American Society for Public Administration's role in building global governance capacity through networked professional associations

Abstract

Professional associations for public administrators are essential in building global governance capacity because global connectedness increases the need for building public management capacity, and because professional associations provide essential member services that increase individual and organizational competence.

Professional associations like the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) are particularly important in this respect because, given that their membership includes both academicians and practicing public administrators, they can connect the four essential elements of effective public management (theory, research, practice and teaching).

The link between theory and practice (praxis) is important whether it applies to reflective practitioners (Brudney, O'Toole and Rainey, 2000; and Denhardt, 2004) or to the consultants who constitute such a significant part of international development activities aimed at strengthening public administrative capacity (Bertucci, 2006).

Major shifts in how we perceive organizations and measure organizational effectiveness, information and communications technology and governance have worked together to reinforce the idea that networks are the most effective way to organize human activity.

In the past, hierarchies were the standard method of organizing human activity because classical management theory developed around bureaucratic hierarchies, available technologies for receiving, processing and interpreting information reinforced the relationship between hierarchical design and centralized policy-making, and classical public administration equated centralized control with legal and political authority. None of these assumptions about organizations and their environments is as valid today as it was a half century ago. This applies to professional associations as well.

To make ASPA more effective as a networked professional association under these circumstances, ASPA leaders should continue to focus on ASPA's traditional role as the premier generalist organization for US public administrators, and at the same time make basic conceptual shifts: expanding ASPA's vision from government to governance, and widening ASPA's vision from US to global public administration.

These will help ASPA to become more receptive to ideas from international and corporate colleagues about how best to support public administration and public service. When coupled with parallel shifts in programs and governance, they will help ASPA work more effectively in networks with other professional associations to increase global governance capacity.

Focusing on big global development issues like poverty, social equity, economic justice, environmental sustainability, and public service ethics can re-energize US ASPA members by re-connecting them with the reasons why professionalizing public administration and public service were so important to developing administrative capacity in the US two generations ago (Klingner, 2004b).

Resumen

Las asociaciones profesionales construyen y fortalecen la capacidad local de la gobernanza por manera de: (1) fortalecer la capacidad de la gerencia pública en los órganos públicos, (2) proporcionar servicios a sus miembros que fortalecen sus capacidades, y (3) estimular la vinculación de la teoría, la investigación, la práctica, y la enseñanza.

La actividad humana se organiza en redes de manera más óptima que en jerarquías: de las organizaciones jerárquicas a las organizaciones en redes, de las tecnologías de información y comunicación jerárquicas a las redes, del gobierno jerárquico a la gobernanza en red, y de las asociaciones profesionales individuales a las redes.

La ASPA (la Sociedad Americana de Administración Publica) puede funcionar más eficaz en red con otras asociaciones profesionales mexicanas para promover la capacidad local de la gobernanza por manera de hacer cambios básicos:

En la visión: - ampliar la visión del gobierno a la gobernanza y - ensanchar la visión de los EE.UU. al ámbito global.

En la programación: - Promover la ASPA entre los integrantes de las ONG y de los contratistas gubernamentales; - Promover la membresía y el patrocinio corporativo; - Promover descuentos recíprocos de membresía con otras asociaciones profesionales; - Cooperar con otras asociaciones en la programación de conferencias; - Atraer a más miembros internacionales; - Ofrecer más servicios a través de la Red de Internet a los miembros internacionales; - Ofrecer incentivos financieros a los miembros internacionales.

En la gobernanza: - Clarificar los propósitos y la coordinación de las actividades internacionales; y - Revisar y reestructurar la base de representación en el Consejo Nacional.