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Call for contributors to a new book on Positive Public Administration

  • 1.  Call for contributors to a new book on Positive Public Administration

    Posted 03-10-2022 21:21
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    Dear colleague,
     
    Last year, a group of 15 scholars from around the world published an essay in Policy Design and Practice that called for the development of a 'Positive Public Administration' perspective akin to similar 'positive' movements in organisation studies, criminology, and most conspicuously psychology. Some of these authors will be well known to members of the PNP Division. You can find the essay https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2021.1972517. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="8">here. Pre-publication versions of the essay have circulated on the internet for some time and have led to many downloads and encouraging responses.
     
    We are now working towards a foundational volume debating and showcasing PPA's potential for shedding a new light on taken-for-granted or understudied accomplishments of public organisations, public policies and programs, and collaborative practices. We feel such a volume and approach is badly needed as an antidote to the strong emphasis on failures, pathologies, dilemmas, wickedness, discontent, and crises in public and political discourses about politics, government, and public administration. While critical scrutiny and careful analysis of this 'dark side' is extremely important for a whole range of reasons, we also believe that the same goes for the public sector's 'light side': everyday there are extraordinary feats of exemplary public service, effective public policy, well-functioning governance networks, innovative public problem-solving, high integrity administrators and actors, and robust and resilient performance under difficult conditions.  We need both angles – the bad and the good – in equal, as they can stimulate very different forms of institutional learning. But we feel that in the rather dark 'Zeitgeist' that has developed over the past few decades, the study of the 'light side' needs to be given a momentum that we see in other areas of the social sciences but that receive less attention in  public administration, political science, policy analysis, and public management. The volume we will co-edit, already under contract by Edward Elgar Publishers, is designed to be a truly global, inclusive endeavour, so as to launch PPA in the best possible manner.
     
    We hope you'll consider contributing to the new stage of the endeavour. Please see the attached call for contributions for greater detail on what we are seeking and how we propose to move forward with this book project. We also would  appreciate you sharing this call with your colleagues and your wider networks who may be willing and able and to contribute to the project. 
     
    We look forward to hearing from you and welcome any questions you may have. Contact details are in the Call for Contributors attached to this message. 
     
    Best wishes,
     
     
    Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University
    Janine O'Flynn, University of Melbourne
    Paul 't Hart, Utrecht University


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    Janine O'Flynn
    Professor
    University of Melbourne
    University of Melbourne VIC
    +61 3 83441975
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