International Research Society IRSPM for Public Management Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2017 From the President s Desk: The vulnerability of the open society INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. The vulnerability of the open society Erik-Hans Klijn 2. Renewing the IRSPM board Erik-Hans Klijn 3. The New Researchers Panel at the 21st IRSPM Annual Conference Adina Dudau 4. 2017 IRSPM Conference (Budapest) Satisfaction Survey Results Joris Voets 5. 2017 IRSPM Elections Report Kim Isett 6. IRSPM 2018 Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland Stephen Osborne Erik-Hans Klijn In 2017 we had our conference in Budapest Hungary. And I think Corvinius University and especially the department of Public Policy and Management and Gyorgy Hajnal and his team did a great job in organizing this conference. And the theme of the conference The Culture and Context of Public Management certainly was well chosen at a moment where we experience with Brexit, the discussion about populism etc. that national cultures do matter in public administration and tackling social problems. But the location and the moment was also a suitable moment to reflect critically on our notion of the open society. Because having a conference like the one we have also means celebrating the basic values of science that are crucial to it: open debate, open access to the debate and respects about the facts. And these are conditions that are seriously threatened all over the world now. At almost the same time of our conference on the 22th of April 2017, a march for science was organized in many European cities to advocate the freedom of science which is being threatened according to the organizers in many countries. This trend to curtail science was also visible in the country where our conference was held, Hungary. I am referring to the recent proposal by the Hungarian Government to amend the country s Education Law which may have the consequence for instance that the Central European University (CEU) will not be able to continue its work in Hungary. This is unfortunate as this institution abides by democratic rules, is no threat to the country s security, or in any other way violates democratic principles. Judging by the, let we phrase it, intensive discussion between the EU and Hungary about this policy and other measures I am not the only one. This reminds us that Open Societies, where freedom of speech and opposition can flourish, are fragile and have to be defended constantly and can only exist when we are able to accept criticism, guarantee freedom of speech and academic freedom is an integral part of this. IRSPM as an academic society will always favor the core principles of the open society and will thus always have to speak up when these principles are in danger no matter how difficult this is and accepting the realistic notion that improvements are mostly incremental and principles are hard to realize in the practical world. - Erik-Hans Klijn
Renewing the IRSPM board By Erik Hans Klijn I would like to thank the outgoing IRSPM board members, Isabella Proeller, Kim Isett, Mary-Lee Rhodes, Juraj Nemec, Adina Dudau, Denita Cepiku, Gene Brewer, Denita Cepiku, Taco Brandsen, and Jenny Lewis for their service. Most have served for 6 years and contributed considerably to building and sustaining IRSPM as one of the most important research communities in Public management. I also want to welcome the new board members: Ileana Steccolini (Secretary), Wouter Vandenabeele (Treasurer), Regina Lenart-Gansiniec (Membership, Maria Cuccinello (New Researcher), Joris Voets (Conference), Linda Colley (VP Australia and New Zealand), Gregg Van Ryzin (VP North America), Michelle Esau (VP Africa), Gyorgy Hanlal (VP Eastern Europe), Lars Tummers (VP Western Europe), and John Bryson (PMR Link). This year s election was an innovation in several ways. In the past we have had candidates presenting themselves during the AGM before the election. While the AGM is very important, many conference attendees are unable to attend it. In a typical year, we usually have around 50 members attending the AGM. So, this year we conducted the election online with the hope to increase member participation. Almost 50% (48%) of the members took part in the election. We also had a more open process. The members were notified ahead of time about the vacant positions and were requested to send nominations to the secretary. This resulted in a large number of nominations; we had more than one candidate for almost all of the available posts. The percentage of members voting and the number of candidates nominated show that we are an active and well-functioning society and we have a lively democracy. I would like specially thank our outgoing secretary Kimberly Isett for doing a tremendous job to make this happen. This coming year, several board positions will become vacant (including the president). I encourage you to consider to be part of the board. It is great fun and opportunity to serve our society! The New Researchers Panel at the 21 st IRSPM Annual Conference By Adina Dudau This was another tremendously successful year for the IRSPM New Researchers Panel and for that we have the IRSPM community to thank. Colleagues came to listen to and support our new researchers, offered comments, advice, challenged ideas and generally engaged constructively and energetically with the panel. Thank you. Photo credit: Adina Dudau The primary goal of the IRSPM New Researchers Panel is to successfully deliver a customised scientific programme to newer members of academia and this should be at the centre of all planning of, and around, the New Researchers Panel. We delivered nine sessions of high quality work running from the start to the end of the conference and clustered around specific themes: non-profits management, public sector innovation, risk and security, accounting and accountability, performance management, public policy and decision-making, public administration theory and practice, collaborations and complexity, strategy and decision-making....continued on page 3. 2
...continued from page 2. Some of these repeat every year, others vary; some themes decline in popularity (e.g. complexity, partnership working), others seem on an upward trajectory (e.g. innovation, risk, security); and others are relatively constant (e.g. accounting and accountability, performance management, non-profits management). The 33 presenters and the 25 discussants contributed to a high quality and entertaining programme which has left me, as departing NR coordinator, assured that the NR community will thrive long into the future. The panel s secondary goal is to socialise the new researchers into academia, particularly in terms of academic networking, peer-reviewing and publishing. Apart from the editors in the Editors forum, we owe thanks to our discussants for supporting our new researchers generously and enthusiastically. The New Researchers panellists themselves have also contributed to each other s development by being collegial. Vidar Stevens (Antwerp University, Belgium) in particular has proven invaluable to the panel discussions and, in recognition, received a certificate for outstanding academic engagement, an award which we hope to maintain in the years to come. Through it, we reward new researchers who prove themselves particularly well suited for academia as demonstrated not only by their own academic achievement but also by their collegiality. Other awards won by new researchers on the exciting IRSPM gala night include The Osborne Best Paper Award which went to two new researchers: Lisa Kälström (Kristinastad University, Sweden) and Roxana Corduneanu (University of Glasgow, UK). What lies ahead is another busy year for the new researchers who will show off their work again in Edinburgh in April 2018 when we all get together again for the 22 nd IRSPM Annual Conference. New Researchers award winners: Roxana, Lisa and Vidar Photo credit: Adina Dudau As a departing NR coordinator, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made my work in the panel rewarding and who have inspired and continue to inspire me and the new researchers. A final thought of gratitude goes to my own NR discussants and mentors, Myrna Mandell and Kerry Brown, who set up the New Researchers Chapter (now Special Interest Group), and to Stephen Osborne and Erik-Hans Klijn, our IRSPM presidents who have advanced the new researchers interests and needs at the conference and beyond it. 3
2017 IRSPM Conference (Budapest) Satisfaction Survey Results By Joris Voets The Budapest conference was a success! Some 80 % of respondents of the conference satisfaction survey (Response Rate = 36.5 %) noted their expectations for the 21 st annual conference were met or even exceeded. We d like to thank Gyorgy Hajnal and his team at Corvinus University for a job well done! Analysis of participant characteristics show we had a good mix of age, junior and senior scholars, newcomers and regular participants, and gender. Europeans are the dominant group, but all continents were present. On the practical side, 80 % expressed their satisfaction with the overall impression of facilities and location (e.g. city, transport, hotels). Satisfaction with the overall quality of the program content was even higher (94 %)! Main drivers for participating in the conference, are (in order of the number of times mentioned): presenting papers and chairing INSIDE THIS ISSUE panels, networking with colleagues, staying up-to-date with research and practice, and yes visiting interesting places. Finally, we also asked participants what concerns they might have, if any. Some respondents have none, while other respondents formulated some points: optimizing catering logistics and vegetarian food, managing the conference fee, ensuring high quality and a gender balance in the overall program of plenary sessions and panels i.e. getting people the best possible value-for-money. 2017 IRSPM Elections Report By Kim Isett In 2017, we elected 15 of our 23 member board, with all but three of those posts going to newly elected individuals (3 incumbents were re-elected). Twenty-five members ran for those 15 offices. This year s election was the most transparent and inclusive in Society history, aided by our new membership system, we were able to send out pushes to everyone soliciting nominations, reminders to participate, and an electronic ballot. Ten reminders were sent out over the month the survey was open, yielding a 47% response rate. We thank everyone who made this election successful, especially those willing to stand for posts. Congratulations to the winner who are listed below. Post VP Asia VP Australia/NZ VP Eastern Europe VP Western Europe VP North America VP South Africa Secretary Treasurer Membership Secretary Communications Secretary Conference Manager Doctoral/New Researchers coordinator At large 1 At Large 5 At Large 6 PMR Board Link Holder Yijia Jing Linda Colley Gyorgy Hanlal Lars Tummers Gregg Van Ryzin Michelle Esau Ileana Steccolini Wouter Vandenabeele Regina Lenart-Gansiniec Russell Hassan Joris Voets Maria Cuccinello Stephen Osborne Yvonne Brunetto Siobahn O'Sullivan John Bryson Any candidate wishing to know what their vote total was may contact the Secretary directly. 4
IRSPM 2018 Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland By Stephen Osborne Plans are advancing for the 22 nd Annual IRSPM Conference in Edinburgh over 11-13 April and Sophie Flemig and I look forward to welcoming you to the Business School and to Edinburgh. The theme will be the co-creation of value in public services delivery. One of the key debates in the public management research community currently is about the value that is created by public services. Inter alia, this debate has included elements about 22nd Annual IRSPM Conference April 11-13, Center for Service Excellence, University of Edinburgh Business School what this value comprises and for whom (services users, citizens, the community, etc.), how is it understood by different stakeholders, the balance and potential conflicts both between individual and public value and between the values underpinning public services and the value that they add to citizens and society, the processes through which it is designed into public service systems, and organisations, and how it might be evaluated. Some of the highlights of the Conference will include: A plenary panel exploring the nature of value in public services delivery. This will be chaired by Rachel Ashworth from Cardiff University and include the eminent scholar Christian Gronroos of Haken Business School (on the co-creation of value in public services delivery from a service theory perspective) and Sarah Drummond, CEO of Snook Service Design Consultancy (on co-designing value into public services delivery). A spinal panel on co-production and value co-creation to run throughout the conference A Civic Reception at the Scottish Parliament, with a welcome from the Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Gala Dinner at the National Museum of Scotland followed by a not-to-be-missed ceilidh And, of course, yourselves! Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and was a cradle of intellectual endeavour and creativity over the centuries. Sophie Flemig and I look forward to welcoming you to our city and hope that after the intellectual exercise of then conference you will stay a while to enjoy our beautiful city and the majestic natural environment of Scotland. Did I mention the whisky? Submit your paper proposal and come and participate in one of the leading, and most enjoyable, public management conferences in the world. Submit your proposal at: http://www.irspm.net/news/call-for-panels-for-the-2018-irspm-conference Become a member of IRSPM or renew your membership! Membership fees are 100 for regular membership or 60 for emeriti and students For more information contact Regina -Lenart-Gansiniec at regina.lenart-gansiniec@uj.edu.pl. 5