Abstract
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This paper proposal was prepared for the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference “From Policy Design to Practice,” to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, May 24 – 26, 2019. The paper seeks to contribute to the conference track: WG7: Public Administration Education and the focus on the development of public administration programs.
Abstract
On September 25, 2015, 193 countries adopted a set of seventeen (17) development goals designed to address a number of global challenges: poverty, obtaining quality environment, equality, education, climate action, and seeking peace and justice. These goals were developed as part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The significance of the globally accepted development goals is central to the fundamental purposes of public administrative and governance agencies. As a result, this centrality of purpose should be embraced by educational institutions, particularly schools of public affairs and administration.
This paper makes the case for adopting and integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the curriculum objectives and competencies of schools of public affairs and education.
The paper begins outlining the the 4th goal of the UNSDs - The Role of Educational Institutions and the UN SDGs. There are 10 goals outlined in GOAL 4 of the UN SDGs – Quality Education - "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."[30] Of the 10 goals, GOAL 4 is most central to the work of higher educational programs of public service. Based on the Education Agenda of 2030 - a global commitment to education for all - there have been 10 targets established to achieve.
The paper then examines important contradictions of public administration traditions (order, control, stability, hierarchy, consistency) that are in play when, at the same time, the need for significant changes in governance in order to implement UNSD Goals (flexibility, cross-agency coordination, openness, inclusion) addressed the on-going challenge on integrating public and private goals. It is these contradictions that programs will need to address these contradictions.
While the sustainability goals outlined are accessible, designing and implementing UNSD these goals will need to take on existing power structures, standard practices and patterns of interaction that need to be reframed and the ability to address contradictions. In the case of the latter, public administration systems are designed to maintain order, regularity, discipline. Implementing UNSDG may need to call upon flexibility, innovation and creativity. As a result, educational programs in public affairs and administration should consider building curriculum that establishes competencies in coordination, collaboration, communication, and cross-sector capacity. Programs might also consider requiring one or more courses where UNSDG’s are directly addressed in the curriculum.
Of course, one of the enormous challenges facing the implementation of UN SDGs is in the coordination of these goals with subnational governments. This paper draws on the edited work from Raj M. Desai, Hiroshi Kato, Homi Kharas, John W. McArthur (eds) From Summits to Solutions: Innovations in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to assess lessons from important case studies in addressing these challenges.
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