wrong message. I am fully committed to strengthening our government, which will send the right message–that civil service is important. Moreover, I will ensure that government jobs are filled by qualified and experienced people. State Homeland Security Directors Express Concerns in Several Areas From HOMELAND SECURITY, pg. 1 Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center). The brief examines the challenges facing state homeland security directors and highlights the results of an annual survey of the 56 state, DC and territorial homeland security directors who collectively comprise the Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council (GHSAC). States’ top security concerns–developing interoperable communications systems, coordinating the efforts of state and local agencies, protecting critical infrastructure and establishing state intelligence fusion centers–have remained relatively stable since the first survey of state homeland security officials was conducted in 2005. This year, states also identified strengthening citizen preparedness as a top priority. Although survey results showed that more than half of states have “significantly” involved local governments in developing strategic plans, including grant funding allocation plans, states expressed concerns in a number of areas related to federal relations and National Guard staffing. Key findings of the survey include: • States continue to report uneven progress in their relationship with the federal government, specifically with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); • Most states said DHS should coordinate policies with the states prior to their release or implementation; • States need federal funding to support personnel to implement and sustain national initiatives that are carried out locally; • States want federal agencies to coordi- nate their security clearances through a unified database to ensure that a clearance issued by one agency is recognized by other agencies; and • Only about one-third of states have at least 75 percent of their National Guard forces available to respond to disasters. Individual homeland security directors offered useful strategies for improving federal-state relations, including decentralizing DHS to regional offices, involving states in the design phase of initiatives and reducing the number of unfunded mandates being imposed on states. To learn more about actions governors are taking to improve security in their states, visit www.nga.org/center/hst. Want to submit an article to PA TIMES? email cjewett@aspanet.org for submission guidelines American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 11 Frederickson perspective A Column by H. George Frederickson PA TIMES invites your opinions regarding issues addressed in this space, or any public management issues. Please fax us at (202) 638-4952 or e-mail us at: cjewett@aspanet.org The viewpoints expressed in the Commentary section of PA TIMES are the individuals’ and are not necessarily the viewpoints of ASPA or the organizations they represent. The Arc of Bureaucratic Morality: From Loyalty to Treason H. George Frederickson Philip Agee died this week in Havana. He was a bureaucrat, but a bureaucrat of a special kind. Agee was a spy. It was Philip Agee who, after a dozen years in the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency, resigned and published Inside the Company: CIA Diary in which he identified about 250 CIA officers, foreign agents and front organizations. There is little doubt that Agee’s disclosures resulted in the torture and death of persons in the service of the CIA and of the United States. The exposés of Agee and others led Congress to pass the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. It was the investigation of possible violations of that act in the “outing” of Valerie Plame Wilson that resulted in the perjury conviction of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. “When I joined the CIA I believed in the need for its existence,” Agee wrote in CIA Diary. The CIA was engaged in “regime change” in countries with left-leaning governments as part of the cold war and in countries that were thought to threaten American interests, including Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Sudan, Syria, Guatemala, Ecuador, Guyana, Zaire, Ghana, Greece and the Dominican Republic. “After 12 years with the agency,” Agee wrote, “I finally understood how much suffering it was causing, that millions of people all over the world had been killed or had their lives destroyed by the CIA and the institutions it supports.” With this understanding Agee turned left and he wrote, “American capitalism, based as it is on exploitation of the poor, with its fundamental motivation in personal greed, simply cannot survive without force–without a secret police force…Now, more clearly than ever, the extremes of poverty and wealth demonstrate the irreconcilable class conflicts that only socialist revolution can resolve.” Based on these political opinions Agee changed sides in the cold war and made the transition from whistleblower to traitor. In the widely accepted language of Albert Hirschman’s Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Declines in Firms, Organizations and States, Agee went beyond voice and exit to treachery. The Paul A. Volcker Endowment for Public Service Research and Education Junior Scholar Research Grant Program 2008 Application Deadline: March 15, 2008 Note: Applications accepted no earlier than February 1, 2008 Scope of the Grant Award The Section for Public Administration of the American Political Science Association (APSA) invites applications and research proposals from junior scholars researching public administration issues affecting governance in the United States and abroad. Proposals will be judged on their potential to shed new light on important public administration questions, their scholarly and methodological rigor, and their promise for advancing practice and theory development. Individual grants are not renewable. As a part of the APSA Centennial Campaign, support from the Volcker Endowment can, but need not, involve research residencies at the Centennial Center in Washington. Recipients may conduct research on issues affecting or relevant to public administration at any level (or levels) of government, in any nation (or across nations), and from whatever locale is most useful or appropriate for their research purposes. Application Materials Proposals must address all items under the scope of the award and must be done in triplicate or sent electronically. Proposals are limited to five (5) single-spaced pages and must: • State the purpose of the project • State how the project contributes to scholarship within public administration and its applicability for practice and theory development • State how the project relates to previous research and theoretical developments • Specify research design • Provide an itemized budget and budget justification • Specify any additional financial support that the applicant is already receiving or anticipates receiving In addition, each proposal must include (in excess of the five-page written proposal): • A cover letter summarizing project title, qualifications for successfully completing the project, and professional status (doctoral student working on dissertation or untenured assistant professor) • An abstract of the proposal (maximum 150 words) • A letter attesting to the quality of the research project (typically from a doctoral student's dissertation advisor or a junior faculty member's department chair) • A curriculum vitae (no more than three pages) Eligibility Eligibility is limited to doctoral students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus and tenure-track assistant professors. In terms of the latter, preference is given to junior assistant professors. Applicants must be APSA members at the time of application. Membership in the Section for Public Administration is not required, but can be one of a variety of factors that the Volcker Awards Committee considers in making awards. Submission Proposals sent electronically should be emailed to center@apsanet.org. Otherwise, three (3) hard copies of the total proposal package should be submitted to: Paul A. Volcker Endowment for Public Administration Research and Education, Junior Scholar Research Grant Program, c/o American Political Science Association, 1527 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036-1206 For more information, see http://www.apsanet.org/content_6340.cfm Agee’s death coincides with the announcement that Tim Weiner’s remarkable book Legacy of Ashes: the History of the CIA, is a finalist in the nonfiction category for the 2008 National Book Award. Without blowing anyone’s cover or betraying American interests, Tim Weimer is, if anything, even more critical of the CIA than was Agee 25 years earlier. Weimer confirms Agee’s claims regarding the dark deeds of the CIA and its failings. Unlike Agee, however, he accepts as real the threat of communism in the cold war of the late 20th century and he accepts the threat of terrorism today. Because threats to the United States and to democratic government are real, Weiner insists that reliable intelligence is essential to dealing with those threats. But, he writes, “to survive as an institution in Washington, the agency had to have the president’s ear. But it soon learned that it was dangerous to tell him what he did not want to hear. The CIA analysts learned to march in lockstep, conforming to conventional wisdom. They misapprehended the intentions and capabilities of our enemies, miscalculated the strength of communism and misjudged the threat of terrorism.” Weiner describes the Clinton Era preoccupation with the electronic technology of surveillance and with getting more for less, pointing out that by September 11, 2001, the FBI had more agents in New York City than the CIA had officers abroad. “It then forfeited its role as a reliable source of information when it handed the White House false reports on the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It had delivered a ton of reportage based on an ounce of intelligence. President George W. Bush and his administration in turn misused the agency, …turning it into a paramilitary police force abroad and a paralyzed bureaucracy at headquarters.” After George Tenet resigned in the summer of 2004, taking the fall for faulty intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq, Porter Goss moved from chair of the House Intelligence Committee to director of the CIA. According to Weiner, “On his first day of work, Goss began a purge more swift and sweeping than any in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency…The new director surrounded himself with a team of political hacks he had imported from Capitol Hill. They believed they were on a mission from the White House–or some higher power–to rid the CIA of left wing subversives… The director issued orders against dissent from the president’s policies…The scourging of the CIA was rightly a question of competence. It wrongly became a question of ideology.” Porter Goss lasted 19 months. It will take much longer to rebuild the CIA. Twenty-five hundred years ago Confucius claimed that the primary problem faced by public officials is how to serve those in power, particularly if those in power are evil, corrupt, or ignorant. The way to deal with this problem, following Confucius, is to recognize that a good official is above all other things a moral actor in the context of moral action. All public acts are moral acts and all public officials are moral actors. Moral action requires two things– competence and courage. “The CIA analysts learned to march in lockstep, conforming to conventional wisdom. They misapprehended the intentions and capabilities of our enemies, miscalculated the strength of communism and misjudged the threat of terrorism.” When it comes to CIA competence and courage, the recent news may be good. The National Intelligence Estimates of November 2007 have just been declassified. Under the “Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities” heading, the estimates are that “we judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program…We continue to assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapon… Tehran’s decision to halt its nuclear program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005.” This is a far cry from George Tenet’s claim in 2002 that it was a “slam dunk” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. At least we have some evidence that the CIA is willing to speak truth to power, when it is clear that the administration would prefer that Iran be portrayed as a nuclear threat. At least in this one matter the CIA appears to have found its voice. There are still deeply troubling issues of secret prisons, torture, the destruction by the CIA of tapes of prisoner interrogation and other modern practices that are morally questionable. Chief among these troubling reports is the new documentary film “Taxi to the Dark Side.” Directed by Alex Gibney, “Taxi” is a scathing indictment of the justification for torture and the dismantling of habeas corpus by top U.S. officials and what happens when street level bureaucrats are expected to carry out morally reprehensible policy. Competent and courageous intelligence agencies are essential to preventing terrorism. The courage and competence of such agencies is especially important when elected officials and their appointees abuse their oversight responsibilities for political purposes or fail to understand the likely consequences of their actions. That is when we need bureaucrats who understand moral action and are prepared to act morally. ASPA member H. George Frederickson is Stene Professor of Public Administration at the University of Kansas and co-author of both The Public Administration Theory Primer and The Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change. Email: gfred@ku.edu PAGE 12 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Ethics Reform in Indiana Municipalities: Full Speed Ahead! Three communities in Northwest Indiana’s Lake County have entered into an interlocal agreement (ILA) to establish the Shared Ethics Advisory Commission (SEAC). All three of the municipalities also adopted a shared ethics code. The municipalities are Crown Point (pop. 23,443), Highland (pop. 26,961) and Munster (pop. 22, 340). Crown Point is the County seat and Highland and Munster are suburban communities. Lake county is just south of Chicago. Its principal cities are Gary, Hammond and East Chicago. The ILA calls for the SEAC to be composed of seven members who should be persons of good character. It presently consists of two retired judges, a retired clergyman, a former banker/lawyer who is a prominent community leader, a univer- sity business dean and an ethics professor with one vacancy. The principal activity of the Commission to date has been to conduct ethics training but it may also provide for ethics policy review and ethics code administration. The key values in the Shared Code of Ethics are: • Honesty/Integrity–to make decisions for the public’s best interests, even when they may not be popular. • Respect/Civility–to work together in a spirit of tolerance and understanding. • Accountability/Responsibility–to make full public disclosure of the nature of any conflict of interest and support the public’s right to know the truth and encourage diverse and civil public debate in the decision making process. • Fairness/Justice–to promote nondiscrimination in decision making for our respective community and to make decisions based upon the merits of the issue at hand. The Northwest Indiana Local Government Academy at Indiana U. Northwest is also promoting ethics in local governance. The Academy’s web site has an Ethics Hall of Fame with 12 communities identified as having adopted codes of ethics (www.iun.edu/~lga/) Bravo! Sources: Lloyd Rowe (lrowe@netnitco.net) and www.iun.edu/~lga/ ASPA member Donald C. Menzel is a former ASPA president and professor emeritus of Northern Illinois University. Email: donmenzel@tampabay.rr.com An A n EEthics thics M ome nt Moment Progress Seen in Accountibility Mechanisms for Collaborative Networks From KAMENSKY, pg. 9 transparency can be used to create accountability in networks created around managing watersheds. While the issue of creating public accountability mechanisms for collaborative networks is not as well-defined as the mechanisms developed in past years to support the hierarchical bureaucratic model (such as personnel classification systems), there is progress. And as confidence develops in these new mechanisms–in both the private as well as the public sectors–the adoption of the collaborative network model will likely spread. Addendum A related report on collaboration has been recently published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government, “A Manager’s Guide to Resolving Conflicts in Collaborative Networks,” by Rosemary O’Leary and Lisa Bingham. Their report addresses another key challenge facing public managers in their use of networks–the fact that the organizational interests of members of a network oftentimes do not coincide and conflict occurs. Consequently, a key set of skills that successful network managers need to develop is the ability to negotiate and manage conflict constructively. Professors O’Leary and Bingham provide practical advice on how to manage and negotiate conflicts in collaborative networks. The approach they describe– interest-based negotiation–has worked in other settings, such as bargaining with unions. It can now be applied in a diverse range of collaborative networks–from managing shared services between agencies, to managing the use of rangelands between public and private interests. Such negotiation techniques are becoming crucial in sustaining the effectiveness of networks, where successful performance is defined by how well people collaborate and not by hierarchical commands. ASPA member John Kamensky is a senior fellow with the IBM Center for The Business of Government. He is also an associate partner with IBM Global Business Services and a fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration. Visit his blog on Presidential Management Challenges at: www.transition2008.wordpress.com. Email: john.kamensky@us.ibm.com Master of Science in Emergency Management Millersville University’s Center for Disaster Research & Education offers a unique, web-based master’s program. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Courses offered totally online Designed to be completed part time t/POUIFTJTQSBDUJUJPOFSTEFHSFF t%FHSFFDPNQMFUJPOXJMMCFQPTTJCMFXJUIJONPOUIT Professors of the highest quality and dedication THE DEGREE FOR THOSE ON THE GO! Visit www.millersville.edu/~MSEM or call 717-872-3568 for details. t"MMGBDVMUZIBWFFBSOFE1I%T t-JWFWJSUVBMDMBTTSPPNJOUFSBDUJPOCFUXFFO TUVEFOUTBOEQSPGFTTPS Center for Disaster Research & Education t/BUJPOBMMZSFDPHOJ[FE tGBDVMUZNFNCFST Millersville University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. A Member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. American Society for Public Administration Reports on the Web Featured Report: “A Manager’s Guide to Resolving Conflicts in Collaborative Networks,” by Rosemary O’Leary (Syracuse University) and Lisa Bingham (Indiana University–Bloomington). Their report addresses a key challenge facing public managers in their use of networks– the fact that the organizational interests of members of a network oftentimes do not coincide and conflict occurs. Consequently, a key set of skills that successful network managers need to develop is the ability to negotiate and manage conflict constructively. www.businessofgovernment.org GAO Reports: • “Supply Chain Security: Examinations of High-Risk Cargo at Foreign Seaports Have Increased, but Improved Data Collection and Performance Measures Are Needed.” • “Defense Contracting: Contract Risk a Key Factor in Assessing Excessive PassThrough Charges.” • “Bankruptcy and Child Support Enforcement: Improved Information Sharing Possible without Routine Data Matching.” • “State and Local Governments: Growing Fiscal Challenges Will Emerge during the Next 10 Years.” • “Bilingual Voting Assistance: Selected Jurisdictions' Strategies for Identifying Needs and Providing Assistance.” • “Influenza Pandemic: Efforts Under Way to Address Constraints on Using Antivirals and Vaccines to Forestall a Pandemic.” • “Federal Acquisition: Oversight Plan Needed to Help Implement Acquisition Advisory Panel Recommendations.” • “Energy Markets: Increasing Globalization of Petroleum Products Markets, Tightening Refining Demand and Supply Balance, and Other Trends Have Implications for U.S. Energy Supply, Prices, and Price Volatility.” • “Legal Services Corporation: Improved Internal Controls Needed in Grants Management and Oversight.” • “Iran Sanctions: Impact in Furthering U.S. Objectives Is Unclear and Should Be Reviewed.” • “Iraq Reconstruction: Better Data Needed to Assess Iraq's Budget Execution.” • “Chemical Demilitarization: Additional Management Actions Needed to Meet Key Performance Goals of DOD's Chemical Demilitarization Program.” • “End-of-Life Care: Key Components Provided by Programs in Four States [Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin].” • “Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Program to Assist Weapons Scientists in Russia and Other Countries Needs to Be Reassessed.” • “Defense Acquisitions: Departmentwide Direction Is Needed for Implementation of the Anti-tamper Policy.” • “Information Security: IRS Needs to Address Pervasive Weaknesses.” • “Social Security Disability: Better Planning, Management, and Evaluation Could Help Address Backlogs.” www.gao.gov Rockefeller Institute of Government: • “State Revenue Report” www.rockinst.org IBM Center for the Business of Government: • “Strengthening Homeland Security: Reforming Planning and Resource Allocation.” www.businessofgovernment.org. Others: • “The Behn Report” www.ksg.harvard.edu/TheBehnReport/ If you have a report for this column, contact Christine McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org. PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 13 WTSWhereThingsStand Microsoft's New E-gov Platform John Rendleman Microsoft has introduced a suite of tools it will provide without charge to local and regional governments worldwide to help them deliver Web-based services to citizens. Microsoft’s Citizen Service Platform incorporates the company’s work with local and regional governments over the past several years, and consists of templates designed to run in Microsoft operating environments for the most commonly deployed e-government services. Microsoft will offer the initial set of online services to governments for customization and integration into their current environment later this year. Microsoft designed the platform to give local and regional governments the ability to customize the level of sophistication they offer in their e-government services, which can range from simple presence offerings that provide static information to citizens to more complex transactional services that enable interaction between citizens and government. Specific Microsoft products that the platform incorporates include Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft SharePoint Portal 2007 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As one example of the platform’s capabilities, Microsoft cited a citizen alert system used by the town of St. Mary in Jamaica last year that delivers storm and hurricane warnings via SMS messaging without requiring on-site Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) hardware. This brief is reprinted from Government Computer News (www.gcn.com). Cincinnati Receives Top Financial Certificate The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada has awarded the City of Cincinnati the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate is a nationally recognized award in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. In order to be considered for the award, the City had to prepare and publish an easily readable and understandable CAFR covering all funds and financial transactions of the City during the 2006 Fiscal Year. The report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. This is the twenty-sixth consecutive year that the City has received this award. The Cincinnati CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to have met the highest standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate the City’s financial story and motivate potential users to read the CAFR. The City’s 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is available on the City’s website at www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cityfinance/pages/-5320-/. Legislation introduced in Vermont to recall the Guard Legislation also planned for New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Washington, DC–A bill introduced today declares that the 2002 federal authorization to call up the State National Guard has expired, and would set in motion steps to recall members of the Vermont Guard. Similar legislation will be introduced by legislators in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, and is under active discussion in a half-dozen other states, notably Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine and Maryland. The Vermont bill would limit future Vermont National Guard service to state duties unless properly called into federal service. In addition to the Vermont legislation, announced today’s press conference in Montpelier by Rep. Michael Fisher and Senate President Pro-Tempore Peter Shumlin, legislators in New Hampshire (Rep. Charles Weed, 603-352-8309), Pennsylvania (Rep. Tony Payton, 215744-7901), and Rhode Island (Rep. David Segal, 401-432-7049), will sponsor similar National Guard legislation. Legislators in six other states, notably Maryland (Sen. Jamie Rankin, 301-8583634), Maine (Rep. Ted Koffman, 207288-5015), Minnesota (Rep. Frank Hornstein, 651-296-9281), and Wisconsin (Rep. Spencer Black, 608-266-7521), are working on the issue and considering following suit. Nonprofit Investigative News Organization to be Led by Paul Steiger New York–A new, non-partisan, nonprofit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest launched in January under the name ProPublica. Paul E. Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, is serving as president and editor in chief. ProPublica, when fully staffed in 2008, will include 24 fulltime reporters and editors, the largest staff in American journalism devoted solely to investigative reporting. ProPublica will be supported entirely by philanthropy and will provide the articles it produces, free of charge, both through its own website and to leading news organizations selected with an eye toward maximizing the impact of each article. Commenting on the new organization Steiger said, “ProPublica will focus exclusively on journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them. We will be non-partisan and nonideological, adhering to the strictest standards of journalistic impartiality and fairness.” He continued, “We will look hard at the critical functions of business and of government, the two biggest centers of power. But we will also focus on such institutions as unions, universities, hospitals, foundations and the media when they appear to be exploiting or oppressing those weaker than they, or when there is evidence that they are abusing the public trust.” Steiger noted that, “The creation of ProPublica comes at a difficult moment in American publishing. The number and variety of publishing platforms are exploding in the Internet age. But very few of these new entities are engaged in original, in-depth reporting. In short, sources of opinion are proliferating, but sources of facts on which those opinions are based are shrinking. Lincoln Institute and Peking University Establish Center for Urban Development and Land Policy in Beijing Focus to be on urbanization, planning, property tax in rapidly growing China Cambridge, MA–The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Peking University have established the Center for Urban Development and Land Policy on the campus of the university in Beijing. Joyce Yanyun Man, director of the Lincoln Institute’s China program, will serve as executive director. “With this center we seek to develop institutional capacity in China to address the many challenges that the country’s rapid growth has for land,” said Gregory K. Ingram, president of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (www.lincolninst.edu) “We want to continue to strengthen China’s expertise in land policy and planning for urban development, through research, fellowships and training.” The Lincoln Institute has been actively engaged in China for the last five years, through its Program in the People’s Republic of China (www.lincolninst.edu/ aboutlincoln/prc.asp). Joyce Yanyun Man of Indiana University was earlier this year appointed director of the program, and is based in Beijing. The new center, which will be in operation in Peking University campus offices in early 2008, will complement the ongoing activities of the China program. “I hope the joint center will offer a platform for international and Chinese scholars to share experiences and deepen understanding of urbanization, land and fiscal policies in China and around the world,” said Lin Jianhua, executive vice president and provost of Peking University. “I believe that such interactions and dialogue will not only help enhance the academic teaching and research quality in these areas at Peking University, but also will facilitate discussions, research and sound policy in the use, regulation, and taxation of land and urban development in China.” If you have a press release for “Where Things Stand,” contact Christine McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org. 7+( 0267 &2035(+(16,9( 38%/,& $'0,1,675$7,21 &21)(5(1&( 2) 7+( <($5« 7KH )DLUPRQW 'DOODV LV WKH SODFH WR EH 0DUFK IRU WKH $PHULFDQ 6RFLHW\ IRU 3XEOLF $GPLQLVWUDWLRQ V $63$ WK $QQXDO &RQIHUHQFH $63$ ZLOO KRVW RYHU IHGHUDO VWDWH DQG ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW RIILFLDOV DQG HPSOR\HHV VFKRODUV SUDFWLWLRQHUV QHZ SURIHVVLRQDOV DQG VWXGHQWV ZKR ZLOO FRPH WRJHWKHU IRU WUDLQLQJ QHWZRUNLQJ H[FKDQJLQJ LGHDV DQG OHDUQLQJ DERXW FXUUHQW SUDFWLFHV LQ WKH ILHOG 7KLV\HDU·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·W EH OHIW RXW 5(*,67(5 21/,1( 72'$< $63$ $118$/&21)(5(1&(0$5&+ 7KH )DLUPRQW 'DOODV 'DOODV 7H[DV 7UDQVIRUPDWLRQDO 3XEOLF$GPLQLVWUDWLRQ $&DOOIRU3XEOLF6HUYLFH :::$63$1(725*&21)(5(1&( :KR 6KRXOG $WWHQG" 3URIHVVLRQDOV LQYROYHG LQ DOO DVSHFWV RI SXEOLF VHUYLFH DGPLQLVWUDWRUV DFDGHPLFV VHQLRU DQG PLGOHYHO PDQDJHUV QHZ SURIHVVLRQDOV DQG VWXGHQWV INSIDE: President’s Column ASPA in Brief Career Center Recruiter Conferences Calendar 16 20 24-25 26 28 National Council Representative District Winners ASPA TIMES Advancing excellence in public ser vice. . . Newman Elected ASPA Vice President Christine McCrehin Meredith Newman, professor and director of the School of Public Administration at Florida International University, has been elected ASPA vice president and will become president of the organization in 2010. Newman will officially assume the office of vice president at ASPA’s 69th Annual Conference in Dallas, TX, March 7-11, 2008. District 1 Ann Hess Braga Boston City Council District 2 Samuel L. Brown University of Nebraska, Omaha District 3 Rodney Stanley Tennessee State University District 4 Michael Gershowitz Gershowitz Grant and Evaluation Services District 5 James Nordin Public Management Solutions ASPA member Meredith Newman, professor and director of the School of Public Administration at Florida International University, will officially accept her elected position during ASPA’s 69th Annual Conference in Dallas, TX, March 7-11, 2008. At that time, Donald Klingner, professor, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, will become president replacing Harvey White, associate professor, University of Pittsburgh, who will become immediate past president. Paul Posner, professor at George Mason University, will become president-elect. Newly elected National Council members will also assume their seats at the conference (see list at left). Newman has served the society on local and national levels. After receiving the news of her election, Newman agreed to take a few moments to tell PA TIMES readers a bit about the goals she has for her tenure as an ASPA officer. How does it feel to be elected vice president of ASPA? I feel proud, thrilled and honored to be elected vice president. It is fitting that I am writing my responses to your questions while I am preparing for the start of our South Florida chapter board meeting. I am grateful for the board’s assistance, and appreciate the support I was privileged to receive more broadly. The timing presents a unique See NEWMAN, pg. 22 PA TIMES Announces Best Article of ‘07 Washington, DC–The PA TIMES is pleased to announce that the September 2007 article “Is Public Administration Dead,” by Carol Becker, has been selected as the winner of its 2007 Best Article Award. “Becker's article deals directly and succinctly with a topic of interest to all ASPA members,” writes PA TIMES Editorial Board Chair Russell Williams in an email announcing the winner. “Cogently written in a manner that reaches academics, practitioners and students, the author presents clear definitions and useful examples in an examination of the current state of public administration. The article avoids both apocalyptic and Pollyannaish conclusions as it presents a well-reasoned answer to the question found in its title. By doing this, it provides the reader with a clearly marked point of departure for further discussion.” To which Becker, a senior planner at the Metropolitan Council, Minneapolis, MN, and a PhD candidate at Hamline University, responded, “I have to say that I am very excited about winning this award. I’m a practitioner and not an academic professionally so finding time for writing articles can be a bit difficult. But I couldn’t pass up this opportunity on this topic, as I believe that the next evolution of government implementation is by organizations with weak or non-existent connections to sovereign government. I believe this will have profound implications for public administration, for democracy, and for society itself. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for the topic, “Is Public Administration Dead?” I was very surprised to hear that it won an award because it is hard to tell a group of people that their profession is fraying at the edges. Tell everyone thank you for the honor.” This year’s award will be presented Monday, March 10, during the annual Awards Ceremony at ASPA’s 69th Annual Conference in Dallas, TX. Past recipients include: 2006 winner Dwight Vick for, “Why FEMA is a FourLetter Word and How Bamboo Federalism Can Change It,”; 2005 winners Evan M. Berman, Thomas D. Lynch, Cynthia E. Lynch and Maria D. Berman for, “‘There was no Plan’–A Louisiana Perspective”; 2004 winner Jim Colvard for “Middle Managers Must Be Bilingual”; and 2003 winner James D. Caroll for “The Right to Privacy vs. the Right to Protection: The Question of Countervailing Power.” All winning articles are on the ASPA website at www.aspanet.org. And the Winner Is… ASPA Introduces Chapter Membership Development Award Caneka McNeil This year chapters can compete for the ASPA Chapter Membership Development Award. The purpose of this award is to increase public awareness about ASPA and gain additional membership at every level. Chapters will have until the end of December to promote ASPA, recruit new members and invite previous members back. The recruitment guidelines are simple: have fun and be creative! Chapters may promote ASPA in any form as long as it advances our mission. Three awards will be given out in four divisions. The first division is for chapters that have up to 25 members. The second division is for chapters that have between 26 to 50 members. The third division is for chapters that have between 51 to 100 members. The fourth division is for chapters that have 101 members or more. Three prizes will be awarded in each division. The first place winner will receive a complimentary professional development workshop for its members sponsored by ASPA National. The topic will be mutually agreed upon by ASPA National and the chapter officers. The workshop will last approximately half a day. ASPA will provide the speaker, materials and help market the event. The second place winner will receive a $250 American Express gift card for the chapter to host an event for its members. The last prize will be given to an individual. For every person a member recruits into ASPA, their name will be entered into a raffle drawing. The winner will receive a complimentary registration to an ASPA conference of his/her choice. Membership applications include a place for referrals so that we can track the progress of the competition. At the end of every quarter, ASPA National will report in the PA Times the number of members who have joined by chapter. Chapters will be judged by the percent increase of membership from 1/1/2008 to 12/31/2008. The winners will be announced in January 2009. ASPA looks forward to working with the chapters as we increase ASPA’s presence and reach new heights in membership. For more information about the ASPA Chapter Membership Development Award, please contact ASPA Public Relations Administrator, Caneka McNeil, at 202393-7878 ext. 200 or cmcneil@aspanet.org. Caneka McNeil is ASPA’s public relations administrator. Email: cmcneil@aspanet.org PAGE 16 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN American Society for Public Administration Harvey White Building on a Bold Beginning: Standing Up for Public Administration Harvey White With few exceptions, efforts to stop the bashing of public servants have not prevailed. Edward J. Curran’s bold presentation on the ABC “This Week” news in 1997 is one of these exceptions. Making strategic use of this media opportunity, he described the failure of leading congressional leaders to be responsive to information and recommendations given to them by professional civil servants. Curran’s bold defense of his colleagues and agency on a national news show is described as the “Beginning of the end” for the passive acceptance of “bureaucrat bashing.” A public servant had finally successfully challenged attempts to make civil servants the scapegoat for problems precipitated by political leaders. The heroic action of this career public servant, who served our country for more than 40 years, stands in dire contrast to normal bureaucratic behavior. As George Frederickson asserts, Curran’s actions represented “an electric moment, a Sabbath public administration epiphany, one of those rare and beautiful moments about which bureaucrats dream.” His bold action caught many off guard and curtailed undeserved criticism of public administrators. According to Frederickson, decades from now students will ask: “Who was this man Edward J. Curran, and why is he so important in public administration?” Their professors will answer: “the end of the 20th century, after decades of bureaucrat bashing by Congress, it was Edward J. Corran who would not be bashed.” This epic moment would be described as “... the beginning of the end of the political advantages that once came from bureaucrat bashing.” Unfortunately, more than ten years after Curran’s “epic” actions, the bashing of public servants continues to be endemic in the political arena. Numerous politicians and pundits are building their careers by perpetuating stereotypes, falsehoods and hyperboles about a “growing bureaucratic Leviathan that pathologically abuses its power.” This “Phantom bureaucracy,” as it were, is still the scapegoat for many of our social, economic and personal woes. Many political leaders are as quick as ever to blame policy and administrative failures on civil servants and as slow to take responsibility for any of the maladies that occur during their terms in office. Given the persistence of bureaucrat bashing that pervades our society, students studying public administration in the future may be more inclined to ask: “What did individuals and organizations do to build on Curran’s bold Beginning?” What did they do to advance public administration? Why did they fail to seize this epic moment for our profession? How will we respond? Much has been done to advance public administration. More needs to been done. We are not responsible for what was not done by those who precede us; nor can we control what shall be done by those who follow us. We are accountable, however, for today. Unprovoked attacks on public administrators are taking place during our moment in time. It has been evidenced in the current presidential campaign and it is not the prerogative of individuals from one particular persuasion or political party. How shall we respond? How shall we advance Curran’s epic stand for public administration. Much has been done to advance public administration. More needs to been done. We are not responsible for what was not done by those who precede us; nor can we control what shall be done by those who follow us. We are accountable, however, for today. How shall we build upon his beginning and restore the respect for and pride in the public administration profession it merits. It is ASPA’s challenge, along with other public service organizations, to find ways to expand this epic beginning Frederickson attributes to Curran. We must, during our moment in time, make sure that our profession is better today than it was yesterday. We must leave it positioned so that those who follow us can make it even better during their day. This is what Curran did through his bold beginning. This is our challenge today. We do not expect nor would it be appropriate for most public servants to follow Curran’s bold actions. As was clear to him, however, no one is likely to stand up for public administration except public administrators. We also do not expect public servants to deliberately embarrass elected political leadership. This is not our purpose. Nevertheless we can and should do as William Armstrong, a distinguished British civil servant, suggests and “operate on the edge of politics without being political” to help “reposition politi- cal leaders” on issues that are detrimental to our profession (Frederickson). In this vein, ASPA is addressing bureaucratic bashings and other issues germane to public administration with all current presidential candidates. Whether raising issues of concern in public forums or indirectly through communications with staffers, the ASPA leadership team’s nonpartisan initiatives are aggressively bringing public administration related concerns to candidates’ attention. Our recent effort in this regard was a series of concerns and questions sent to all candidates for their responses. In addition to encouraging them to refrain from prejudicial attacks on public servants, we have asked them to describe specific initiatives they would take to: • Encourage the best and brightest individuals to pursue careers in public service; • Address the imbalance between contractors and public servants at the federal level; • Promote minimum professional standards for executive administrative positions; and • Inculcate core public service values in the civil service during their presidency We have indicated in our communications with these candidates that their responses will be shared with you, our members, via the PA TIMES and postings on our website. The first report of their responses is printed in this edition. Others will be shared as they are received. All major presidential candidates have also been invited to bring greetings during our national conference in Dallas. Candidates from both political parties have received invitations. As the availability of candidates is made known to us, we will make this information public. As we move forward in this presidential election year, we must seize every opportunity to advance the interest of public administration. In forums, we must ask questions relative to our interest. We should respond to inaccurate information that presents those in our profession in a prejudicial manner. Also, we should not hesitate to develop position papers and use other nonpartisan methods to help enhance excellence in public service. In other words we should “operate on the edge of politics without being political” to help “reposition political leaders” on issues that are crucial to our profession. Equally important, we must assist the next president, however possible, in recruiting and selecting the very best and most talented individuals to serve our country. We should help set high standards and expectations for those in public service. Further, we must demand of ourselves and all members of our profession the highest level of ethical behavior, integrity and professionalism. This includes advancing social equity. Thus, when students read about what we did in our moment, it should be clear that everything possible was done to advance Curran’s bold beginning to end the bashing of public servants. It should be clear that we built on this bold beginning by standing up for public administration, when and wherever we could. They should know that, during our moment in time, we made public administration better today than it was yesterday; and our efforts positioned this noble profession so that those who followed had an opportunity to make it even better in their day. Our efforts during this presidential election year are designed to help achieve these objectives. We shall continue to boldly advance the interest of ASPA and our profession. I look forward to greeting each of you at the Dallas Conference, March 7-11. ASPA member Harvey White is ASPA president and an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Email: hwhite@usouthal.edu (please copy rnicholas@usouthal.edu on all correspondence). Tables for the Social Equity Luncheon are available for purchase, please take advantage of the opportunity to be present at this enlightening event. Contact Duanne Crawley at dcrawley@aspanet.org American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 17 ASPA Announces Winners from 2007 Award Program Recipients Will Receive Recognition at National Conference in Dallas, TX, March 7-11, 2008 Washington, DC–ASPA is pleased to announce the winners from our 2007 Awards Program. Winners will be recognized during special ceremonies during the Societies 69th Annual Conference in Dallas, TX, from March 7-11, 2008. Following is a listing of the awards and awardees: Charles H. Levine Award–Presented by ASPA and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), this award recognizes a public administration faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in three major areas of the field of teaching, research and service to the wider community. • John M. Bryson Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award This award pays tribute to ASPA members who have contributed outstanding services to the Society. • RaJade M. Berry-James Dwight Waldo Award Presented to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the professional literature of public administration over an extended career. • James L. Perry Elmer B. Staats Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Public Service This award honors a public administrator's career accomplishments and contributions to the public service and ASPA over a lifetime. • Sylvester Murray Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award Sponsored by the ASPA Endowment, this year’s presentation marks the sixth annual Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award to a public administrator in recognition of distinguished contributions toward achieving fairness, justice, and equity in government. • Addie Mix Co-Founder and Executive Director, Reclaim a Youth (RAY) International Public Administration Award This award honors a distinguished foreign scholar or practitioner for significant contributions to public administration in other nations. • Matsuyo Makino 2007 PA TIMES Best Article Award This award recognizes the one PA TIMES article which best meets the selection criteria of being informative, provocative, creative and well-written. Call for Papers 2008 International Conference on Public Administration, 4th Annual ICPA September 24-26, 2008 • University of Minnesota, USA “Building Bridges to the Future: Leadership and Collaboration in Public Administration” CONFERENCE SPONSORS • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (USETC), P.R. China • The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), USA • The University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (UMN), USA Conference Co-Sponsors: The School of Public Administration of Moscow State University and the Chinese Public Administration Journal Conference Host: University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Minneapolis, MN • “Is Public Administration Dead?” –Carol Becker Paul P. Van Riper Award for Excellence and Service Presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to both the academic and practitioner communities of public administration. Sponsored by the ASPA Endowment. Wallace O. Keene ASPA Conference Scholarships These scholarships are intended to provide students financial assistance to attend the ASPA national conference. Sponsored by the ASPA Endowment. • Tobey Zimber New York State Assembly • Albert C. Hyde Conference Scholarship for Graduate Students Marshall E. Dimock Award Presented for the best lead article in Public Administration Review during a volume year. Chapter/Section Newsletter Awards Given annually to recognize newsletters as a vital means of communication and a valuable service offered to chapter and section members. Public Administration Review (PAR) Awards • Donald Moynihan, Sanjay K. Pandey Laverne Burchfield Award The writer of the best book review in Public Administration Review is honored with this award. • Michael W. Spicer Public Integrity Award This award acknowledges an organization that has made outstanding contributions to responsible conduct in public service. • Lisa I. Ganesh • Magdalena Blanco, Division II • Denise Wells, Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) James E. Webb Award Presented to the person(s) who gave the most outstanding paper at ASPA's National Conference. • Beth Offenbacker • Mary Randolph ASPA Contributors Supporting Contributors Jeremy F. Plant Middletown, PA Dwight A. Ink Lansdowne, VA Faisal H. Hamed Riyadh Kathe Callahan Montclair, NJ Jennifer Alexander Cleveland, OH Irvin L. White Waterloo, NE Ann G. Bailie Trinity, NC Individual Contributors Wallace C. Davis Schenectady, NY Mary R. Hamilton Waterloo, NE Kathryn E. Hensley Lexington, SC Endowment Contributors Mark A. Abramson Alexandria, VA Donald C. Menzel Tampa, FL Lenneal Henderson, Jr. Ellicott City, MD Paper Abstract Submission Deadline: April 1, 2008 Full Paper Submission Deadline: July 1, 2008 Paper Acceptance Notification: July 15, 2008 Paper Submissions within China (in Microsoft Word) are to be e-mailed to: Abstracts–2008icpa@163.com, Full Paper–icpa@uestc.edu.cn To the attention of : Zhao Shu-rong, School of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, P.R. China, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R.C, Post Code: 610054, Tel:0086-28-83208367, Fax:0086-28-83205258 Access All Volumes of Public Administration Review (PAR) online Papers Submission outside China (in Microsoft Word) are to be e-mailed to: donmenzel@tampabay.rr.com To the attention of: Donald C. Menzel, Ph.D., Past-President: American Society for Public Administration 2005-06, 3930 Americana Drive, Tampa, Florida 33634, USA, Tel: 001-813-886-6332, Cell: 001-813-951-6079 www.aspanet.org PAGE 18 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration New ASPA Members ASPA welcomes the following new members from the month of December 2007. Please note: Members rejoining ASPA are not included on this list. James Bozeman Alaska Sabrina Cotta Alaska Alaska LeeAnn Garrick Nordfelt Kye Arizona James Garrett Arkansas Cedric Alexander Moorer At Large Member Barbara Bateman At Large Member Eileen Corkern At Large Member Denise Gunning Cade At Large Member At Large Member William J. Harkins, Jr. Celeste Johnson At Large Member Lamyuen Lamyuen At Large Member At Large Member Barbara S. Malkove Joachim Musekiwa At Large Member At Large Member Ann L. Rambeau Neale Smith At Large Member Bakersfield California Daaiyah Akram Catherine Allison Bakersfield California Bryce Link Buffalo Niagara Centex Emma Forks Moses T. Ruiz Centex Centex Elizabeth Simmons Linda Teniente Centex Terri Tuttle Centex William Burdinejr Central California Nedine Scott Central California Central Florida Monifa Charles Stephenie Kyser Central Florida Steven Maners Central Florida Nadia Peneltonscott Central Florida Christopher Adams Central Missouri Central New York Tara Buckingham Stephen Jackson Central New York Andrea Peck Central New York Mary Clay Central Ohio Karen Miner-Romanoff Central Ohio Central Pennsylvania Adrian Buckner Vanessa O'Neal Central Piedmont Central Piedmont James Wright John Barr Chicago Illinois Tracy Cargo Chicago Illinois George Davis Chicago Illinois Meco Harris Chicago Illinois Jake Holmes Chicago Illinois Myrna Leal Chicago Illinois Timothy Miller Chicago Illinois Christina Spoons Chicago Illinois Andrew Dimas Coastal Bend John Knight Coastal Bend J.M. Grebenc Colorado Brydon Robert Colorado Terry Spears Colorado Darlene Boyd Delaware John McNutt Delaware Iskeisha Stuckey Delaware Reba Williams Delaware Detroit Metro Area Deborah Davis Detroit Metro Area Mary Davis Robert Duke Detroit Metro Area Detroit Metro Area Latonya Latamore Tawi Moore Detroit Metro Area Thomas Taylor Detroit Metro Area Ramadhani Wambere Detroit Metro Area Melissa Washington Detroit Metro Area East Georgia Wanda Hill Jason Kuykendall East Georgia Karen Blaine El Paso/SE New Mexico El Paso/SE New Mexico George Lyon Brian Fuss Empire State Capital Area David Stark Empire State Capital Area Evergreen Larry Nelson Eric Osborne Evergreen Alana J. Slayton Evergreen Linda Tsubaki Evergreen Evergreen Craig Werre Naimah Bazemore Georgia Dori M. Brink Georgia Angela Curington Georgia Georgia Natasha Daniels Audrey Dowling Georgia Georgia Eric Helvy Georgia Cherie James Georgia Darron Jump Sharon Lauray Georgia Rebecca Miller Georgia Georgia Scharmel Mitchell Jillian Odom Georgia Sandra Rice Georgia Maria Sherman Georgia Georgia Dwight Singleton Volanda Tate Georgia Waymon Williams Georgia Joseph Munger Gold Coast Althia Pryce Gold Coast Afsaneh Brooks Greater Birmingham Hill Carmichael Greater Birmingham Greater Birmingham Toshia Craig Philip Gibson Greater Birmingham Yvonne Murray Greater Birmingham Greater Birmingham William Porter Juanita Johnson Greater Cincinnati Greater Cincinnati Jessica Kamer Latorya Nettles Greater Cincinnati Greater Cincinnati Michael C. Ritter Kim Wanstrath Greater Cincinnati Cory W. Wright Greater Cincinnati Greater Kansas City Terence Hall Felicia Tong Greater Kansas City Greater Rochester Chandra Davis, Sr. Clarence Jones Greater Rochester Timothy Lauve Greater Rochester Robert Lee, DPA Gulf Coast Vivian Greentree Hampton Roads Hampton Roads Gloria J. Hatcher David Keeler Hampton Roads Meeca Lankford Hampton Roads Amanda McDonald Hampton Roads Amberleigh Mitchell Hampton Roads Hampton Roads Richard Speegle Paddy Daly Hawaii Steven Moore Hawaii Julie Oliveira Hawaii Jeffrey Symons Heart of Illinois Houston Area Anthony Gilchrest William Hoffman Houston Area Houston Area Shelia Mays Tisha Sinnette Houston Area Jessica Williams Houston Area Aloke Barnwal Indiana Nicollette Buntyn Indiana Heather Kemp Indiana Amir Mousavi Indiana Hun Myoung Park Indiana Sonya B. Chavarria Inland Empire Jaime Gochenour Inland Empire Eric Kassick Inland Empire Joseph Hefling Inland Northwest Bryan Nugent Inland Northwest Shih Hsien Chang Intl. Elec. Membership Christine Kisenga Intl. Elec. Membership Rufat Mahmud Intl. Elec. Membership Leah S. Berbano Iowa Capital Orville N. Berbano Iowa Capital Iowa Capital Tony Hansen Kansas Mike Allen Richard Stafford Kentucky Margarita Del Aguila-Raquino L.A. Metro Area Anna Bakardzhieva L.A. Metro Area Douglas Bender L.A. Metro Area Brady Douglas L.A. Metro Area Daniel Romero L.A. Metro Area Belinda Salinaspulido L.A. Metro Area Antoinette Christophe Louisiana Louisiana Charles Harris Louisiana Ladawndrea Johnson Louisiana Kelvin Swayzer Louisiana Hortance Terry Ophelia Mixon Lowcountry Adrian Wieland Lowcountry Kenneth Fisher Maryland William Folson Maryland Ronald Gill Maryland Maryland Philip Guzman Maryland Clark Howells Maryland Darrick Hunter Kenya Johnson Maryland Sandra Jones Maryland Maryland Sarah Oryszak George Doe Massachusetts Mary K. Fitzgerald Massachusetts Derrick Jones Massachusetts Rumel Mahmoud Massachusetts Jerrell Riggins Massachusetts Scott Gully Miami Valley Cherie Bryant Michigan Capital Michigan Capital Jenell Hierholzer Clevester Moten Michigan Capital Daniel Petersen, Jr. Michigan Capital Rebecca Ropp Michigan Capital Eric Scorsone Michigan Capital Blair Zagata, III Michigan Capital Larry Doyle Milwaukee Milwaukee Katherine Kuhl Austin Bleess Minnesota Kelly Classic Minnesota Minnesota Shannon Miko Alshaunta Butler Mississippi Mississippi Beverly Commodore Daisy Crockett Mississippi Mississippi Tekevia Smith Yarsuo Wehdorlaie Mississippi Gwendolyn Copeland National Capital Area National Capital Area Toye Latimore Jameelah Lewis National Capital Area National Capital Area Daniel Salifou Sara Brown Nebraska Christine Kisenga Nebraska William Tucker Nebraska Annamarie Accardi New Jersey New Jersey Christine Lamacchia Schenita Mcmillian New Jersey Suhail Padin New Jersey Jason Rivera New Jersey Louise Rudd New Jersey New Mexico Gregory Meyer Joyce Bain New York Metro Eugena Brooks New York Metro James Cottrell New York Metro Marjorie Cunningham New York Metro New York Metro Yemane Desta Natalie Gentles New York Metro New York Metro Janice Hawkins Daisy Hernandez New York Metro Peter Hoffman New York Metro Sonia Layne New York Metro Phyllis McBride New York Metro Tamisha McPherson New York Metro Samuel Michel New York Metro Anne Ortega New York Metro Kwanena Osei New York Metro Ayana Rush New York Metro Tracy Tomlinson New York Metro New York Metro Adam Waitzman Valerie Wendell New York Metro Ernest Wheeler New York Metro Kimberly Ramsey North Florida Leah Silverman North Florida Autumn Tomas North Florida Lateresa Christian North Texas North Texas Malik Dulaney North Texas Cynthia Henry Zelford Irions North Texas North Texas Larry McCoy Randolph Moravec North Texas Scott Patterson North Texas Elizabeth Price North Texas Phillip Keith Pulliam North Texas North Texas Esque Walker Cynthia Ritchie Northeast Florida Heidi Giffin Northeast Ohio Regional Jerry Klinesmith Northeast Ohio Regional Mary Migra Northeast Ohio Regional Julia Sparks Northeast Ohio Regional Northeast Ohio Regional Don Szerensci Kathryn Kloby Northern New Jersey Hugo Pizarro Northern New Jersey Eric Rigie Northern New Jersey Kenneth Williams, Sr. Northern New Jersey John Fallon Northern Virginia Hugh Fox Northern Virginia Sheri Makayan Northern Virginia Northern Virginia Lydia Portee Joseph Robertson Northern Virginia Northern Virginia Dylan Smith Oklahoma Anita Cantrell Oklahoma Alphonso Malcolm Ronald Stanberry Oklahoma Stephen R. Townley Oklahoma Oregon/SW Washington David Daniels Christine Karas Oregon/SW Washington Efiong Aniatang Philadelphia Area Robert Badaracco Philadelphia Area Philadelphia Area Latoya Carter Crayton Duncan Philadelphia Area Dawn Whitfield Philadelphia Area Paula Simpson Piedmont Triad John Wilson Piedmont Triad Denise Bearer Pittsburgh Area Ronna Swartz Pittsburgh Area Research Triangle Regina Dawson Juanisha Hart Research Triangle Johnson Kawona Research Triangle Research Triangle Brenda Mercer Shamaury Myrick Research Triangle Research Triangle Sharon Thomas Khodr Zaarour Research Triangle Sacramento California Jill A. Blake Kevin Simpson Sacramento California Shondreka Davis San Diego San Diego Alexander Stein Donna Dolinar S.F. Bay Area S.F. Bay Area Sean Gallegos Peter Hoffman S.F. Bay Area Candice Holman Bynum S.F. Bay Area Teresa Lacona S.F. Bay Area Stephanie Lazarowich S.F. Bay Area S.F. Bay Area Andrew MacDonald Linda Orrante S.F. Bay Area Rosalind Reid-Arrebollo S.F. Bay Area Jennifer Spielman S.F. Bay Area Tim Tung S.F. Bay Area S.F. Bay Area Oscar Uribe Alvina Yan S.F. Bay Area Susan Marsland Santa Clara Valley Keri Zink Santa Clara Valley Christine Kisenga Siouxland SD South Carolina Andre Anderson Jennifer Arns South Carolina South Carolina Kellie Yates Juan-Carlos Del Valle South Florida Vil Jeffrey South Florida Carlos J. Martinez South Florida Nicholas A. Merlin South Florida Wanda Suarez South Florida Michelle Faulkner South Texas Dorothy Moore South Texas Ronald Pray South Texas Allison Leifert Southern Colorado Denise Rue-Pastin Southern Colorado Elaine Kilmer Southern Illinois Monica Curtis Southern Nevada Dano Kraig Southern Nevada Pilapil Fernandez April Booker Southwest Georgia Dori M. Brink Southwest Georgia Sonja Brown Southwest Georgia Dennis Harris Southwest Georgia Southwest Georgia Pamela Jackson Caterina Orr Southwest Georgia Southwest Virginia Rachel L. Ivory Southwest Virginia Jeffrey Tanner Scott Mullins St. Louis Metro Nathaniel Curry, III Suncoast Steven Kauffman Suncoast Jeffrey Nkansah Suncoast Lashawn Smith Suncoast Candice Turner Suncoast Tennessee Jennifer Burdette Tennessee Theresa Hope Collins Tennessee Linda Kunz Tennessee Nolson Philippe Lori Porter Tennessee Nordfelt Kye Utah Barbara Crowson Vermont Jayne T. Flowers Virginia Robert Murphy Virginia Virginia Joseph Robertson Virginia David Rottman Virginia Kelvin Wright William Tucker Walden Univ. Affiliate Keith Tukes Walden Univ. Affiliate Kenneth Williams, Sr. Walden Univ. Affiliate Heather Kasmauski West Michigan Eric Kaniecki West Virginia Allison Tomasek West Virginia Aric Dutelle Wisconsin Capital Richard F. Holden Wisconsin Capital American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 19 Section News SWPA Announces Conference Events and Award Winners Section to Host Events and Present Awards During ASPA Annual Conference, May 2008 in Dallas, TX Washington, DC–The Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) will host several events including the SWPA National Award Breakfast during the 69th ASPA National Conference in Dallas, TX, March 7-11, 2008. Following are the dates and times for SWPA Sponsored Events and the SWPA Breakfast on March 10, 2008. Also, please look for SWPA Endorsed Panels and Presentations in the ASPA Conference Program and attend to hear our members speak on relevant topics. Saturday, March 8, 2008, 10:45-12:45, SWPA Professional Development Roundtable Title: Transitions for Success: The New Norm Presenters: Jerri Killian and Suzanne Discenza, co-chairs, SWPA Professional Development Committee Description: This roundtable session offers valuable insights into the trials, tribulations, and successes experienced when seeking success in various transitional stages of professional life. Discussants and key topics include students emerging as new professionals, practitioners and academics experiencing mid-career changes, and experienced professionals moving toward retirement. This interactive session is sure to have something for everyone! Sunday, March 9, 2008, 7:00-8:30 a.m. , SWPA Board Meeting, Royal Room, Fairmont Hotel–All SWPA Members are invited to attend. Sunday, March 9, 2008, 8:30-9:30 a.m. SWPA Annual Members’ Meeting, Gold Room, Fairmont Hotel–All SWPA Members and Prospective Members invited to attend! This is the Annual Business Meeting but will offer so much more! Early morning coffee starts the day, Networking and Lessons learned from the Saturday’s Professional Development Roundtable, Transitions for Success: The New Norm. Monday, March 10, 2008, 7:30-9:00 a.m., SWPA National Awards Breakfast Featuring SWPA National Award recipients, Student Scholarship Winners and The Honorable Frances Garcia, Inspector General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as Keynote Speaker. As Inspector General, Garcia is responsible for all of GAO's internal audits, evaluations, and investigations. The Section for Women in Public Administration Cordially Invites the ASPA Annual Conference Delegates to the SWPA National Awards Breakfast Monday, March 10, 2008 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas Honoring the 2008 SWPA National Award Recipients With special recognition of the SWPA Scholarship Award Winners We invite you to all of the SWPA events, particularly on Monday, March 10 at the SWPA National Awards Breakfast to greet one another and celebrate the role of women in public administration. For information on the SWPA National Conference participation contact Phin Xaypangna at phin.xaypangna@mecklenburgcountync.gov. SWPA would also like to congratulate the winners of the 2008 SWPA Conference Scholarships. Started in 2001 to honor outstanding students in public administration, this program awards each scholarship recipient $500 to help defray the costs associated with attending the ASPA annual conference. While this year’s outstanding recipients are all MPA students, these scholarships are open annually to students in public administration at all academic levels. Scholarship Award winners will not only be recognized at the SWPA National Awards Breakfast, but they also have been invited to serve on the SWPA Roundtable “Transitions” panel to be held on Saturday, March 8. Please stop by and offer your congratulations to these women at the SWPA Members meeting, the SWPA Roundtable “Transitions” Session, and the SWPA Breakfast. Melanie Helser is an MPA student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages and International Trade from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. While working on her graduate degree, Helser is also employed by the UAB Institutional Review Board responsible for ensuring legal, procedural, and ethical compliance with matters pertaining to conflicts of interest. Melanie’s career goals include working with a public or non-governmental organization focused on advancing multicultural and/or multinational relations. Shinika McKiever is an MPA student at North Carolina Central University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UNC Greensboro with a minor in African American Studies. McKiever is currently employed by the Duke University Medical Center where she performs research and assists with grant management and delivery. In addition to these activities, Shinika remains an active volunteer in both her church and her community, and her career goals are to enhance public service by advancing the values of honesty, integrity, perseverance, respect, and meritocracy. Gail M. Nehls is an MPA student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Logistics from Penn State University at University Park and has completed coursework toward a nursing degree. She is a mid-career student with strong professional experience in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors. Nehls has served as project manager and cultural liaison for two medical mission trips to China, as a member of numerous school committees in Hong Kong and in the US, and is currently the Sectretary/ Administrator for the Colorado Springs Chinese Language School. Gail’s professional goals are to redefine healthcare delivery through information technology to address the issues of quality, safety, and cost. Scholarship Committee: Dara Baldwin, Suzanne Discenza, Sharon Mastracci and Jerri Killian (Chair). SWPA would also like to announce winners of the other awards to be given during the SWPA Breakfast: Audrey Mathews (emerita from the University of California San Bernardino) will receive the Joan Fiss Bishop Award. This is awarded to an individual who, by example and action, as promoted increased participation of women in the public service profession, exhibits a defined contribution to increased involvement in the public sector, innovative leadership and accomplished professionalism in the individual's own public service career, and commitment to the public administration profession. Marilyn Rubin (from John Jay College of Criminal Justice) will receive the Rita Mae Kelly Award. This award recognizes outstanding research contributions to gender-related issues. The nominee shall have performed research on an issue significant to the role of women in public administration and made an impact through that research on women's lives. Orapin Sopchokchai (Commissioner of Public Sector Reform in Thailand) will receive the Julia B. Henderson Award. This award honors a woman who has made substantial contributions to public administration in an international setting. The honoree is to have, in an international context, promoted the role of women in public services and developing societies. The Marcia Crowley Award will also be given, but the recipient will not be announced until the SWPA Breakfast. Chair of the SWPA Awards Committee: Patricia Alt The Honorable Frances Garcia, Inspector General, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Keynote Speaker 1 Job Ad, 3 Options: RSVP by Signing up on your 2008 ASPA Conference Registration Tickets also Available at the ASPA Conference Print Only • Web Only • Print and Web Contact: cjewett@aspanet.org PAGE 20 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration ASPA in Brief Sponsorship and Exhibitor Opportunities Available at 2008 ASPA Conference ASPA has an array of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at the Annual Conference being held March 7-11, in Dallas, TX at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel. More than 1,200 federal, state and local government officials and employees, scholars, practitioners, new professionals, and students will come together for training, networking and learning about current practices in the field. Be a supporter of advancing excellence in public service! Sponsorship opportunities are almost endless and designed to fit your budget. They include educational and professional development programs, Founders’ Forum Fellowships, receptions, Internet café, coffee breaks, and USB sticks just to name a few. Act now to sponsor the item of your choice! This year’s Exhibit Hall will be larger and offers extended hours to ensure plenty of visibility for you. In addition to more than 35 exhibitors, there will be book signings, resume critiques, prize drawings, the Hallway of Heroes and sponsored refreshment breaks. Contact Judy Miller, jmiller@aspanet.org, or call 202-585-4306 for questions or additional information. Check out ASPA’s recently launched 2008 Annual Conference website: www.aspanet.org/2008conference/. You will find information on conference sessions, professional development seminars, special events, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, travel, registration, and more. Check back frequently for conference updates. ASPA Chapter and Section Website Template Can Help Promote Activities This past June, ASPA had a "user friendly" website template designed for your use. The template allows for tailoring the pages of your site with pictures and content that reflects the uniqueness of your chapter or section. It is very easy to maintain and update without expensive tools or extensive knowledge of HTML. Since then some of the chapters and sections have used the template to either launch a new site or to redesign their current site. Check out some of the chapter and section sites at www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/secchapwebsites.cfm and see how they are using their websites to promote activities including conferences. Should you have any questions about using the template contact Matt Rankin, mrankin@aspanet.org, or 202-585-4312. To view the other online marketing tools available for promoting your chapter's or section's activities visit www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/index_com mtoolkit_main.cfm. ASPA Section on National Security is Proposed A new ASPA Section on National Security is being proposed for establishment. In keeping with ASPA's policy for the establishment of new sections, a formal advisory notice is being forwarded to the entire ASPA membership. The first step in the process is to determine if there is an interest among the entire ASPA membership in establishing such a section. Interest must be verified by a minimum of 1 percent of the membership (approximately 90 members) agreeing in writing to join such a section. Once that commitment is made, the other administrative details will have to be complied with. If you are interested in creating or joining such a section send Ray de Arrigunaga an email at rdearrig@bellsouth.net expressing your support. 2008 Florida ASPA Conference The fourth annual Florida ASPA conference will take place in Lakeland, Florida on Friday, May 2, 2008. Please join us to kick off Public Service Recognition Week with stimulating and thought provoking sessions to address the conference theme: “The Challenge to Public Service in Times of Reduced Resources - Making Less Equal More.” A CALL FOR PRESENTERS 2nd ANNUAL CONFERENCE: BEST PRACTICES AND BEYOND BY AND FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONERS Hosted by the University of Miami Business School & ASPA South Florida Chapter Friday, April 11, 2008, Coral Gables (Miami), FL The 2008 Second Annual Best Practices Conference (sponsored by the South Florida Chapter of ASPA and the University of Miami Business School) will provide a forum for practitioners, academics, and students to learn about Best Practices in the Public Service. Proposals for panel presentations are solicited that address this conference theme with a focus on: Public Sector Ethics & Integrity; Economic Development, Growth Management & Environmental Concerns; Customer Service; Human Resources; Transportation Issues; Procurement; Leadership & Management; Professional Development & Training; and, National Security, Public Safety and Emergency Management. The panel topics listed above are final. We would like to present "best practices" that will stimulate discussion and provide value to conference participants. Papers presented elsewhere that relate to the topics listed above are encouraged as well. For further details please consult: www.aspaonline.org/southfla, Or Contact: Dr. Jonathan P. West: jwest@miami.edu This year’s state conference will feature the professionals, academics, and students that tackle issues that affect the quality of life of residents in Florida. These issues mirror situations that public administrators are facing every day across the country: sustaining standards of services that our residents are accustom to receiving and enhancing our every day lives. Florida is a very diverse state, not just in ethnicity, but in other demographics, including age and income; we also are comparing quality of life issues in small counties and large ones, small cities and large, metropolitan areas. We hope you will come to the conference as an attendee, presenter, or both, to share your policies, procedures, thoughts, and ideas, as well as to see old friends and make new ones. For state conference information, including hotel information, please visit our web site at http://aspaonline.org/floridaaspaconference. Please send proposals to Claire Mostel at ctel@miamidade.gov. We look forward to seeing you in Lakeland on May 2, 2008! Call for Authors–ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy ASPA has a great opportunity for members to publish books that will shape the field through new ideas and those that find application among practitioners. Books will address practical matters of interest to practitioners and policymakers, and offer excellent examples of how our field applies theory to the practice of public administration, public policy and governance. For more information, please contact the Series Editor-in-Chief, Evan Berman, at berman@lsu.edu. ASPA Chapter, Section Public Relations Toolkit Online Establishing relationships and working with your local media can be challenging. ASPA has created an online public relations toolkit to help you. It provides helpful guidelines on how to establish relations, information on how to get the media's attention, ten tips for maximizing media coverage and sample press releases. If you have any questions, please contact Caneka McNeil, Public Relations Administrator, at 202-393-7878, ext. 200 or at cmcneil@aspanet.org. If you have a Chapter or Section announcement for this column, contact Christine McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org. American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 Transform Your Courses PA TIMES The Bureaucratic Experience The Post-Modern Challenge 2008 Editorial Calendar FIFTH EDITION Ralph P. Hummel “A classroom classic that has stimulated hours of discussion every time that I have used it. This new edition will do the same.” – Melvin Dubnick, University of New Hampshire 288 pages PAGE 21 NEW! Save this page for reference! Note: Items in parentheses are intended as subject ideas for monthly topics. Authors are not limited to these subjects and are encouraged to write in their specific areas of expertise/interest. The PA TIMES requests that articles be between 1000-1300 words. Contact cjewett@aspanet.org for author guidelines. Deadlines for each of the 12 issues are listed below. Recruitment advertising questions may be directed to recruiter@aspanet.org. Press releases, announcements, article inquiries, and display advertising questions may be directed to: 978-0-7656-1011-9 Paper $34.95 Christine Jewett McCrehin • Editor • cjewett@aspanet.org The Dynamics of Law January July FOURTH EDITION Michael S. Hamilton and George W. Spiro Challenges in Immigration Policy Managing Contracts/Contractors (Enforcement, Economic/dministrative issues, Impact on education administration) Advertising/Article Deadline: December 21, 2007 (Getting best value, Nonprofit perspective, Procurement, Contract administration) February August Activating Civic Engagement State of Emergency Management (Case studies/Encouraging participation/Making participation useful) Advertising/Article Deadline: January 22, 2008 (Collaboration, What’s better/worse, Success stories, How Katrina helped CA March September Why A Public Service Academy? Intl. Supplement: International PA: Emerging Governments Gender Issues in PA “There is no better introduction to the legal system and legal processes. … Hamilton and Spiro cover it all—clearly and without oversimplification.” – Larry S. Luton, Eastern Washington University 232 pages 978-0-7656-2087-3 Paper $44.95 (Trends/ASPA programs, What U.S. administrators learn from other countries) Advertising/Article Deadline: February 20, 2008 April Emotional Labor Putting the Service in Public Service Mary E. Guy, Meredith A. Newman, and Sharon H. Mastracci “A must read for all scholars of organizations.” – Kenneth J. Meier, Texas A&M University “An important resource for all who would serve.” – Robert B. Denhardt, Arizona State University 256 pages Salvatore Schiavo-Campo and Hazel M. McFerson This introductory text addresses both the commonalities and diversity of administrative practice around the world, including a succinct but thorough overview of PA in the United States. 520 pages An Introduction Montgomery Van Wart, with Paul Suino This concise yet comprehensive treatment of public sector leadership for upper division and graduate students includes an easily reproducible leadership assessment instrument. 978-0-7656-1740-8 Paper $49.95 Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches SECOND EDITION David E. McNabb The revised and expanded edition of this popular text integrates both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and includes new chapters and coverage that bring it thoroughly up to date. 520 pages Managing Information in the Public Sector 978-0-7656-1767-5 Paper $99.95 Jay D. White The M.E. Sharpe classic that inspired this year’s ASPA Conference theme – “If you teach MIS to students who will be in the public sector, please use this book.” – John W. Swain, Governors State University Transformational Public Service “Loaded with practical examples from the public sector.” – Bruce Rocheleau, Northern Illinois University 336 pages 978-0-7656-1749-1 Paper $42.95 The New Public Service Portraits of Theory in Practice Cheryl Simrell King and Lisa Zanetti “Will enliven the classroom, ultimately transforming careers, programs and outcomes in and out of government.” – Marc Holzer, Rutgers University—Campus at Newark 200 pages 978-0-7656-0948-9 Paper $32.95 Serving, not Steering EXPANDED EDITION Janet V. Denhardt and Robert B. Denhardt “In this updated edition, the Denhardts skillfully offer case studies of public workers striving for the ideals of service in the public interest. Their ideas are inspirational.” – Rosemary O’Leary, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University 240 pages 978-0-7656-1999-0 Paper $29.95 REQUEST YOUR EXAMINATION COPIES TODAY! M.E. Sharpe Call 800-541-6563 or 914-273-1800 Fax 914-273-2106 www.mesharpe.com AD812I (What has changed, what remains the same?) Advertising/Article Deadline: August 22, 2008 October Leadership Development and Succession Planning (Case studies/examples, Resources) (Ideas that are working/Burden sharing/Current challenges) Ed. Supp.: Evolving PA Education: Preparing Public Servants May Changing of the Guard: How Administrators Handle Relationships with Newly Appointed/Elected Bosses (Homeland Security, Em. Mgmt., Tech., Are curriculums evolving fast enough, Advertising/Article Deadline: September 22, 2008 November Strategic Resource Management: Doing More with Less (Educating nonspecialists, Balancing pol. leadership and prof. standards, Short-timers) Advertising/Article Deadline: April 21, 2008 (Cap. projects/infrastructure, Svc. del., Tax revolts/spending limits, downsizing) June December Balancing Personal Ethics and Public Duties PA Success Stories (whistleblowing, religion, roles of citizen/public servant, personal vs. professional) (Current innovations, Telecommuting, Victories large and small) Advertising/Article Deadline: May 22, 2008 978-0-7656-1726-2 Paper $79.95 Advertising/Article Deadline: July 23, 2008 Case Studies in State PA: The Defining Issue in Your State Advertising/Article Deadline: March 20, 2008 978-0-7656-2117-7 Paper $29.95 Leadership in Public Organizations 336 pages Public Management in Global Perspective Advertising/Article Deadline: June 20, 2008 Advertising/Article Deadline: October 22, 2008 Advertising/Article Deadline: November 21, 2008 PAGE 22 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration Section News COMPA Leaders Hold Research Conference in China Under the leadership of former COMPA President and current ASPA member Mitchell Rice, several former COMPA presidents (and current ASPA members) participated in the 9th Annual International Cross Cultural Research Exchange Conference, July 17-24, 2007, hosted by the School of Public Affairs at Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. The theme of the Conference was: “Culture, Public Policy, and Society.” Conference participants at the 9th Annual International Cross Cultural Research Exchange Conference, School of Public Affairs, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. Newman Discusses Goals for Her Term as ASPA Vice President From NEWMAN, pg. 15 opportunity, especially given the national strategic orientation working session held this past weekend in Miami. While we will be hearing much more about this effort in the coming months, I am excited to report that “ASPA is on the move!” What are the issues or goals that you plan to address once in office? My goal is to work with our leaders and members to build relationships across our membership in order to advance a more visible and active advocacy role for ASPA; to support public service and the professionalization of public administration; to give voice on behalf of the public sector by articulating the broader issues facing public administration; to attract and retain transitional students and young professionals by providing “value-added” to their membership in terms of mentorship and professional development opportunities; to be member- and community-driven, with an emphasis on practitioners, chapters, and sections. But most of all, my greatest goal is to reawaken in people the realization that public service is a noble calling. What will you do over the next two years to ensure your goals can be achieved? I want to reach out to members who have told me they want to be more involved in ASPA and are looking for opportunities to contribute. I want to work with the leadership team and staff to implement our strategic plan. I want to find ways to use new technologies to facilitate how we communicate across the association and to the broader community. Where would you like to see ASPA once you finish your term as president? Increasingly relevant, strong, inclusive, focused, more technologically savvy, fiscally sound, with more vigorous chapters, a more engaged community of members, and a general sense that the promise of “ASPA on the move” is being realized. Anything you would like to add? I am passionate about the promise and purposes of ASPA. I would not be the professional I am today without ASPA. During the campaign process, I had the privilege of interacting with members who want to play a larger role in ASPA. I am excited about their energy and commitment and I will be calling on each of you! ASPA Vice President-Elect Meredith Newman may be reached at her ASPA email address: mnewman@aspanet.org. New e-mail or mailing address? leadership of Zhenming Chen, dean; and Minghuan Li, vice dean. The U.S. delegation extends a warm and heartfelt thanks to the Xiamen University School of Public Affairs for their outstanding hospitality. The Conference purpose and mission is to promote cross cultural study, analysis, and discussion of global and societal issues that impact relationships between people and society. The Conference provides a forum for dialogue and opens a bridge for collaborative/cooperative exchanges among professionals in academia, government, business and non governmental organizations in the U.S. and the host country/university. The School of Public Affairs at Xiamen University is under the Additioanl former COMPA executives participating were: William Hunter, Audrey Mathews, Doris Micheaux and Vickie Johnson-Scott. Other participants included Linda Lacey, Irvine Epps, Jeffrey Guidry, Scott Dantley, Maurice Woodard, Jarvis Hall, Elizabeth Mines, Elizabeth Evans and Lawford Brossman. The U.S. participants were paired with Chinese researchers and scholars on panel sessions focusing on the topics: “Cultural Logic of Cross Boundary Communication,” “Flaws and Developments in Social/Public Policy,” “Education of Minority Communities,” “Contextualizing Health Issues and Improving Social Policy,” and “In Between Tradition and Transformation.” Have you visited ASPA’s web site lately? www.aspanet.org MARK YOUR CALENDARS……… Friday, MAY 2, 2008 2008 FLORIDA ASPA CONFERENCE “The Challenge to Public Service in Times of Reduced Resources – Making Less Equal More” Lake Mirror Complex Lakeland, Florida Ethics & accountability Human Resources Emergency Management Performance measurement Transportation Customer Service E-government Non profits Civic Engagement/Citizen Participation For information, contact Claire Mostel - ctel@miamidade.gov or visit www.aspaonline.org/floridaaspaconference for conference information Update your membership record online. Conference Sponsor www.aspanet.org American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 23 Public Service Profiles The PA TIMES is pleased to introduce an occassional series that focuses on the motivation and satisfaction that men and women in public service share. We will profile individuals who exemplify the very best in public service. The series should prove helpful to educators who teach public administration, young persons contemplating careers in public administration and others considering a career change. Most importantly, the series will focus the spotlight of pride on all who toil in the nobility of public service. The individuals profiled below were nominated by their chapter presidents. ASPA members are invited to nominate colleagues for future profiling. To do so contact series editor RaJade M. Berry-James at rajade.berry@worldnet.att.net.–Donald C. Menzel, ASPA Past President Tamie S. Myers, Battalion Chief, Sandusky (OH) Fire Dept. What is your Job? I am a career, fulltime firefighter, employed by the City of Sandusky (OH) Fire Department, holding the rank of Battalion Chief. I was the second woman hired by the SFD and the first SFD woman firefighter to reach the rank of Battalion Chief–making me one of less than a dozen women chief officers in the State of Ohio. Hired as a probationary firefighter in March 1988, I successfully completed the following State of Ohio public safety certification courses during my first two years of employment: Firefighter I and II, Basic EMT, Paramedic and Fire Safety Inspector. Over the course of my nineteen-year career I’ve received three promotions–Lieutenant in 1992, Captain in 1997, and Battalion Chief in 2001. I also served as SFD’s Director of Fire Prevention from 1996 to 1999. My responsibilities as the #3 Shift Commander include leading three company officers and twelve firefighters, directing fire and rescue operations at emergency scenes, writing grant applications and managing awards, administering the Department’s EMS billing system, and advising the Fire Chief on financial and budgeting issues. I am a successful grant writer, with $419,343 in Federal funds received from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program through DHS/FEMA. I also give fire safety presentations to older adults, women’s civic groups and health care workers. What do you like best about your job? Early in my career I enjoyed fighting fires, or the fire suppression part of the job. Responding “lights and sirens” to the report of a “working fire,” riding in the jump seat of a speeding fire engine, and making entry into a roaring structure fire with a charged hose-line were the best parts of the job! Most firefighters are adrenalin junkies and I was no exception– I thrived on the excitement provided by fires, traumatic EMS calls and intricate rescue calls. As I progressed through the ranks, however, I began to appreciate different aspects of the job, ones that didn’t necessarily involve “putting the wet stuff on the red stuff.” As a certified fire safety inspector and director of fire prevention, I conducted fire inspections of commercial properties, reviewed plans and made recommendations regarding fire suppres- ASPA’s chapters and sections do great things every day. PA TIMES wants your stories. To submit chapter or section best practices, awards dinner briefs, best leaders or other ideas, contact: cjewett@aspanet.org sion systems. I learned how different types of building construction and mechanical systems (such as HVAC–heating, ventilation and air conditioning) affected fire spread in a structure. For those interested in pursuing a career in the fire service, my advice is to get ready well in advance of the civil service testing procedures. I also gave many fire safety presentations, and was pleased to learn that an attendee at one of my talks saved her family from a fire because of what she remembered in class–she shut the basement door and confined the fire to that room of the house as she, her husband and daughter quickly exited the structure. That action undoubtedly saved most of her home and kept the deadly smoke away from the family as they left the house–pretty clear thinking at 5am! Therefore, while I still get that “adrenalin rush” responding to working structure fires, I believe I most enjoy educating the public about good fire safety practices. After all, it’s easier to fight the fires before they start–an important consideration as I get older! What motivated you to pursue a career in public administration? The motivation for my public administration career was economic–I needed a job! After graduating in 1985 from Heidelberg College (Tiffin, OH) with a degree in economics, I attended graduate school at Bowling Green State University; however, graduate school was not right for me at that time, and I left to return to Sandusky. An advertisement in the local paper caught my eye: “Apply to take the City of Sandusky Fire Department civil service exam.” I thought being a firefighter sounded like an intriguing career choice, so I applied, took the test, and after a year-long process that included interviews before the Civil Service Commission and fire chief, an extensive background check, and physical and psychological exams, I was finally hired on March 31, 1988. Unlike some of my coworkers who knew they’d be firefighters from the time they were in their mothers’ wombs, I never had dreams of joining the fire service, or of working in the public sector in general. It was a case of serendipity for me–I was in the right place at the right time. What advice might you offer to others interested in a public service career? For those interested in pursuing a career in the fire service, my advice is to get ready well in advance of the civil service testing procedures. Some issues to consider before submitting an application include the following: • Obey the law. Firefighters are held to high ethical, moral and legal standards. We enter homes and businesses, usually at times when folks are experiencing the worst disaster of their lives. They trust us with their homes, their lives and their belongings. To misplace that trust by stealing, incurring DUIs or by otherwise breaking the law (on- or off-duty) conflicts with the responsibilities of the job. Cultivate high standards in your personal and professional life long before you apply. • Develop a physical fitness/training regime. Firefighting is intensely physical and demanding work. Strength training (especially upper body) and aerobic capacity training will enable candidates to do well on the physical agility test as well as on the job once hired. Information is available on how to train for fire department physical agility tests–find out which one the testing fire department is giving and if practice sessions are offered. • Research a variety of fire departments and their cities. Is the department allcareer, or does it employ part-timers? Does the department operate the EMS? Is it paramedic standard-of-care? Are preference points given to residents, candidates with fire and EMS training, veterans? What is the financial situation of the governmental entity? It can be beneficial for candidates to apply to and test for multiple departments to improve their testing abilities as well as to increase their chances for hiring. • Finally, conduct a self-assessment that includes your pros and cons of being a firefighter. Why do you want to be a firefighter? This question inevitably comes up in interviews, and the answer should be more than, “I want to help people.” It’s important to realize that actual firefighting comprises less than five percent of the job. Training, station and equipment maintenance, inspections, public education, and routine medical calls make up most of a firefighter’s 24 days. And those 24 days mean that family time–including on holidays and other special occasions– will be impacted, especially for newly-hired firefighters with no vacation time and little seniority. Of course, the pros include good wages, pensions, insurance plans and schedules that allow for second jobs, as well as the intangible benefit of being a member of a wellrespected and proud profession. However, it’s vital to recognize that most days are not like 9/11 (thankfully), but are usually filled with training evolutions, false alarms and work details–with the occasional traumatic EMS call or “worker” thrown in for variety. While some larger departments can be significantly busier (think: FDNY, Chicago FD or LA County FD), many smaller departments can go months without a working structure fire. Candidates who are knowledgeable about the activity of the departments to which they apply will be better prepared for the challenges they will face upon being hired. PAGE 24 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration CAREERCENTER Federal Student Aid to Undergraduates Shows Slow Growth, While Tuition Prices Continue to Increase Washington, DC–Increases in published prices for two-year and four-year public institutions in 2007-08 were slightly larger than in 2006 but lower than the average rates of growth over the past five years. Nearly half a million students received awards in 2006 under two new federal student grant programs. Though higher than the previous year, total federal grant funding to undergraduates was still lower in 2006-07 than it was three years earlier, after adjusting for inflation. The College Board released these and other higher education pricing and aid statistics today in its annual “Trends in College Pricing 2007” and “Trends in Student Aid 2007” reports. At private four-year colleges and universities, where prices have risen somewhat less rapidly in recent years than they have in the public sector, the 2007-08 increase is similar to last year’s, but higher than the average over the past five years. At all institutions, the average net prices that students pay after considering grant aid are lower than the published prices. Although the dollar increases in net price are significantly smaller than those of published prices, the net price rate of growth has been comparable to that of published prices in the private sector over the past five years, and more rapid than growth in published prices in the public sector. In 2006-07, the most recent year for which data on student aid are available, estimated growth in student borrowing slowed. Borrowing from private sources continued to increase as a share of education loans but grew more slowly in 2006-07 as federal PLUS Loans became available to graduate students. College Pricing This year’s annual data show the following increases in average college tuition and fees for academic year 2007-08. At public four-year institutions, in-state tuition and fees average $6,185, or $381 more than last year, a 6.6 percent increase. In 2007-08, average total charges (which include both room and board and tuition and fees), are $13,589, a 5.9 percent increase over last year. The average fulltime student at a public four-year school receives about $3,600 in grants and tax benefits, which lowers the average tuition and fees to a net price of about $2,600. Tuition and fees for out-of-state students at public four-year colleges and universities average $16,640, which is $862 more than in 2006-07– a 5.5 percent increase. Average total charges (including room and board and tuition and fees) are $24,044, a 5.4 percent increase from 2006-07. At private four-year nonprofit institutions, tuition and fees average $23,712, or $1,404 more than last year, a 6.3 percent increase. Average total charges (including room and board and tuition and fees), are $32,307 in 2007-08, which is 5.9 percent higher than in 2006-07. The average full-time student attending a private college receives about $9,300 in grants and tax benefits, which reduces the average tuition and fees to a net price of about $14,400. At public two-year institutions, tuition and fees average $2,361, a $95 or 4.2 percent increase. The average full-time student in this sector receives about $2,040 in grants and tax benefits, lowering the average tuition and fees to a net price of about $320. At for-profit institutions, tuition and fees average $12,089, or $703 more than last year–a 6.2 percent increase. The report documents increased enrollment over time at for-profit colleges. In 1995, 2 percent of full-time students were enrolled in forprofit institutions. Ten years later, that share had risen to 8 percent. The largest shift into the for-profit sector came from public four-year institutions. Average tuition and fee figures conceal considerable differences across sectors of higher education, across states and regions of the country, and even within these categories. There is also significant variation among price increases. For example, 20 percent of full-time undergraduate students at public four-year colleges experienced less than a 3 percent increase in 2007-08, while 22 percent attend institutions that raised tuition and fees by 9 percent or more. Student Aid In 2006-07, about three-quarters of fulltime undergraduates received some form of financial aid. For the first time, “Trends in Student Aid 2007” reports separately on all forms of aid for undergraduate students. In 2006-07, undergraduate students received $97.1 billion in financial aid, 74 percent of total aid to postsecondary students. The two largest sources of aid to undergraduates are federal loans, which make up 40 percent of the total, and grants from colleges and universities, which comprise 21 percent of the total. In 2006-07, almost 60 percent of Pell Grant recipients were independent of their parents. Among dependent recipients of Pell Grants, two-thirds came from families with incomes below $30,000. The average Pell Grant per recipient, which failed for the fourth year in a row to keep pace with inflation, was $2,494 in 2006-07. In 198687, the maximum Pell Grant covered about 52 percent of the average published price of tuition and fees and room and board at a public four-year institution and 21 percent at the average private college. In 2006-07, it covered 32 percent at a public four-year college and 13 percent at a private college. Awarded for the first time in 2006-07, Academic Competitiveness Grants go to selected first- and second-year Pell Grant recipients. Eligibility is based on curricular and GPA requirements. In the first year of the program, 400,000 students received awards averaging $850. Also awarded for the first time in 2006-07 were SMART Grants, which go to selected third- and fourth-year Pell Grant recipients majoring in physical, life or computer science; engineering; mathematics; technology; or a specified foreign language. In the first year of the program, 80,000 students received awards averaging $3,875. Sources of Borrowing Private loans made up 24 percent of total education loans in 2006-07, up from 6 percent a decade ago. As graduate students who became eligible for federal PLUS Loans (which can cover total cost of attendance minus other aid received) borrowed less from private sources, the rate of growth in borrowing from these sources slowed in 2006-07. Federal loans to undergraduates did not keep up with inflation in 2006-07, and their borrowing from private sources increased by 12 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. In 2003-04, 48 percent of low-income students borrowed an average of $5,640 (in 2006 dollars) to help finance college. Among the wealthiest undergraduates, 36 percent borrowed an average of $6,140. Between 1992-93 and 2003-04, the percentage of full-time dependent students taking out student loans increased most rapidly in the upper half of the income distribution, but the average loan amount of those who borrowed increased least for the wealthiest students. For more information on the “Trends in College Pricing 2007” and “Trends in Student Aid 2007” reports visit www.conference-board.org. FYI... What Americans Want From a Job: Health Care and Security Washington, DC–A new poll shows that health insurance and security are at the top of Americans’ list of desirables in a job, while pay ranked much lower. The national poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, surveyed 1,200 adults age 18 and older. Whether security comes from health insurance, job security, the promise of a retirement income, or clear work policies, Americans want a lot more than just a paycheck from their employment. Given a list of 15 benefits and characteristics that may be important in choosing a job: • 84 percent of Americans ranked health insurance at the very top. • Job security and clear policies and procedures (82 percent each) were ranked next in importance; the retirement or pension plan (76 percent); and a flexible, family-friendly workplace in fifth place (71 percent). • Pay ranked tenth with 65 percent, trailing such matters as getting quick decisions on issues (69 percent); working with talented managers (68 percent); having the potential for promotions (66 percent); and being creative and intellectually stimulated (66 percent). In another key set of findings, Americans say state and local government jobs offer better benefits, job security, and chance to make a contribution to society, while jobs in the private sector offer better opportunities for innovation, greater chances to work with the best people, and better opportunities for promotion. They are divided on which sector offers the best compensation. The poll, which surveyed participants by landline and cellular phone within the continental United States from October 24-November 4, 2007, had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. For the full report, visit http://tinyurl.com/yq54z7 The PA TIMES would like to create a list of potential mentors for students and new professionals. Interested? Contact cjewett@aspanet.org American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 25 CAREERCENTER Pay It Forward... Career Advice from an ASPA Member John R. Bartle I am pleased to offer some advice to students and young professionals in the ASPA network. Here are a baker’s dozen of pointers that I hope will serve you well. • Communicate. Almost all great leaders, and many lesser leaders, communicate well. Good oral and written communications are essential and require hours of dedicated practice. Make this investment; otherwise you will never realize your full potential. • Listen. Most people like to talk, and many talk too much. You almost always can learn more from listening carefully than from talking. Good listening skills improve your ability to understand a person’s interests and therefore to craft a solution. • Do your homework. In many meetings I have seen relatively junior people wield disproportionate influence simply because they have done their homework. If the subject of the meeting is a written document, read it carefully more than once. Read the footnotes and appendices, and examine the data carefully to determine whether it is correct and supports the conclusions. If the subject is not a document, do what it takes to get as much information as possible. • Be kind. All people deserve your respect and attention. People lower in the hierarchy have an amazing amount of “ground level” knowledge about how things work–or don’t–and often some good ideas about how to fix things. Establish a relationship with them and listen to their ideas. Similarly, citizens with poor access to power deserve to have their voice heard. Listen to them and help them make their case. You might be the only person who is in a position to do so. • Ask for help. Many senior people are eager to mentor a younger person. Find one or more mentors with whom you are comfortable. Then when you are asked to do a new task, ask for help from your mentors and other people you know who have done the task. You may not do it exactly their way, but you will have a map to guide you. • Continue learning. Successful leaders never quit learning. Develop a reading program to broaden yourself. History and biographies are two great starting points because most every situation you will encounter has a historical antecedent. See how leaders of the past dealt with similar problems and try their approaches. • Do the right thing. It is usually not hard to know what is the right thing to do; it is often far more difficult to do the right thing. Summon your courage and do it. People will remember your integrity (or lack thereof) more than they will your successes. As Mark Twain said, “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” • Seek a solution, not a win. If you are competitive, it is easy to get caught up in wanting to win the battle just to win. Avoid this. Park your ego and work toward a solution. • Make no enemies. Partisan politics and office politics can cause people to break into factions. You will be a valued employee and friend if you talk to people from both camps and try to blur these divisions. Abraham Lincoln once said to an angry dissenter, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” • Balance family and work. Your family and relationships are more important than your job, so be sure to balance work with family time. • Join one or more professional associations. Most professional memberships are inexpensive relative to the pay-off in terms of professional development, networking, and leadership opportunities. Most have student discounts, and often your organization may be able to pay some or all of the cost. Try out some different associations and find at least one you are comfortable with. • Go beyond the call of duty. In work or in professional associations, many people will not do much extra work. Do not over-commit yourself, but do go out of your way to do some good for the organization, or society more generally. You will have accomplished something important, and others will take notice. • Listen to Ol’ Satch. The legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige had some rules for staying young. One was: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.” Enough said. ASPA member John R. Bartle is a professor and director of the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska–Omaha. He has worked in city and state government, and for nonprofit research organizations at the federal and state level. He is a member of ASPA’s national council, and past chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management. He also is a Visiting Professor of Public Administration, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. He teaches and does research in the areas of public finance policy and management, public budgeting, transportation, and sustainable development. Email: jbartle@mail.unomaha.edu View Job Ads Online ASPA to Provide Professional Development for New and Future Public Servants at Conference www.PublicServiceCareers.org ASPA’s Dallas Conference Offers Several Events for Students and New Professionals Matt Rankin Council for Excellence in Government Spring Fellows Program begins April 2008 Cultivate your leadership skills this spring. The Excellence in Government Fellows Program is a hands-on leadership development program specifically designed for government professionals at the GS 14-15 level (high performing GS 13s are encouraged to apply). Based in Washington DC, the Fellows Program fulfills the interagency training requirements necessary for OPM-approved candidate development programs. Learn how to grow your leadership skills this spring. Visit http://www.excelgov.org/ for more information. ASPA doubled the amount of programming for new and future public service professionals at the 2007 ASPA annual conference in Washington, DC. The turnout was beyond what we expected and attendees consistently ranked Summit programs in the good to excellent range. Based on the response, the ASPA Student and New Professional Summit will again be a feature of our 2008 annual conference in Dallas. The Summit is geared toward undergrads, MPA students, doctoral candidates and new public service professionals. Students have always been able to attend the conference at a reduced rate. This year, ASPA New Professionals can also take advantage of a special reduced rate and save $140 off the cost of the entire conference. The 2008 Student and New Professional Summit kicks-off with the workshop “Writing Excellent Research Papers.” Participants will learn about managing their time, materials and ideas. Come see why students using tactics covered in this workshop have won the NASPAA top paper award five times in the last 10 years. “Creating Your Job–Taking Charge of a New Managerial Assignment” will show attendees that when you take on a new assignment, you will not only have new responsibilities, you will have to use new methods of influence. Aspiring academics in public administration will definitely want to attend our workshops on “Succeeding in a Doctoral Program” and “Career Success after a Doctoral Program.” Topics covered will include: understanding your doctoral program; choosing a committee; choosing a dissertation topic; and writing the dissertation. The latter program will discuss career options for those with doctoral degrees. Advice for getting published is also a featured part of this session. In a special Q&A session, Dr. Blándina Cardenas, President of The University of Texas-Pan American and former Commissioner for Children, Youth and Families, will address attendees and answer questions about careers in public service. The Summit will also include a panel of career counselors discussing how to search and apply for jobs in public service and administration. Later, a workshop on “The Three C’s of Ethics Management” will focus on practical ideas to aid in managing an organization toward ethical problem solving. ASPA will introduce a new feature for the 2008 Summit. Students and ASPA New Professional members can have their resume critiqued by career counselors for free at the conference. Pre-registration for Summit events is not required, except for the resume reviews. Seats are limited and available on a firstcome, first-served basis. The schedule for each day of the Summit can be found in the “Special Events” section of the 2008 ASPA Annual Conference website at www.aspanet.org/2008conference. Matt Rankin is ASPA’s senior director for program and service development. E-mail: mrankin@aspanet.org. PAGE 26 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 American Society for Public Administration The Recruiter WHERE EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS M E E T. UNIVERSITY POSITIONS Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs The Maxwell School, Syracuse University The Maxwell School of Syracuse University invites nominations and applications for the newly established Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs. This highly visible professorship–made possible by a generous gift from the Leon Levy Foundation–is intended to honor the legacy of the late Senator from New York, who both began and ended his extraordinary career on the faculty of the Maxwell School. In addition to generous supporting resources, the Chair will provide the occupant with unique opportunities for furthering public dialogue across a broad array of policy concerns. Candidates may be qualified on the basis of traditional academic criteria and/or distinction in public life; but they should have an exceptional record of intellectual engagement with domestic issues of particular interest to Pat Moynihan, such as: poverty and welfare policy; urban redevelopment; Social Security and health care; the integrity of governmental processes; the future of the family; immigration, ethnicity and assimilation. Applicants should also be enthusiastic about interaction with students, particularly with those preparing for careers in academia and public service. The Maxwell School is home to renowned professional programs in public and international affairs and the social science disciplinary departments of Syracuse University. For more information, see our web site at: www.maxwell.syr.edu/. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed to: John L. Palmer, University Professor and Chair, Moynihan Chair Search Committee, Maxwell School of Syracuse University, 200 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244. Applicants should send a letter, curriculum vita, and the names of three references. Syracuse University is an AA/EOE. Members of traditionally underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Tenure Track Assistant Professor or an Associate Professor The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University The Department of Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University is reopening its recruiting for a tenure track assistant professor or an associate professor with a specialty in public budgeting. Candidates should also have a specialty in urban policy and should be able to teach and conduct research in budgeting in the public and non-profit sectors. An international focus and the ability to teach courses in one of the following areas are also desirable: financial management, statistics, information technology, and public management. The position will remain open until filled. Founded in 1924, the Maxwell School of Syracuse University is the U.S.News & World Report's top-rated graduate program in public affairs, and home to the nation's longest-running professional degree program in Public Administration. This program operates alongside a similarly rigorous and esteemed International Relations program, as well as doctoral degrees in an array of social sciences (e.g., political science, geography, sociology, economics, history, and anthropology). As a result of this diversity, Maxwell hosts eight interdisciplinary study and research centers, where faculty members conduct research on a broad range of topics in public policy, global affairs, democratic governance, conflict resolution, and collaborative management, among other categories. The Maxwell School is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and minorities. Please send a cover letter, vita, 2 letters of recommendations, and writing samples to: Public Budgeting Search Committee, Department of Public Administration, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, 215 Eggers Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244 Assistant Professor Department of Public Administration College of Health and Public Affairs University of Central Florida The Department of Public Administration invites applicants for an Assistant Professor position in Public Administration. This is a tenure track position beginning August 2008. The Department offers: a BA/BS in Public Administration, a NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration, a completely web-based Master of Nonprofit Management as well as web and face-to-face courses for our undergraduate minor and graduate certificate programs in Urban and Regional Planning and Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Faculty also participate in the PhD Program in Public Affairs, an interdisciplinary program within the College of Health and Public Affairs. The University of Central Florida is the seventh largest university in the United States, with a student population of over 47,000. It emphasizes a strong community partnership mission. Faculty in the Public Administration Department have significant opportunities to work with dedicated community professionals in a wide range of policy and management arenas. Required: Candidates must have a completed Ph.D. or D.P.A from an accredited institution. Doctorate is required by time of appointment. Preference: Applicants for this position are expected to demonstrate high potential for scholarly research and publication as well as teaching excellence. Teaching areas are open to all subfields of public administration and nonprofit management. All applicants should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vita, original transcript, and names, addresses, and phone numbers of three professional references. Consideration of applications will begin on February 15, 2008 and the position will remain open until the appointment is made. The application package should be sent to: Department of Public Administration, University of Central Florida, Attn: Search Committee Chair, Position # (38990) , Health & Public Affairs Building II, Room 238, Orlando, FL 32816-1395, Phone: 407-823-2604, Fax: 407-823-5651 UCF is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. UCF makes search documents available under Florida’s open-records statutes. Director of Research The Dubai School of Government Dubai, United Arab Emirates The Dubai School of Government (DSG), a research and teaching institution focusing on public policy in the Arab world, is seeking a Director of Research. At present, the research agenda of DSG focuses on public administration and governance; gender and public policy; e-government; and, issues related to youth exclusion including marriage, unemployment, and education. Duties and Responsibilities: The Director of Research will coordinate the ambitious research agenda of the Dubai School of Government. The work includes managing ongoing research initiatives and projects, identifying promising new research areas, organizing DSG researchers and faculty members on the design and implementation of projects, developing and writing policy papers, evaluating research methodologies, and editing of report drafts. Additional responsibilities include managing and developing strategic institutional relationships, recruiting talented scholars, attending conferences and other events to raise awareness of DSG and its work, and assisting DSG scholars to obtain research resources as needed. Required Education, Experience and Skills: Ten years of experience conducting and managing research projects, with a distinguished record of accomplishments and proven leadership skills. A postgraduate degree, preferably a doctorate, in an academic discipline related to economics, political science or public policy is required. The successful candidate will be fluent in issues related to public policy and governance in the Arab world, and will have an abundance of expertise about research methodology and quantitative analysis. Outstanding organizational and planning skills are required, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills and a high level of vision and attention to detail. To apply for this position, please submit a letter of application and your curriculum vitae to Recruitment at The Dubai School of Government, Convention Tower, Level 13, P.O. Box 72229, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The information can also be e-mailed to recruitment@dsg.ae Tenure-Track Faculty Position in Public Policy and/or Public Management Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University The Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies seeks a strong researcher and teacher for a tenure-track position beginning fall 2008. This hire is most likely to be the assistant professor level, but rank is open. The department offers a NASPAA-accredited MPA, master*s and undergraduate degrees in public policy, and, in partnership with Georgia Tech, a doctorate in public policy. The Andrew Young School ranks 26th overall among graduate programs in public affairs in the US News rankings, as well as 5th in public budgeting and finance, 12th in urban policy and management, 16th in public administration and management, and 21st in public policy analysis. Our highly productive faculty, recently listed as the 5th most prolific in public administration journals over the past decade, supports junior colleagues in building academic careers. We are located in downtown Atlanta, at the heart of a vibrant public and nonprofit sector, which provides excellent opportunities for applied research that contributes to policy-making and management at a levels of government Candidates should submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, graduate transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a sample of scholarship, and any teaching evaluations to Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, P.O Box 3992, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3992. The position requires a doctorate in an appropriate field of study from an accredited university by August 2008. Consideration of applications will begin on February 25 of 2008 and will continue until the position is filled. Information about the Andrew Young School is available at www.gsu.edu/sps. Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal educational institution and an equal opportunity affirmative action employer. Assistant Professor Division of Public Administration Mark O. Hatfield School of Government Portland State University The Division of Public Administration is seeking to fill an Assistant Professor tenure track position for Fall 2008 (or if preferred by candidate as early as Spring 2008) to teach in the MPA and Ph.D. programs, and pursue scholarly agendas and self-funded program development with community partners. The position will be a ninemonth appointment providing base funding at .51 FTE with an expectation to generate .49 FTE in enterprise funding through activities that may include contracts, grants, and self-support programs. Portland State University is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Institution and, in keeping with the President’s diversity initiative, welcomes applications from diverse candidates and candidates who support diversity. Candidates must meet the following qualifications: • Earned doctorate in Public Administration • Track record of published scholarship and self-funded activity • Experience teaching advanced methods courses The position will be expected to: • Teach in the division’s programs • Advise students American Society for Public Administration PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 27 The Recruiter WHERE EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS M E E T. UNIVERSITY POSITIONS • Participate in divisional and institutional governance • Engage in with community organizations in research and service • Take a leadership role in diversity training & managing international programs Send cover letter, resume and contact information for four references to: PA Search Committee, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Neal Wallace, (503) 725-8248; fax (503) 725-8250; email: nwallace@pdx.edu. For detailed job description see PSU web site at: http://www.hrc.pdx.edu/openings/unclassified/index.htm. Review of applications will beginning March 3, 2008 and continue until finalists are identified. 3-Year Visiting Instructor Department of Public Administration College of Health and Public Affairs University of Central Florida The Department of Public Administration invites applications for an Instructor position at the Orlando Campus to begin August 2008. Selected candidates will teach courses in the general public administration and/or nonprofit management curriculum, undergraduate and graduate programs. The faculty members being recruited will also be expected to assist in departmental administration and community outreach. PhD in Public Administration or DPA preferred. MPA Minimum Requirement. The Department offers a NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration program, a completely online Master of Nonprofit Management, and undergraduate public administration degrees along with graduate and undergraduate certificate programs or minors in (American Humanics, Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, and Urban and Regional Planning) on multiple campuses, including a virtual campus. The Department participates in a multidisciplinary PhD program in Public Affairs. The Department is one of the largest program in the Southeast and has active partnerships with state and local government and community nonprofit agencies. The Department of Public Administration is housed in the College of Health and Public Affairs and occupies a state of the art facility with access to fully equipped multimedia classrooms. Consideration of applications will begin February 15, 2008 and continue until the position is filled. All applicants should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vita, original transcript, and names, addresses, and phone numbers of three professional references. The application package should be sent to: Department of Public Administration, University of Central Florida, Attn: Search Committee Chair, Position # (37467) , Health & Public Affairs Building II, Room 238, Orlando, FL 32816-1395, Phone: 407-823-2604, Fax: 407-823-5651 UCF is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. UCF makes search documents available under Florida’s open-records statutes. Senior Scholar The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracuse University We are a leading department in the field of public administration, with an intellectually diverse and multidisciplinary faculty whose research encompasses a wide range of public management and public policy issues. We seek a senior scholar with demonstrated research and teaching interests in security studies, who uses social science methods in conducting rigorous research relevant to public policy and management. This person would be expected to provide leadership in the security area and to contribute both to our master’s and doctoral programs, as well as to our masters level National Security Studies Certificate Program. The department is located in the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Founded in 1924, Maxwell is U.S. News & World Report's top-rated graduate school in public affairs. It is home to the nation's longest-running professional degree program in Public Administration, and houses a strong professional program in International Relations as well. The Maxwell School also houses the University’s social science departments (political science, geography, sociology, economics, history, and anthropology) and their graduate degree programs. As a result of this diversity of faculty strengths, Maxwell hosts eight interdisciplinary research centers, where faculty members conduct a wide range of individual and collaborative research on topics which include issues of public policy, global affairs, democratic governance, conflict resolution, and collaborative management, among others. Candidates are asked to apply online at www.sujobopps.com The Maxwell School at Syracuse University is an AA/EOE and encourages applications from women and minorities. Please send a cover letter, vita, 2 letters of recommendations, and writing samples to: Security Studies Search Committee, Department of Public Administration, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, 215 Eggers Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, (January-March 2008) Assistant or Associate Professor Department of Politics and Public Administration California State University, Stanislaus The Department of Politics and Public Administration invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track appointment at the rank of advanced Assistant or Associate Professor in the NASPAA accredited Masters Program in Public Administration. The individual appointed to this position will teach a range of graduate courses in Public Administration, as well as an undergraduate course in American Government. The successful candidate should be ambitious and highly motivated, as he/she will be expected to assume Directorship of the graduate program within two years or less. Effective teaching, scholarly productivity, and service to the University are required for retention, promotion, and tenure. A Ph.D. in Public Administration or Political Science and prior experience in university-level teaching or public administration are required. A complete application must include: a letter of application specifically addressing the position description and qualifications; copies of graduate transcripts; curriculum vitae; names, addresses, telephone numbers and/or email addresses of three referees whom the University may contact; evidence of teaching effectiveness. Screening of completed application files will begin immediately. The position will remain open until filled. Send applications, and all other correspondence concerning this position vacancy, to: Dr. Jason C. Myers, Chair, Department of Politics and Public Administration, California State University, Stanislaus, One University Circle, Turlock, CA 95382 GOVERNMENT POSITION Town Administrator Town of Middletown, Rhode Island Salary: Commensurate with background and experience The Town of Middletown (population 18,000) is seeking a dynamic, highly experienced innovative professional to lead a municipal organization with 150 full time municipal and 100 seasonal employees. The current combined town and education General Fund budget is $60 million. The seven-member Town Council appoints the Town Administrator who is the chief administrative officer responsible for all aspects of Town Government administration. Town departments include Tax Assessor, Clerk, Police, Fire, Public Works, Sewer, Parks and Recreation, Senior Center, Finance, Planning, Building/Zoning, and Refuse/Recycling. Position requires a Bachelor’s degree in business or public administration or related field, Masters degree preferred, minimum 5 years increasingly responsible municipal/state government experience and 5 years successful management experience required. Demonstrated knowledge of principles/practices of public administration, personnel administration, must possess strong leadership, motivational, strategic planning and interpersonal/communication skills, expertise in labor relations/collective bargaining, a strong financial management background, budgeting/capital improvement programming skills, and prior planning experience in a similar sized community. Visit the Town of Middletown website at www.middletownri.com for detailed information on the Town of Middletown operation. Send resume, salary history and 5 professional references to: Middletown Town Hall, Human Resources Department, 350 East Main Road,, Middletown, RI 02842, OR FAX to 401-845-0412, OR email to employmentAdmin@middletownri.com Application deadline is Monday, February 29, 2008 at 4pm EST The Town of Middletown is an Equal Opportunity Employer 1 Job Ad, 3 Options: Print Only • Web Only • Print and Web Contact: cjewett@aspanet.org CONFERENCESCalendar February 2008 March 2008 July 2008 1 7-11 ASPA’s 69th Annual Conference Transformational Public Administration: A Call for Public Service Location: Dallas, TX More Info.: www.aspanet.org 8-12 NLC Congressional City Conference Location: Hilton Washington & Towers, Washington, DC More Info.: www.nlc.org 27-30 AGA’s 57th Annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition Building on the Dream: Shaping a Culture of Accountability Location: Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Contact: Ada Phillips aphillips@agacgfm.org More info: www.agacgfm.org/pdc 7th Annual Nonprofit Management Conference, The Changing Face of Nonprofit Management Location: Orlando, FL Hosted by Central Florida ASPA Chapter and the Nonprofit Advisory Board of the University of Central Florida More Info.: Mary Ann Feldheim mfeldhei@mail.ucf.edu 7-9 The 2008 Social Equity in Leadership Conference, “Advancing Urban Governance in a Global Context,” Location: School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University in Phoenix More Info.: http://www.napawash.org 13-17 The Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA) 2008 National Conference Location: Hamilton, Bermuda More Info.: Doris Micheaux, Doris.Micheaux@fortworthgov.org; 817-392-7841 21-22 Sixth Annual National Leadership Conference Dynamic Leadership for Changing Times Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC Contact: Ada Phillips aphillips@agacgfm.org More info: www.agacgfm.org/nlc 28 The Changing Face of Public Administration: Innovation in Government 2nd Annual Public Administration Conference Location: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Contact: Naim Kapucu, nkapucu@mail.ucf.edu (407)823-2604 April 2008 3-6 Activating Civic Engagement 3-7 9 Insights on Perf. Management Ethics Moment 12 National Council Election Winners 15 16 President’s Column Recruiter 26 September 2008 21-24 ICMA’s 94th Annual Conference Location: Richmond, VA More Info.: www.icma.org 66th MPSA Political Science Conference Location: Chicago Palmer House Hilton More Info.: www.mwpsa.org May 2008 5-11 Public Service Recognition Week More Info.: www.excelgov.org AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION INSIDE: 28-29 Transforming Bureaucratic Cultures: Challenges and Solutions for Public Management Practitioners Hosted by: ASPA and The Public Manager Location: Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel VOL. 31 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2008 PA TIMES 31 Years • 1977-2008 A Powerful Voice for Public Service . . . PA TIMES American Society for Public Administration 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Ste. 840 Washington DC 20004 http://www.aspanet.org Visit www.aspanet.org/2008conference for more information. NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID DULLES, VA PERMIT 163