PSG XV: PATI (Public Administration, Technology and Innovation)

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Call for Papers

The newly-established permanent study group ‘Public Administration, Technology & Innovation’ (PATI) of EGPA will be officially inaugurated at the 33^rd Annual Conference of EGPA in Bucharest, following the preliminary kick-off meeting to be held in May at Tallinn University of Technology (see more: www.ttu.ee/pati).

Technological developments of the last decades have brought the co-evolutionary linkages between technology and public sector institutions into the center of both economics and public administration research. Technologies can, arguably, make public administration more effective, efficient, transparent and more accountable; but they can also cause problems with privacy, sustainability, legality, and equality, to name just a few examples. Recent public sector austerity measures (and attempts at lean government in general) may thwart socio-political efforts to foster technological innovation; but they can at the same time lead to greater willingness of governments to adopt new technologies and management principles based, directly or indirectly, on technological innovations. The challenge to public administration research is not only to trace and understand these linkages, but to find working solutions to these apparent trade-offs, and even to investigate the nature and permutations of the techno-administrative interface generally.

We are inviting papers dealing with theoretical or empirical topics looking at either side of the co-evolution perspective of technological and institutional development; the role of public administration in technological progress and innovation; and the role of technology and innovation in the trajectories of public administration.

Researchers interested in a PSG theme are kindly invited to submit a short abstract outlining (max. two pages):

-          the title of the paper

-          the argument and contents of the paper

-          the research methods and empirical material used

-          name, affiliation, and contact information of the author(s)

The deadline for the submission of the abstracts is May 1, 2011. Abstracts and all inquiries should be submitted to Erkki Karo (erkki.karo@ttu.ee) Papers will be selected no later than June 1, 2011. Authors whose abstracts have been accepted should dispatch their completed text to the Study Group (erkki.karo@ttu.ee) and to Fabienne Maron: f.maron@iias-iisa.org by July 31, 2011 at the latest.

Co-chairs:

Study group website

• http://www.ttu.ee/pati