RC32 - Public Policy and Administration

The purpose of the workshop is thus to apply the concepts of policy formulation and policy design thinking to the social policy sphere. Papers at the workshop will apply the central concerns in public policy evaluation ‑ effectiveness, efficiency, equity, security, sustainability etc – to different policy tools configurations in order to understand their potential use and limitations across problems and socio-economic contexts. In addition, papers will examine the manner in which policymakers and client groups learn from past experiences, or not, in their design, creation and enactment of social policy.

The changing global context of public and social policy development and public service delivery has in recent years sharpened our focus both upon the way that these policies respond to changing needs and evolving political agendas and upon the routes to and processes of innovation in public service delivery. SIRC will be dedicated to discussing • New conceptual and theoretical ways through which to understand the processes of innovation in public and social policies and in public service delivery, and • New empirical evidence about the contingencies and effectiveness of such innovations in public and social policies and public service delivery. The conference is also concerned to encourage two perspectives. The first is to inspire scholars from the public management, public administration, political science, public policy, social policy, and policy analysis disciplines to engage in dialogue about their viewpoints on these processes and to encourage combinatory approaches where appropriate. The second is to enable and facilitate debate, academic interchange and learning between scholars from the east and the west.

We are seeking an outstanding researcher in governance and regulation, with particular expertise in public health law and/or health governance. We want to appoint an experienced, ambitious and research active scholar, who is able to support the Director in providing leadership to the Health, Equity and Governance group, and particularly welcome applications from researchers with a record in public health law and/or health governance. A successful applicant will have won competitive research grants, and be an experienced supervisor of graduate students.

The University of Saskatchewan invites applications for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in the area of Natural Resources, Law and Policy. This CRC position offers a tremendous opportunity for the right person to build their scholarly career in a University committed to both international standards and a sense of place. The institutional support package that accompanies the CRC provides funds to support students as well as research and comes with reduced teaching responsibilities.

The University of Lausanne is seeking a new Ph.D. student and teaching assistant (100%). The successful candidate is expected to write a PhD thesis in public policy, regulation, governance and/or public administration, and to assist with teaching and research tasks.

Applicants should be interested in public policy and regulatory governance, and have had some methodological training. They need to be motivated to do empirical research and work in a team. Candidates should hold a MA/MSc degree in political science, public administration or in a related social science discipline. In addition, candidates need to be fluent in English and/or French. The work location is at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). The salary is determined according to the University pay scale (65'000-75'800 CHF/year, gross). The appointment is limited to five years. Starting date: January 1st, 2015 (or upon agreement).

Griffith University is looking to appoint a Research Fellow in Politics. The fellowship is for a fixed period of three years. The fellowship is research-only for the first year, with a one course per year equivalent teaching load in each of the second and third years of the appointment.

This is a fixed term (three years), full time position based at the Nathan campus, Queensland, Australia.

The Department of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences, Université Laval invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position in Public administration and public policy to begin June 1, 2015. Rank is open.

Valuing diversity, Université Laval encourages all qualified individuals to apply-particularly women, visible and ethnic minorities, aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities-but priority will be given to Canadians and Canadian permanent residents.

We have had a call for papers for a symposium on experimental public administration in Public Administration Review.

New professorial and research positions in SPRU

SPRU is looking for a number of dynamic, innovative and highly respected academic leaders to join our team to help shape our research activity and organisational development.

Three new professorships in Sustainability Transitions, Innovation and Evolutionary Economics and Energy Policy within SPRU - an internationally recognised leading centre of research on science, technology and innovation policy are now open for applications.

WIPCAD Midterm Conference (4 - 6 December 2014) “Contested Public Organizations: Knowledge, Coordination, Strategy”

Organizations commonly operate under conditions of high complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Rapidly changing environments exert pressures to which organizations have to respond in order to gain and maintain legitimacy. Public organizations are particularly exposed to such external demands because they are typically embedded in a complex nexus of stakeholders, which often have inconsistent expectations and are ultimately assessed by political criteria. Emergent tensions may not only destabilize organizational structures and routines, but call into question conventional methods of administration. Contestation occurs in at least three areas of core organizational activity: knowledge use and transfer; internal and external coordination; and strategy building.

The WIPCAD Midterm Conference invites researchers to submit proposals for papers that critically examine the dynamics between environments and organizational core activities. The conference theme focuses on how public organizations deal with changing conditions in terms of: (1) knowledge use and transfer; (2) coordination; and (3) strategy building. How do they react to and/or proactively seek to shape environmental conditions in order to gain legitimacy and maintain effectiveness?