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Public Accountability in the 21st Century: New Challenges and Prospects

No Author — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:39:00 EST

EDITOR�S NOTE: We continue our publication of the ASPA Founders� Forum Fellow (FFF) papers with this piece, number 3 of 14. The papers will appear in alphabetical order, with two papers posted each week until all 14 are online. Previously posted papers may be viewed by going to the Related Articles box below.

Rachel Krefetz Fyall

Since the Friedrich-Finer debate of the 1940s, accountability has been prominent issue within public administration scholarship and practice. Even still, accountability concerns have become more urgent in response to recent structural changes in public service delivery. Within a traditional bureaucratic model, accountability refers to the expectation that those in government should be held responsible for their actions. While many varied forms of accountability exist (see Rainey�s discussion of responsiveness values, 2009, pp. 106-7), traditional discussions of accountability within the public administration literature limit the subject of accountability to �the government� (both elected officials and government employees) (Romzek and Dubnick 1987). As the boundaries distinguishing the public sector have increasingly blurred, however, the simple question of �Who is accountable?� has become more difficult to answer.

ASPA's Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapters Host Events for Public Managers and High School Students

No Author — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:08:00 EST

State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Addresses MassASPA Chapter
Suzanne Bump, state auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (SAO) spoke to the ASPA Massachusetts Chapter (MassASPA) saying, �Accountability is what motivates me in government. As you know, I was a legislator and a cabinet secretary. What I liked most about my service was the opportunity to fix systems that had gone off track and improve their service to the people of the Commonwealth.�

Speaking before an audience of public servants, consultants and academics, Auditor Bump stressed the value of transparency in her office. She noted that disclosing information from SAO agency audits provides valuable information to similar agencies. For example her office recently shared findings from an audit of a Massachusetts Housing Authority, giving constructive information to all state-wide Housing Agencies.

Like Brand New: Revitalizing a Pro-Government Culture in the United States

No Author — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:25:00 EST

EDITOR'S NOTE: We continue our publication of the ASPA Founders' Forum Fellow (FFF) papers with this piece, number 2 of 14. As stated previously, the papers will appear in alphabetical order, with two papers posted each week until all 14 are online. To receive notices when the articles are posted, sign-up as a Registered Reader at PA TIMES Online.

Erica Copeland

�Americans suspect their government is both ineffective and inefficient.� Numerous scholars of public administration have evaluated and supported this same assumption: the government is failing to meet public expectations. The pessimistic proposition suggests the need for the government to overhaul and to rebuild its relationship with its citizenry to inspire mutual trust. However, improving how Americans see government requires solutions that avoid contrasting �the public� with �the bureaucracy� as if either group is monolithic or entirely distinct from the other. In fact, citizens of diverse backgrounds and beliefs shape the public interest just as public agencies with unique and, at times, conflicting priorities constitute the whole of government. Environmentalists set different priorities than do industrialists similar to how the Environmental Protection Agency may advocate policies that contrast with those promoted by the Small Business Administration.

ASPA Chapters Celebrate Public Service Recognition Week

No Author — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:43:00 EST

Washington, DC�In celebration of Public Service Recognition Week, ASPA chapters have been instrumental in shifting the conversation about public servants�at least for a week.

Across the country, chapters like the Greater Cincinnati Chapter, Evergreen Chapter, Greater Chicago Chapter, CenTex and many more distributed awards, solicited proclamations and held special events in honor of public servants.

As we close out another successful Public Service Recognition Week, here are some highlights of a few of events and honorees recognized by ASPA chapters.

ASPA Announces 2013 Conference Dates, Venue and Tracks

No Author — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:11:00 EST

Washington, DC�Join ASPA in New Orleans, LA, for the Society's 2013 Annual Conference, March 15-19. The conference theme will be Governance & Sustainability: Local Concerns, Global Challenges.

The capacity to responsibly sustain our global community has long term environmental, economic, social, and governance implications. The 2013 ASPA conference will address the myriad issues associated with the responsible management and stewardship of our diverse, yet interrelated resources. Management of these resources is a complex social challenge involving consideration of leadership, ethics, economics, planning, social equity, collaboration and technology, amongst other issues. This conference will consider whether we have reached or exceeded the limits of our democratic state, the governance implications of these challenges and the implications for public management and public policy.

Accountability Challenges in 21st Century Governance

No Author — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:41:00 EST

Washington, DC�ASPA�s student members are the heart of the organization. Their development is a key priority, at ASPA, since they will be the ones to lead us into the future. Our charge now, is to support their development. To this end, ASPA continued its tradition of offering the Founders Forum Fellowship Program. In addition to the benefits the students receive from the program, ASPA has linked the fellows with Senior ASPA Members (both practitioners and academics) who are leaders in an area of interest to the fellow and it has revised the way in which the fellows engage ASPA and experience their membership.

One of the changes to the program, was requiring the students to tackle a contemporary issue within the field by addressing it in a paper to be presented at the 2012 ASPA Annual Conference at a special discussion circle session, �The 2012 Founders� Forum Fellows Critical Issues in Public Administration Exchange: A Series of Discussion Circles.� The students were required to write an essay (fitting one of the topics below) that demonstrates analytical rigor and critical thinking by specifically framing the issues, citing actual cases and using empirical data to cultivate positive discussion about how we, as a field, can address the issues identified.

Nomination Period for ASPA Awards Is Open!

No Author — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:31:00 EST

Washington, DC�The nominations period for ASPA awards is now open. The Society would like to encourage members and non-members to nominate deserving individuals or organizations to receive one of ASPA�s awards. How fitting that the announcement comes so close to Public Service Recognition Week.

ASPA's awards program, just like its promotion of Public Service Recognition Week, is integral to our efforts to raise the profile of public service and to encourage recognition of those who commit themselves daily to the service of the public. We don't often get to say a public thank you to these individuals. The awards program and PSRW are our chance to do so.

Administrating Controversy

Chris Wells — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

A Washington Post blog points out that the Heartland Institute is encouraging schools to present global warming as a controversial concept to students in grades K-12. If state legislators weigh in on this issue, we will be the ones to implement their policies. And that might be an extremely difficult task. Keep reading to find out why.

The referenced article can be found here: Washington Post

Public Service Recognition Week Coming May 6-10, 2012

No Author — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:22:00 EST

Washington, DC�With just a week to go, ASPA is gearing up for Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW). We are excited about the opportunity to recognize nationally, those who serve our local, state and federal government. Admittedly, this is difficult in the wake of a national story revealing waste and overspending at the General Services Administration.

Despite this news, we can�t ignore the other hundreds of thousands of employees who, day in and out, dedicate numerous hours to providing necessary and important services to the public. These include the park rangers, city administrators and everyday workers who are committed to improving access to government and its services.

Emerging Issues: Mr. Murray and the Decay of American Virtue: Inequality III

Bill Barnes — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:21:00 EST

Bill Barnes

Charles Murray�s new book, Coming Apart, is a lament�wrapped around some data and analysis�for an American community and individual qualities that never existed but for which he mourns and wishes nonetheless.

In contrast to Thomas Edsall�s rather fierce Age of Austerity, which focuses on electoral politics and its policy consequences, Murray�s almost elegiac book is concerned with �new� white upper and lower classes and the content of their character and culture. (See related Emerging Issues columns: �Some People are More Equal than Others,� PA TIMES Online, March 19, 2012 and 'Jeremiads on Class and the Nation�s Future: Inequality II' PA TIMES Online, April 23, 2012.)

Both are Big Think Books. Neither is fully satisfactory, but both are informative, readable and provocative. You should read the one that you think will make you angry and make you think.

Emerging Issues: Jeremiads on Class and the Nation�s Future: Inequality II

Bill Barnes — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:37:00 EST

Bill Barnes

There�s not much that�s cheerful in Charles Murray�s Coming Apart or Thomas Edsall�s Age of Austerity: no Fred and Ginger, no Ozzie and Harriet. No �Morning in America.�

Both authors say that the nation is sharply, deeply, and disastrously divided by class. Both significantly broaden the conversation about disparities in income and wealth, though in quite different directions. (See related article, �Some People are More Equal than Others,� PA TIMES Online, March 19, 2012.)

Public Service Careers in Focus�Public Sector Careers: What You Should Know

No Author — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:07:00 EST

This was a great session at ASPA's recent conference and I will work hard to try to get the Society to offer something similar at the 2013 Annual Conference in New Orleans. This session was also difficult for me (although many may not have noticed). My stage fright kicked into high gear and there were times where I did not even know if I was speaking clearly or making sense. Thankfully, it was a great audience and I was on a panel with great people so everything turned out better than I had hoped. My fellow panelists were: James H. Svara, Cheryle A. Broom, Donnell Scott and Stacy Mungo.

It is because of this that I wanted to post some notes here for those that may have missed the session and just in case I wasn�t as clear as I wanted to be.

Author Responds to Comments on "Public Administration and the Prevailing Political Regime"

Thomas L. Bertone — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:34:00 EST

EDITOR'S NOTE: In a Comment on Bertone's PA TIMES Online article 'Public Administration and the Prevailing Political Regime' published March 12, 2012, a reader wrote:

'Political priorities' unoperationalized has no meaning�the lack of examples implies to me no consideration of the ethics of specific situations�the role of public employees is to execute government processes according to law and regulation. Where the political leadership has lattitude on policy emphasis, satisfying competing constituencies, performing or not performing a discretionary function, and funding, they must articulate their goals and objectives in specific ways and those affected by those decisions choose their appropriate action. In my opinion, we are personally responsible for every decision/action we execute or avoid.

Below is Bertone's response.

Thomas Bertone

I understand the Comment to say that, if political appointees operationalize political priorities by making them specific and communicating them to civil servants, the civil servants will then execute the operationalized priorities by using established procedures in accordance with laws and regulations. Thus, there is no problem worthy of an essay, unless the operationalized priorities pose an ethical issue for the civil servants. In that case, the civil servant must make an ethical decision and be held accountable. To the extent that there is an issue, it is one of ethical choice.

ASPA Webinar on Social Media and Government

No Author — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:03:00 EST

Washington, DC�Does your local government use social media? Or have you been hearing a lot about social media and still not sure how useful it is for governments?

Then join ASPA on Wednesday, April 18, 2012, for a webinar on 'The Use and Utility of Social Media in Government.' Presenters will focus on the application of social media in local government and its efficacy on operations.

The webinar will present practices from the upcoming report, �The Rise of Social Government�, which is based on a survey of 108 cities and in-depth interviews with government administrators. Revealed will be social media technologies that local governments are using, how social media is managed, monitored and measured by city government staff and concrete examples of how social media is impacting government administration.

Doing for the Social Sciences what Darwin did for the Biological Sciences, Part 3

No Author — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:39:00 EST

Due to its length, this article has been split into three pieces. Parts one and two of this article may be read by clicking the link in the Related Articles box below. If you would like to post a comment to this article, click on the Post A Comment link below.

Herbert H. Werlin

As explained in my 2003 Public Administration Reveiw (PAR) article, the justification for Political Elasticity (PE) theory is simply that it is more enlightening than other theories in regard to the most interesting questions in the literature having to do with the poverty and wealth of nations:

Doing for the Social Sciences what Darwin did for the Biological Sciences, Part 2

No Author — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:04:00 EST

Due to its length, this article has been split into three pieces. Watch for the third piece, which discusses the author's Political Elasticity Theory in more detail, to be posted next Monday, April 16, 2012. Part one of this article may be read by clicking the link in the Related Articles box below.

Herbert H. Werlin

A THEORY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Francis Fukuyama, in his 2004 book, State Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century, recognizes the impact of inadequate public administration in weak or failed states. For example, in regard to helping HIV/AIDS victims, the �public health infrastructure may be nonexistent, incompetent, or highly corrupt; medicines will be stolen, records will not be kept, and donor funds will end up in the hands of bureaucrats rather than going to the patients that they are meant to serve.� The weaker the state, the less likely it is to be able to �monitor tax compliance and enforce tax laws.�

Private Sector Ethics: The Key to Reviving Trust in Government?

No Author — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:21:00 EST

To comment on this, or any article, click on Post A Comment below the article. To read other articles by this author, click on the links in the Related Articles box below.

Alexandru V. Roman

Social science scholars have long suggested that trust in market dynamics and governments are indispensable dimensions of successful governance. According to multiple recent public polls, given the current economic condition and recent corporate and political shortfall, citizens� trust in government is approaching or exceeding all time lows. In his 2011 book The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity, Jeffrey Sachs delineates the decay in social responsibility and the diminishing emphasis on morality of the past five decades as the common denominator behind the current political and economic struggles. According to scholars such as Sachs, it is impossible to solve current economic, political and global challenges without restoring trust in governance and public administration. I believe that accomplishing the latter, however, might be unfeasible without an emphasis on ethics in the private sector and a reevaluation of what currently is primarily a moral-free market narrative. There are several reasons that have led to this ironic interdependence between trust in government and private sector ethics.

Doing for the Social Sciences what Darwin did for the Biological Sciences

No Author — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:56:00 EST

Due to its length, this article has been split into three pieces. Watch for the second piece, which discusses the author's own struggle to link public administration to political science, economic development and comparative politics resulting in his subsequent Political Elasticity Theory, to be posted this Thursday, April 12, 2012.

Herbert H. Werlin

In The Washington Post (March 18, 2011), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reported to have pledged to the new government of Egypt tens of millions of dollars of financial aid and business incentives in addition to the more than $1 billion already available to Egypt by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to fund small and medium size businesses and stimulate job growth. The trouble with this is that, unless there is fundamental administrative reform, not much good can be expected of this financial aid. This is a point generally overlooked by scholars and journalists.

ASPA Posts National Conference Lectures Online

No Author — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:11:00 EST

Washington, DC�The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) has released video of the key lectures from their recent national conference in Las Vegas, NV.

Those lectures and links to the video are:

Opening Plenary�Justin Johnson, deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) delivered the keynote address in place of John Berry, director of OPM who was unable to attend due to illness. Johnson currently coordinates the implementation of the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) pilot project at OPM. He is also responsible for OPM's High Priority Performance Goal on telework. Justin is actively involved in improving labor-management relations at OPM and across the government. He plays an ongoing role in most of Director Berry's policy initiatives.

Justin R. Johnson provided the keynote address at the 2012 Annual Conference. Johnson is deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He spoke openly about OPM's efforts to reform hiring within the federal government and improve the process for new professionals and students to access federal jobs and opportunities.

ASPA Welcomes New Leadership

No Author — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:41:00 EST

Washington, DC�The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA/Society) welcomed their new volunteer leadership during the Society's recent national conference in Las Vegas.

Kuotsai Tom Liou, a professor at the University of Central Florida, assumed the ASPA presidency, replacing Erik Bergrud, senior director, community and government relations for Park University, who then became immediate past president. Steve Condrey, chairman of the Federal Salary Council and president of Condrey and Associates, Inc., became president-elect and Allan Rosenbaum, a professor at Florida International University, assumed his role as vice president.