ASPA Hosts Second Annual Practitioner Conference

ASPA and The Public Manager’s second annual practitioner conference, Strengthening Trust in Government: Opening Dialogues, Building Collaboration, was a major success!  The conference was held November 2-3, 2009 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.  Approximately a hundred public servants attended the conference eager to learn more about public service from a practitioner angle.  Listed below are some of the major highlights of the conference.   

 Opening Plenary Session

The opening plenary session provided an overview of the challenges facing the public management community.  Jeffrey Zeints, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), served as the keynote speaker for the session.  Zeints responded to questions on President Obama’s management agenda.  

Exhibit Hall

The exhibit hall was the central location for networking and socializing.  Several organizations served as exhibitors and offered services to the conference participants.  Additionally, breaks and receptions were held in the exhibit hall throughout the conference. 

Concurrent Sessions and Working Groups

The first day of the conference was centered around concurrent sessions which focused on the theme of “engagement”.  The themes included engaging the organization, engaging the organizational workforce and engaging the public.  Day two of the conference was focused on interactive working groups.  Attendees were able to identify building blocks necessary to strengthening public trust in a particular area.  The sessions included a facilitator and subject matter experts who provided initial thoughts on how to proceed based on their experience.  Attendees were charged with determining how to scope out and prioritize these ideas further.

Where is the organizational love?

I’m smiling to myself because I know that the title is a little melodramatic, but by the time I end this post, I am pretty sure you will understand the question.

This week was an interesting week as change is becoming more evident. Recently, I had a conversation with a very good friend of mine, who also happened to be my mechanic, regarding change; specifically relocation.  I stated that there were four things that made relocation a little difficult: finding a new mechanic, doctor, dentist and hair stylist.  He chuckled because he said that he heard that finding a new hair stylist was a task and extremely unnerving.

Nevertheless, these are the things  that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would have issue with.  So, as most people are seeking other career/employment options so am I.  Because I am in the last phase (dissertation) of completing my PhD,  my mindset, until this past July, was to complete the degree first and then actively seek another position.  Due to current “handwriting on the wall” revelations with my current institution, I have been compelled to actively seek change now.

Having said that; last weekend as I was walking through the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, I actually ran into my mechanic.  He informed me that he had quit his job and was on his way to Afghanistan as a contractor.  Of course I was stunned as I had not a clue, but the first thing to come to mind was “who was going to service my car? after all he had been the only person to work on my car for 10 years.”  Yes, a little selfish, but honest.  Of course I wished him well, but the feeling of lost was there.

Then on Friday, I received notification that my doctor, whom I have also had for 10 years was leaving the practice and going elsewhere.  Another loss….CHANGE! These are the types of changes that for most are acceptable and understood.

To further delve into my week, a girlfriend of my mine, who is also a Public Administrator discussed her need and plan for change,which for me is unacceptable, but unfortunatley I understand.  In a conversation with her, she said “I think I made a mistake in getting my MPA and PhD in Public Administration.  Of course this turned my ears up like a doberman pincher because how could PA ever be a mistake?

She continued to state that the reason that she felt this way was because in her seeking change she is finding that PA positions are not as available as other disciplines.  So, of course I had to take a hands on approach to her search, as remember, I am currently actively seeking now myself,  and what we have found is the following:

1.  There are very few faculty positions available in Public Administration and the ones that are available would prefer that you have a speciality such as Nonprofit Management, Public Policy or others.

2.  There are a lot less Public Administration programs within 4 Year institutions and the community college programs are dwindling.

3.  There are not a lot of Post-Doc positions or research positions within the field. Nor are there a lot of research stipends, funding etc.

4.  The PA field does not render a lot of options especially if ones desire is to remain or enter higher ed.

My girlfriend is considering obtaining a second masters degree in Criminal Justice.  This field has a wealth of positions available and seemingly attractive.  Although I understand how my friend feels, I just do not agree.

Yes, I have noticed that Public Administration in a lot of institutions is not a primary discipline or one that is coveted.  I agree that we could use a lot more research opportunities, grant funding, research funding and more for the field.  I do believe that organizations that focus upon PA should restructure and redevelop to further move the field forward, but to feel that I have made a mistake in choosing a field?  NO, absolutely not.

In my opinion, in order for our field to remain viable we have to provide the same or if not more opportunities for growth. I believe this is what is bothering my girlfriend.  It does not appear to be a lot of opportunities available.  It does not seem that one has options.  So again, I ask where is the organizational love?  Meaning where are the options and opportunities for fellow public administrators?

Vanessa

An Opportunity to Promote, Re-Use and Redevelopment

During these slower construction times that many of us are experiencing as a direct effect of the economic climate, there are still opportunities out there for developers or businesses who want to grow, expand or start up in your area. Don’t overlook those redevelopment opportunities.  Many property managers/owners are willing to give or offer a better deal on rent, lease or purchase price on empty retail space.  Empty warehouse space can be given a new use, such as indoor recreation facilities.

This could be a good time for zoning and comprehensive plan re-evaluation to make sure it is well suited for allowing creative and reasonable re-use and redevelopment of empty space.  Empty space will not provide any tax revenue. So if your ordinance is not business friendly, it may be time to consider some minor changes.

Business tax revenue keeps residential taxes lower, something we all like.

Teachable Moments

Here in Indiana,  our local media recently reported on a controversy at Purdue.  A professor had posted anti-gay opinions on his private website, and students were predictably up in arms–not just at Purdue, but on my campus as well. Purdue declined to take any action against the professor in question, and I fielded several inquiries from my own students, who were curious about my opinion of the situation. They knew me to be a strong (occasionally strident) proponent of equal rights for gays and lesbians, and wanted to know what I thought about Purdue’s decision to do nothing about this expression of anti-gay animus.

These sorts of conflicts provide us with valuable ”teachable moments.”

As I told my students, Purdue was exactly right. The posting was not to an official Purdue site; there was no likelihood that the sentiments would be attributed to the University. It was a private opinion, expressed by someone with whom I strongly disagree. Purdue is a government entity; the whole point of the First Amendment’s Free Speech clause is to prohibit government from censoring or punishing people who say unpopular or disagreeable things.

As I explained to my own students, people who want to control what others can read, view or download generally have the best of motives: they want to protect others from ideas they believe to be dangerous. To them, those of us defending civil liberties often appear oblivious to the clear potential for evil. (At best, they consider us naïve First Amendment “purists;” at worst,  moral degenerates.)

Most of us, I hope, cringe when someone uses a racial or religious insult, or otherwise denigrates people based upon their race, religion or sexual orientation. But in a free society, the appropriate response is education, not suppression. It is more and better speech—not censorship.

Well-intentioned as some of these efforts may be, what they signal is a profound lack of respect for the constitutional right of others to hold wrong opinions–or opinions contrary to their own.

When the public is faced with expression that offends us—that is uncivil or unfair or hateful—we have an unfortunate tendency to confuse a defense of the speaker’s right to free speech with an endorsement of the contents of that speech. So an argument that government cannot—and should not—ban offensive videos, or the Klan’s despicable rhetoric, or hate speech directed at marginalized groups, is seen as an endorsement of the pornography or racism or other hateful sentiments.  It isn’t. 

America’s founders understood that ideas have consequences. They also understood a profound truth: giving government the power to decide what ideas are acceptable is much more dangerous than even the most dangerous idea.

We have an obligation to explain that to our students, and incidents like the recent one at Purdue afford us the opportunity to do so.

Reflecting on (Public) Service

On this, Veteran’s Day, I’ve spent some time thinking about “service” and what it means.  Today we are celebrating the efforts of our military veterans and the heroic service that they have performed.  I found myself also considering my choice of government service.

There are a few things in my life that I know were the right decision, and my choice to be a public servant is one of them.  I am still passionate about what I do after 10 years, and I plan to be passionate about it for many more years.  I can only hope that my fellow public service professionals are as lucky as I am -  to love what we do.