ESTONIA

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ] [ Part 5 ] [ Part 6 ] [ Part 7 ] [ Part 8 ] [ Part 9 ] [ Annexes ]

RESEARCH

PA education can only be high quality if it is related to relevant research. Admittedly, however, the teaching of PA has developed faster than the research. Nevertheless, university research initiatives are growing, Estonian researchers are increasingly involved in international research projects and networks, and they draw more funding from Estonian and foreign sources. In addition, the Estonian government is gradually becoming interested in supporting PA reform initiatives through involving universities and individual scholars into think-thanks and government committees that encourage the development of applied research.

The European and comparative dimension of PA research is extremely important as the field of public administration is new not only for academia but also for the state. In order to develop an administrative system that best meets local needs, different models and alternatives warrant consideration. This involves studying public administration development in different countries through analysing experience and obstacles that others have encountered in conducting administrative reforms in specific areas. In comparative analysis, European countries, particularly Scandinavian and continental European countries, are of particular interest to Estonian PA scholars.

1. University of Tartu

The research priorities of the University of Tartu are divided into three groups:

1. Public administration in Estonia, which examines both practical and comparative dimensions of PA. Since 1999, the University of Tartu has served as a strategic partner of the Estonian government in designing PA reform in the country. The main topics of research include the implementation of administrative reform, civil service development, constitutional and administrative law, human resource management, the application of new public management in Estonia, the culture and ethics of Estonian civil servants, state information systems and relationships between Estonian public and nonprofit sectors;
2. Public administration as an academic field of study. This division is about the discipline itself and projects are focused on the history and theory of PA.
3. Public administration theory on an international level. This involves a theoretical approach to PA and results in several international publications every year. The following topics are currently being researched: comparative civil service systems, comparative PA reforms, the administration of small states, new public management and its critique, civil service ethics, separation of powers, government and information, information and communication technology and industrial policy, municipal self-administration in Europe, academic administration, civil service careers, nonprofit organisations in Central and Eastern Europe.

2. Tallinn Technical University

The main PA research topic in the Tallinn Technical University is comparative local government, where the administration of Estonian local governments is compared with local governments in EU member states (including political, legislative, economic and organisational aspects). Other research topics include regional policy, the nonprofit sector, educational policy and the motivation of civil servants

3. Tallinn University of Educational Sciences

The research priorities of the Tallinn University of Educational Sciences are concentrated on the following topics: PA reforms, the evolution of the Estonian civil service, government institutions, transition in Central and Eastern Europe, organisational analysis, political and administrative culture, public policy, welfare policy and economic policy.

4. Other Institutions and Centres

There are no other PA research centres in a university setting in Estonia. As the discipline of PA is new and there are a limited number of PA experts, all competence has been concentrated in relevant university departments. However, a few other departments and faculties carry out research that is sometimes closely related to PA subfields, for example, the faculties of law and economics and the Department of Political Science in Tartu, and the Faculty of Economics in Tallinn Technical University.

A separate public policy institute will be established in 2000 on the basis of the Open Estonia Foundation (Soros network). This institute will deal with policy analysis and evaluation in different public policy fields.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ] [ Part 5 ] [ Part 6 ] [ Part 7 ] [ Part 8 ] [ Part 9 ] [ Annexes ]