Public management and development in developing nations : conference training initiatives in Africa by the Conference of Minority Public Administrators

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA), a national section of the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA), in providing technical and consultative services through a biennial International Conference on Public Management and Development held in Africa. Beginning in August 1997 COMPA held its first conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The second conference was convened in Accra, Ghana in July, 1999. A third conference is planned for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in June 2001.

The major purpose of these conferences is to facilitate a forum by which public administrators, public service delivery practitioners, professors, consultants, NGO representatives and others from the US and the host countries are brought together in a conference format for an exchange of ideas and knowledge and information sharing in the areas of public administrative service delivery, infrastructure development, and capacity building. High level public administrators, experts, and resource persons from the host countries participate on workshops and panel sessions.

The subject areas that have been especially well received are: civil service reform; human resources planning; training and development; public environmental issues, health issues; and governance issues. The first two conferences have helped to shape answers as to identifying critical public administration and management needs as well as factors which may inhibit government performance in African countries.