Session Coordinators:
Külli Sarapuu, Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
Place: 29th NISPAcee Annual Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Date: October 21-23, 2021
Main theme of the conference: "Citizens' Engagement and Empowerment - The Era of Collaborative Innovation in Governance"
Two meetings took place within the Open Session at the 29th NISPAcee Annual Conference in Ljubljana. The gatherings were entirely virtual this year. Altogether, five papers were presented. The first panel comprised three studies. Two case studies from Romania focused on empowering leadership, and researchers’ needs and expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The third paper dissected the values of the ombuds institution in Austria. The second panel comprised two studies, addressing the functioning of public administration and community policing in complex contexts – in Georgia and in Nigeria respectively. Each presentation was followed by active discussion and suggestions to the authors for proceeding with their research.