Topic 1. CAREER PATHS: Who are top public officials and where do they come from?

Keynote:

Tobias Bach - University of Oslo, Norway
Issues to be discussed:

What is the degree of staff mobility within the public sector and between the public, private and NGO sectors?
To what extent do top public officials possess political exposure and/or managerial experience?
How closely are top public officials’ careers connected to politicians’ careers?


Topic 2. PROFESSIONALIZATION

Keynote:

 

Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling - University of Nottingham United Kingdom

Issues to be discussed:

When is politicization compatible with meritocratic principles?
What relative role do various drivers of professionalization such as HR standards, leadership, organizational culture or competencies/trainings play
Do the assumed benefits of professionalization translate into organizational outcomes?



Topic 3. TASKS AND PRACTICES: What do we empirically know about what top public officials actually do?

Keynote:

Arnošt Veselý - Chaqrles university, Prague, Czech Republic

Issues to be discussed:

How do roles, tasks and practices of top public officials and public managers change in time?
How can individual and organizational capability be measured and what is their relation?</li>
Can specific managerial styles in relation to accountability mechanisms of public institutions be identified?



Topic 4. ACCOUNTABILITY AND LEGITIMACY: How is the politics-administration dichotomy changing overtime?

Keynote:

Külli Sarapuu - Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia


Issues to be discussed:

What changes do we see in the relationship between politicians and top public servants?
What roles do top public officials play in emerging collaborative structures and decision-making bodies?
How do the transforming institutional landscape and challenging policy environment influence accountability and legitimacy of top public servants?



Topic 5. POLICY ADVICE: Where does policy advice come from?

Keynote:

Sylvia Veit - university of Kassel, Germany
Issues to be discussed:

When is policy advice credible and how is ‘expertise’ constructed in postfactual times?
How does the mutually legitimating relationship between policy advice and political power change over time?
How is expertise managed in order to deliver timely inputs for decision making?



Topic 6. PUBLIC VALUE: Useful concepts and early empirical experience

Keynote:

Michal Sedlacko - FH Campus Wien, Austria

Issues to be discussed:

How to articulate and measure public value, public interest and wellbeing in current turbulent times?
How can public value be operationalized into organizational structure and processes?
What is the role of top public officials in delivering and communicating public value?