- Martin Potucek, Charles University, Czech Republic, potucek@fsv.cuni.cz

His research focuses on processes of policy formation and implementation in the Czech Republic, on the regulatory functions of the market, government, civic sector and media, on the European context and global dimension of policy making, and on the problems of Czech public administration, social policy, and pension reforms.
He acted as an adviser to the Czech Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs (1998–2006) and to Czech Prime Ministers (2002–2004, 2014 – 2017). In one of his recent public engagements, he served as the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Pension Reform to the Czech government (2013 – 2017). Several of its reform proposals were recently accepted and embodied in laws.
President of the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee), Bratislava, Slovakia (2000-2002). Holder of the Sri Chinmoy International Honour "Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart" (2003) and the NISPAcee Alena Brunovska Award (2004) for teaching excellence in public administration.
- Tiina Randma-Liiv, Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, tiina.randma-liiv@ttu.ee

We are expecting papers from a wide range of topics which may include, but are not limited to, the following:
• What are the crucial factors which enhance or hinder policy-making capacity?
• What are the specific roles of the diverse actors (politicians, legislators, civil servants, experts, journalists, civic activists, and citizens) in the policy-making process, both on political and administrative levels?
• What are the key barriers and opportunities of policy design and implementation in specific policy agendas and arenas?
• What are the roles of the three I’s (ideas, interests, information) in policy design? How do "lay” knowledge and expert knowledge fit into the policy-making process?
• What are the conditions under which public policy is based on evidence? What are the opportunities and limitations of information and data analysis in the improvement of policy-making?
• What constellations of institutions and actors contribute to policy success or failure?
• How do constitution, legislation and regulatory processes affect the policy-making process?
• What are the patterns, causes and consequences of smart technologies and digital governance innovations influencing policy design and implementation (for example, the use of big data, e-participation, crowdsourcing, and policy labs)?
• What are the opportunities and barriers of policy transfer and policy learning from other countries? What role does public administration play in policy transfer?
• To what extent do different (democratic/regulatory/authoritarian) forms of governance influence political and administrative practices in CEE?
• What are the impact, outputs, and outcomes of Europeanization on the policy-making process and implementation in CEE?
This call welcomes papers which will provide theoretical reflections of policy processes, and which will be based on empirical evidence, or call attention to examples of best practices, grounded on the state-of-the-art major theories of public policy and administration. Papers may deal with any issue or topic of interest addressing local, national or international events in the region and elsewhere, or focus on theoretical, conceptual or methodological subjects related to policy studies. The main theme is principally aimed at the examination of policy processes rather than the analysis of substantive policy outputs in particular policy sectors. Both comparative papers, as well as single country case studies, are welcome.