Minnowbrook at 50 Concept Papers

• Is public administration in a time of revolutions, and do we need to rethink the administrative state? What are the implications of recent political developments for traditional notions and themes in public administration, such as bureaucratic and democratic ethos, the politics-administration dichotomy, citizens and citizenship, and social equity and inclusion? What are the implications for education in public administration?
• What is public administration and what can it be as a field of study? How do (can) we balance Simonian visions that seek a “science of administration” (e.g., behavioral public administration and the use of experimental research) with Waldonian visions that seek to understand administration through big questions addressing normative values, cultural settings, and larger societal shifts?
• How do we make public administration research more inclusive, more international, and more responsive to the forces of globalization? How do we address the persistent problem of ethnocentrism in public administration research? How do we explore and integrate the impact of “large forces” on the development of administrative systems, with micro-level insights about administrative behavior, and can these be generalized across contexts?
• Is public administration relevant, and if so, why it is so difficult for scholarship to have an impact on the world of practice? How do we catalyze research in public administration that is analytically rigorous and informs the public – government leaders, policymakers, NGOs, interest groups, and citizens – and shapes their engagement in governance processes and activities?

• Khaldoun AbouAssi, American University,  Broadening the Perspective for Relevance and Openness
• Anna Amirkhanyan, American University,  Studying Active Citizenship as an Element of Democratic Governance
• Lisa B. Amsler, Indiana University,  Beyond Milton Friedman: Let’s Find and Define the New Political Economy
• Jeb Beagles, Syracuse University, Giambattista Vico and Public Administration in the 21st Century
• Gloria J. Billingsley, Jackson State University,  Who is on First: State and Local Governments Out Front Making National Policy
• Brandi Blessett, University of Cincinnati, Rethinking the Administrative State through an Intersectional Framework
• Justin B. Bullock, Texas A&M University,  Public Administration Should Do Less Empiricism and More Arguing About Good Solutions Steeped in Good Explanations
• Julia L. Carboni, Syracuse University,  Connecting Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Processes in Collaborative Policy Implementation
• Todd Dickey, Syracuse University,  From My Data to Our Data
• Jennifer Dodge, University at Albany,  Rethinking Equity and Democracy in Public Administration
• Beverly Edmond, University of Montana,  Rethinking the Administrative State
• Kirk Emerson, University of Arizona,  Observations and Fodder for the 2018 Minnowbrook Conference
• Catherine Gerard, Syracuse University,  Rethinking the Administrative State
• Teresa W. Gerton, National Academy of Public Administration,  Governing at the Speed of Technological Innovation
• Susan Gooden, Virginia Commonwealth University,  Nervousness in our Field of Public Administration
• Andrea Headley, University of California Berkeley,  Public Administration at Intersection of Silent Scholarship and Relevant Research
• Sebastian Jilke, Rutgers University,  Microfoundations, Microfoundations: Addressing ‘Big Questions’ through a Behavioral Approach toward Public Administration
• Jocelyn M. Johnston, American University,  The Administrative State - Moving toward a Private Enterprise
• W. Henry (Harry) Lambright, Syracuse University,  Can an Administrator Lead in Trump’s Washington? Notes on Bridenstine of NASA
• Jesse Lecy, Arizona State University,  Treating Data-Driven Management Seriously: A Way Forward for Public Administration
• H. Brinton Milward, University of Arizona,  Networks: Dark, Bright, and Grey: Toward a More Extensive Research Palette for Public Administration
• Stephanie Moulton, Ohio State University,  Making Public Administration Relevant: Stop Conceding Policy Research to Economists
• Sean O’Keefe, Syracuse University, Public Service Talent Management
• Rosemary O’Leary, University of Kansas, Rethinking Outdated Conception of Leadership
• Asmus Olsen, University of Copenhagen,  Rediscovering Behavioral Public Administration through Miriam Roher
• James Perry, Indiana University,  Making Professionalism a Central Focus in Public Administration
• Suzanne Piotrowski, Rutgers University,  Asserting Public Administration’s Relevance
• Beryl Radin, Georgetown University, Impacts of the Public Sector’s Lost Identity
• William G. Resh, University of Southern California,  Thinking Institutionally Again about Public Administration
• Norma Riccucci, Rutgers University,  Diversity in the Field of Public Administration? Let’s keep Pushing the Envelope
• Alasdair Roberts, University of Massachusetts Amherst,  Question the System
• Jodi Sandfort, University of Minnesota,  Design-Based Research to Inform Implementation and Innovation in Human Services
• Sabina Schnell, Syracuse University,  Overcoming Ethnocentrism in Public Administration
• Saba Siddiki, Syracuse University,  Rethinking Public Administration in an Age of Increasingly Uncertain and Complex Societal Dilemmas
• Jeffery W. Talley & Daniel Chenok, IBM Center,  Perspectives on Government Reform: Looking to the Future Based on Lessons from the Past
• Curtis Ventriss, University of Vermont/John Hopkins,  Rethinking the Administrative State and Public Administration in an Era of Political and Economic Uncertainty
• Brian N. Williams, University of Virginia,  A Clarion Call to Action: Acknowledging and Addressing Public Administration’s Functional Acts of Administrative Racism
• Matthew Young, Syracuse University,  Trust Us, We Know What We’re Doing: Machine Learning and Automation of the Public Sector

By Tina Nabatchi and Julia L. Carboni
August 13, 2018

The year of 1968 was an important one for public administration, thanks in large part to Dwight Waldo. That fall, Waldo joined Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs as the Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities, one of 10 New York State-funded “super professorships.” He used some of his professorship funds to organize a conference of leading young scholars who set out to reconcile public administration’s role with a society in chaos and address the question he had posed in Public Administration Review: “Is public administration responding at a high level of consciousness and self-consciousness to the fact that we are in a time of revolutions?”

That conference, known as Minnowbrook I, in reference to its location at Syracuse University’s conference center in the Adirondack Mountains, is widely recognized as watershed moment in the field. It revolutionized the academic study of public administration by launching the New Public Administration movement, which emphasized citizenship and public service and highlighted the importance of the administrative state for democracy.

The Maxwell School has honored that conference every twenty years by gathering scholars to address important issues of the day. In 1988, H. George Frederickson organized Minnowbrook II, which centered on activism and social equity. In 2008, Rosemary O’Leary organized Minnowbrook III, which concentrated on the future of public administration and brought together junior scholars, followed by a more traditional academic conference with wider participation. Each Minnowbrook conference culminated in the publication of books, articles and/or special issues of journals that left a lasting impression on scholars around the world.

In August 2018, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Minnowbrook I. The Minnowbrook at 50 conference will focus on the theme of “Revisiting the Administrative State.” More than just a celebration, the conference provides the opportunity to continue Minnowbrook’s tradition of advancing public administration scholarship through critical reflection, substantive analysis and meaningful connection with practitioners.

Renewed reflection on and analysis of the state of the field could not be more timely. There are important differences in the contexts of previous Minnowbrook conferences and today, but once again, public administration is in a time of revolutions. Estrangement from government is at historic highs and political trust at historic lows. An inability to converse across sociopolitical lines is the new norm. Calls for the “deconstruction of the administrative state” and warnings about “shadow government” and the “deep state” are heard from those in positions of power in federal, state, and local government. Several government agencies are now led by people who do not believe in their organization’s core missions, and other appointees actively seek to delegitimize the bureaucracy. In many ways, we seem to be in an era of dysfunction by design characterized by the purposeful, ideologically-driven incapacitation of public administration.

The administrative state also faces challenges beyond U.S. borders. As conflict and fragility spread, a functioning administrative system is yet to be built in some places, and risks being dismantled or captured in others. Moreover, the world may be witnessing an emerging democratic rollback, evident not only in the undermining of democratic ethos and public values in administration, but also in the rise of new authoritarian strains that purport to offer alternative paths to modernity.

At the same time, these governance dysfunctions are growing, humanity faces increasingly wicked public problems. Mounting complexity, increasing interconnectedness, greater uncertainty and the escalating pace of globalization, demand collaborative efforts across organizational, sectoral, jurisdictional and sovereign boundaries, and require new thinking about the role of public administration, not only in development and democratization, but also in established democracies. However, at precisely the moment in which we confront serious political, economic, social, cultural and environmental challenges on a truly grand scale, the field of public administration seems reluctant (and perhaps incapable) of responding in a meaningful way.

These and other issues will be at the forefront of the Minnowbrook at 50 conference. As with previous Minnowbrook conferences, we seek to revisit the administrative state and explore the role of public administration in a time of revolutions. The anniversary conference is only the starting point for such conversations. The Maxwell School will continue the Minnowbrook at 50 celebration with roundtables and discussion forums at conferences throughout the rest of 2018 and into 2019.

Minnowbrook conferences always trigger questions about who gets to participate — and rightly so. There are not enough opportunities for people in public administration to come together and have extended, meaningful conversations about our field. We strived to make this conference as inclusive and diverse as possible given the limited space at the Minnowbrook Center.

To begin organizing for the conference, we developed an advisory board consisting of faculty and thought leaders in the field of public administration. Members of the board nominated participants who could engage big questions and stimulate new ways of looking at challenging issues. Through voting, numerous discussions and countless emails, a list of participants was constructed that includes an almost equal balance of women and men, significant representation from people of color, practitioners and scholars at all ranks and from schools beyond the traditional “top ten.” Minnowbrook at 50 will be the most diverse of all the Minnowbrook conferences to date.

We know that Minnowbrook holds a special place in the hearts of those who love public administration, and we want to provide even more opportunities for dialog. Please join us – at an upcoming event or online – so we can continue to have deep and meaningful conversations about the field. In a time of revolutions, thoughtful discussions about public administration cannot be confined to a single weekend.

This article was originally published on PA Times Online