Chairs:
Randma-Liiv Tiina, Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Public Administration, Tallinn, Estonia
The NISPAcee annual conference will bring together scholars and practitioners in public administration to reflect on the state of the field and its future. The purpose of the conference is to exchange knowledge of current and emerging public administration problems and solutions in a variety of settings and cultures. The focus will be on the challenges of public administration in the future: globalism, deliberative democracy and public participation, public organization and public service of the future, quality of public services, educating the next generation of leaders, and the role of technology in governance.
Within their respective national environments, a steadily increasing number of countries have to deal with a large number of changes related to demographic shifts, migration, ethnic issues, climate change, urban-rural balance, societal disruption, economic restructuring, income redistribution, and managing technological developments. Consequently, the traditional tasks that governments and their administrations usually undertake have multiplied, and have become much more complex in scope. Governments around the world hinge more centrally on public administration than ever before.
These challenges of the future are even more complicated in CEE countries, where the context of public administration is more complex, due to communist legacies, unstable political environments and limited resources, as well as struggling with the development of a liberal democracy and market economy, and even post-conflict and security problems in some case. As the differences in political and economic systems, size, ethnic makeup, culture, and income make every state unique within the CEE region, the major challenges of particular governments are likely to vary. However, common opportunities and risks related to future developments in public administration can also be found and discussed at the conference.
Far-reaching developments in the economic, social and political environment of the state will see us revisiting the basic issues of public administration ─ what its role and functions should be, what the state can and cannot do, what the failures and the successes are and how best to accomplish the latter. Neither state-dominated nor stateless developments appear to be viable options. Only an effective state with its ability to enforce the rule of law can provide an adequate response to the challenges of future. In addition to preserving the basic principles pertaining to the citizen-state relationship such as equality before the law, legal security and legal scrutiny of state actions, the rule of law is an anchor of predictability, reliability and legitimacy in the chaotic political and administrative environment of new democracies.
Faced by the ever increasing scope of challenges, the state cannot be seen as a burden on the economy and society, or as a ‘necessary evil’. Rather, it is the guarantor and partner of both a strong economy and a socially cohesive society. Effective public administration is seen as a condition sine qua non for economic growth as innovation-based society draws upon and requires a highly competent, long-term oriented and dedicated public service to implement it. One specific challenge for most CEE countries is to develop a positive concept of the state among its citizens, to regard the state as an irreplaceable integrative force in society based on mutual trust and an operational value system that cannot be reduced to the private sector discourse of efficiency, competitiveness, and client satisfaction. Consequently, in order to successfully manage the future, public administration reform attempts in CEE countries should be more concerned with democratization and modernization than with ‘entrepreneurial government’ or blind-copying private sector practices.
Connected to the future challenges of Public Administration is also the methodological question as to what extent this will affect the way in which research in the field of Public Administration should be conducted. To the extent that partnerships and governance is on the agenda, it will imply that we need to broaden the scope of our research field. To the extent that risk and uncertainty is an issue, we will need to include probabilities. To the extent that the future could look different to an extrapolated past, certain scenario’s, and long-term data sets may be needed. The conference also addresses the need to look at in what way out method of teaching and researching will be affected by the changing future of our field as a research object.
What is the role of the state and public administration in tackling the future challenges of globalization, economic growth, social and demographic changes, migration and climate change? What is truly public about government management? Which reform trajectories and instruments can be used for making governments more effective? How can we ensure that the public service is able to attract the best and the brightest from the labour market? What will be the role of the discipline of Public Administration in the future? This is what scholars and public service practitioners will be discussing in Varna in 2011.