RC32 - Public Policy and Administration

The University of São Paulo (USP), in the city of São Paulo, in Brazil, is offering a Visiting Professorship teaching opportunity in the field of Comparative Public Policy for july 2015.

We are advised that 'To support the organization of the biannual ICPP conference, the development of this ICPP website and other activities linked to promoting research on Public Policy, the main members of the ICPP have created the International Public Policy Association (IPPA).

There is a tantalising (for political scientists) absence of detail about how this organisation was brought into existence, how the constitution was adopted and how the executive committee was formed, but perhaps (to paraphrase Bismarck), organisations are like sausages: if you want to enjoy them, you should not see them being made.

The Constitution of the IPPA as well as information on the Executive Committee and membership is now available on the website, and can be viewed just by reading on.

Are you interested in sharing your experiences “teaching interpretively”? Please submit your proposal to join us in a series of roundtable discussions at IPA 2015 on “New Ways of Teaching Interpretively” that builds on a well-received session at the 2014 IPA conference in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The question at the heart of the discussion in 2014 was: Does an interpretive perspective lend itself to a particular style of teaching? The starting point was our shared belief that YES, it makes sense to think about teaching interpretively. But more questions emerged during the discussion than we had time to address, such as: What does it mean to “teach interpretively”? How does that differ from other ways of teaching? What “lessons learned” can we glean from our varied experiences as interpretive researchers that might be productively applied to interpretive teaching? And what are the primary objectives of this approach to teaching and do these objectives differ from those of more “traditional” approaches? We are continuing the conversation in Lille to address these questions and others.

13th ICPA-Forum and JCPA Workshop

“Comparative Theory Testing and Theory Building: The Case of Policy change in Latin America”

Quito (Ecuador), August 24-25th, 2015

The Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications is a refereed international journal that seeks to publish scholarly work in the social sciences defined in the classical sense, which is in the social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences. The research that is published may take a theoretical or speculative model as well as statistical and mathematical. Contributions are welcome from all fields which have relevant and insightful comments to make about the social sciences. The journal bridges social science communities across disciplines and continents with a view to sharing information and debate with the widest possible audience. It has a particular interest in policy-relevant questions and interdisciplinary approaches. It serves as a forum for review, reflection and discussion informed by the results of recent and ongoing research.

The second International Conference on Public Policy has now issued its Call for Papers. there is a long and diverse list of panels, which can be viewed at http://www.icpublicpolicy.org/conference/article/article.php?conference=2&article=79. Papers can be offered in any one of these 164 panels, and will be accepted up to 15 January 2015.

Call for Papers for the 2015 International Conference on Public Policy in Milan: July 1 to 4, 2015 Parliaments in the Policy Cycle. Executive-Legislative Relations as a Determinant for Policy Making.

Policy & Politics 2015 Conference

Democracy, Inequality and Power: Redefining Classic Concepts for the 21st Century

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol 15th-16th September 2015

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015 provides an opportunity to reflect on both the failures and successes of democratic policy and politics in the UK and abroad. The relationship between democracy, inequality and power has been brought to the fore by recent global events, including:

   austerity politics and the disproportionate impacts on society’s most vulnerable
   increased awareness of disparities in relation to electoral and political participation amongst a range of social groups (leading to concerns about ‘a divided democracy’)
   the reshaping of the relationship between government, business and civil society
   rising ‘urbanisation’ and associated concerns about the governance of place, space and territory
   developments in information and communication technology and its impact on citizens’ engagement with politics and public services
   civic unrest linked to demands for democracy, equality and transparent government
   human rights initiatives around gender, age, race, disability and sexuality, and
   a reconfiguration of the role of the mass media and social media in policy and politics.

Within this global context, the concepts of democracy, inequality and power and their relationship to policy and politics remain pertinent. The 2015 Policy & Politics conference will therefore be based around the theme of ‘Democracy, Inequality and Power’ and welcomes practitioners and scholars from any field and discipline from around the world to engage with this topic.

Relevant questions for panels, papers and posters to explore include:

   How relevant is the concept of inequality in 21st century policy and politics?
   How is the relationship between want and need and inequality changing?
   How many faces does power have in the 21st century?
   How do increasingly fast ‘flows’ (information, people, capital, etc.) affect the relationship between democracy, inequality and power?
   What do we actually know about global patterns of inequality or where power lies?
   How do political structures and new forms of governance affect forms of democracy and inequality?
   What is missing from the research and political debate on democracy, inequality and power?
   Is inequality always a ‘bad’ thing?
   How can the social sciences assist in improving democracy and inequality in the design and delivery of public services?

We are, of course, particularly keen for participants to think creatively and innovatively about this topic so the questions listed here are by no means intended to restrict the scope of papers or panels

Policy & Politics 2015 Conference

Democracy, Inequality and Power: Redefining Classic Concepts for the 21st Century

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol 15th-16th September 2015

The University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan invite nominations and applications for the position of Executive Director, Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS).

Located on two university campuses – in Regina and Saskatoon – the JSGS is a provincial centre for advanced study and research in public policy and administration. With a diversity of academic backgrounds in political science, economics, sociology, geography, law, and health policy, the school’s faculty members engage with and mentor graduate students in an interdisciplinary environment, educate the public on policy matters, and enrich the knowledge base from which policymakers draw.