- Dr. Diana-Camelia Iancu, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
- Dr. Veronica Junjan, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, [email protected]
WG III Public Administration Reform in CEE and CA is interested in investigating the different means and solutions for citizen empowerment and their collaboration with (sub) national governments towards developing and implementing policy reforms. Good and bad practices are equally relevant: understanding the reasons for success as well as failures in policies with the involvement of citizens’ help not only develop the theory further, but can also provide lessons for future societal transformations. Our focus on Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus ensures a diversity of contexts, which may lead to interesting variations in the current theoretical paradigms of participation and co-production of services.
In 2021, the sessions of our WG aim to explore the following two directions:
1. How do governments presently organise citizen involvement along the different phases of policy cycle, from problem identification to evaluation? To what extent do they update their reform strategies and instruments for ensuring good governance and with what visible outcomes? And, what consequences has the recent pandemic had on the partnership of governments with their own citizens?
2. How can governments make citizens trust them for the right reasons and governmental organisations trust each other to attain the common good? What are the factors and the strategies that support or impede citizens in organising to make their voices heard?
Successful abstract submissions need to include the following sections: a) review of the relevant literature, b) a clear research question; c) description of the methodology, and d) short discussion of the expected results. For policy papers, the abstract needs to include: a) the overview of the policy problem, b) a short account of the existent alternatives, and c) the proposed recommendations. A variety of research designs and data collection methods are appreciated.
All contributors invited to join our sessions in Ljubljana will have the opportunity to discuss their papers with the Chairs, appointed discussants and invited participants. The Chairs expect that a number of papers will be invited to contribute to a joint-publication of the WG, dedicated to the existing challenges in ensuring a transparent and open public administration across the globe.
References:
- Brandsen, T., & Honingh, M. (2016). Distinguishing Different Types of Coproduction: A Conceptual Analysis Based on the Classical Definitions. Public Administration Review, 76(3), pp. 427-435.
- Eriksson, Erik M. (2019) Representative co-production: broadening the scope of the public service logic, Public Management Review, 21:2, pp.291-314.
- Lember, V., Brandsen, T., & Tõnurist, P. (2019). The potential impacts of digital technologies on co-production and co-creation. Public Management Review, 21(11), pp.1665-1686.
- Osborne, S. 2018. From Public Service-dominant Logic to Public Service Logic: Are Public Service Organizations Capable of Co-production and Value Co-creation? Public Management Review 20 (2): pp.225–231.
- Verschuere B., Brandsen T., Johnston K. (2019) Civil Society and Citizens: From the Margins to the Heart of Public Administration Research. In: Ongaro E. (eds) Public Administration in Europe. Governance and Public Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 193-202.