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Program Overview |
Friday, May 16, 2008 11:00 - 12:30
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Panel on the Governance Practices and Public Services in Transylvania |
Room |
Meeting Room R3 |
Chair: |
Calin Hintea, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
Co-chair: |
Arno Loessner, University of Delaware, Newark, United States |
Twenty graduate students in public administration and public policy from the School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy, University of Delaware and the Faculty of Public Administration, Babes-Bolyai University have completed a two-week joint study of governance practices and public services in Transylvania that we believe is unique in higher education. Small teams of students from both universities collected information to be used in jointly prepared research papers.
This experience in higher education provided students from different backgrounds and cultures the opportunity to work and learn together in small groups as they conducted more than 40 interviews with public officials, representatives of NGOs and other well informed persons on a variety of contemporary issues including public education, health care, NGO organization and management, university-community interactions, intergovernmental relations, social service delivery, public corruption, traffic congestion and the urban environment. The intent was to expose students to the current status of governance policy and practice in Romania. The result has been an exciting and productive learning experience for all connected with the project - - one which we hope to share with colleagues at other universities in the United States and Central and Eastern Europe.
The practice of public policy analysis and public management in both regions should benefit from enhanced understanding of the combined needs for cooperation across sectors and addressing “communities within the community”. For Americans, the situation in Romania demonstrates the need for a broad understanding of public issues in an emerging society where governments and NGOs must work cooperatively to meet an enormous backlog of needs with very scarce resources and potentially divisive ethnic differences. As Babes-Bolyai students explain the situation in Romania to inquisitive foreigners, and hear about successes and failures in America from their guests, they reassess the situation at home.
We think that educators in public policy and public administration may be interested in understanding this unique study abroad experience and the collaborative work that resulted from it. At the May 2008 NISPAcee meetings in Bratislava, we would like to give a very brief summary and evaluation of the program conducted in January, then ask three or four of our two-person study teams to summarize conclusions from their papers and the experience of working together.
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Speakers: Ann Johnson, PhD candidate, University of Delaware, United States Co-author(s): Bianca Cobarzan, PhD candidate, Babes-Bolyai Universiy, Romania Topic: Public corruption and anti-corruption measures in Romania: An assessment of progress Todd Franzen, MPA candidate , University of Delaware, United States Co-author(s): Cristina Haruta, MPA candidate, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania Topic: An examination of the transportation sector in Cluj-Napoca , Romania with comparisons to other city efforts to reduce adverse effects of traffic congestion Bogdana Neamtu, PhD candidate, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania Co-author(s): Erin McGrath, MPA candidate, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, University of Delaware, USA Topic: Strategies for universities and NGO partnerships in Romania Adrian Hudrea, PhD candiate, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania Co-author(s): Shelly Cook, MPA candidate, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, University of Delaware, USA Topic: Roles of public administration internship programs at University of Delaware and Babes-Bolyai University
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