The 2021 Annual Conference of the Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA) 

hosted by the  Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and  Public Administration (RANEPA)

Call for Papers 

The main conference theme: The Future of Public Administration in PostCOVID-19 Period:  Addressing Unprecedented Challenges and Seizing New Opportunities 

Date: 7-8 October, 2021 

Place: RANEPA, Moscow 

Deadline of abstracts submission: 1 July, 2021 

Conference website: https://aapa2021.ranepa.msk.ru    

AAPA website: http://www.aapa.asia

Background context: 

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the whole world into a socio-economic and  financial crisis of an unprecedented scale. The policy decisions taken now will  shape the fate of millions and define the future of nations. Strong public  institutions, effective decision-making and innovative solutions are critical for  building and maintaining the capacity of national governments to combat the  COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its implications and achieve the Sustainable  Development Goals (SDG). 

The conference focuses on the issues of crisis management, best practices on  how to transform governance and develop capacities of public institutions and regional/local administrations to address pandemic related challenges.  Academicians, experts and practitioners are welcome to present and debate  accumulated experience, emerging issues, trends and challenges, as well as good practices, strategies and innovative approaches that have proven their  efficacy since the start of pandemic. The organizers of the conference inspire the participants to develop and reflect solutions and pathways to achieving the  SDGs under new circumstances.  

Format:

Depending on the epidemiological situation in the country, the conference can be held either entirely online or in a hybrid format (the on-site presence of a limited number of participants and the rest in distant mode)

The best papers presented at the conference will be eligible for publication in one of the following international peer review journals: Public  Organization Review (POR, https://www.springer.com/journal/11115),  International Public Management Review (IPMR, http://ipmr.net), Urban  Governance (UG, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/urban-governance) and Civil Service (CS, https://pa-journal.igsu.ru)

Keynote speakers and panel discussants: 

Guy Peters (University of Pittsburgh),  

Ali Farazmand (Florida Atlantic University), 

Vladimir Mau (RANEPA),  

Anthony B. L. Cheung (Education University of Hong Kong), 

Akira Nakamura (Meiji University), 

Pan S. Kim (Yonsei University),  

Alex Brillantes (University of the Philippines)

Conference Sub-Themes:

The role of state in crisis management 

• Drivers and enablers of government effective performance in critical situations 

• Crisis leadership and emergency management: proven policy responses and  innovative approaches 

• Addressing COVID-19 related threats at national, regional and municipal levels: strategies, lessons and best practices 

• Overstrained public healthcare systems during pandemic:prospective recipes for effective maintenance and performance

• International and regional cooperation in coping with the crisis 

Provision of public services in times of crisis 

• Rethinking and reinforcing public service delivery in crisis 

• How have public services adapted to the new situation: practical cases 

• Multi-stakeholder cooperation in the delivery of services 

• Best practice cases of innovative modes of urban service delivery 

Local administration and municipal governance in the times of emergency 

• Engaging citizens in crisis management at local level 

• Strengthening interface between central government, regional and municipal  authorities in tackling the crisis 

• Adopting urban infrastructure to emergency measures 

• Innovative approaches in addressing emergency issues  

• Sustainable urban governance: challenges and solutions  

Digital state and E-government as innovative emergency instruments 

• The impact of e-Government on enhancing public sector performance 

• Potential of digital technologies to address new and long-standing challenges 

• Digitalization and artificial intelligence in facilitating COVID-19 crisis related solutions 

• Strengthening science and technology in addressing inequalities in the COVID-19 period 

Public management and civil service systems in Asia in comparative perspective 

• Civil service and HR management in the times of uncertainty and scarcity

• Public sector reform: new trends and priorities 

• Retaining professionals and building leadership at different levels of government in the periods of uncertainty and tension  

• Fast learning programmes and high quality professional development: is there a contradiction? 

State and society in times of crisis 

• Transparency, dialogue and interface with citizens in mitigating effects of the crisis 

• Support to vulnerable groups and recovery measures to businesses 

• Accountability of authorities and trust in government: innovative “know how” 

• Crisis perception by key stakeholders and the role of mass media 

Transforming governance for realizing the SDGs 

• Pandemic responses of respective countries from the perspective of Sustainable Development Goals 

• Public policy innovations towards sustainable development 

• Sustainable governance amidst COVID-19 pandemic: best practice cases 

SUBMISSION GUIDANCE: 

Abstracts (no more than 500 words in English) for paper presentations should  be sent as an email attachment to aapa2021@ranepa.msk.ru no later than July 1, 2021. All abstracts should include: (1) author(s) name, title, institutional  affiliation, and address; (2) contacting information (email and phone); (3) paper  title and its sub-theme; and (4) abstract including references.  

Proposed papers should feature high-quality theoretical, qualitative, or  quantitative research. Empirical paper proposals will be evaluated based on the  significance and quality of the research question, design, methods, data, and  implications. Theoretical paper proposals will be evaluated based on the extent  to which the proposal provides insight into a compelling public management  subject, identifies foundational assumptions and key concepts, and results in  meaningful critiques of accepted theory, asserts guiding propositions or testable  hypotheses, or develops helpful conceptual frameworks and research agendas.

After blind review process, letters of acceptance will be sent to authors by July 12, 2021. Full papers should be sent as an email attachment to  aapa2021@ranepa.msk.ru no later than September 15, 2021. The conference  scientific committee will review all submitted papers. The AAPA President will  present Akira Nakamura Award and Anthony Cheung Award to the  presenters who deliver the paper of the highest quality. Akira Nakamura Award  will be granted to graduate students, researchers and scholars and Anthony  Cheung Award to practitioners and public officials. To be considered for  awards, the author(s) must submit the full paper to the conference organizer by  the due date and complete the registration form. 

To register for the conference and to get more information please visit https://aapa2021.ranepa.msk.ru/   If you have other questions please write to us at aapa2021@ranepa.msk.ru 

NB. The conference e-mail address has been tested for its functionality.  However, in order to reduce the risk of possible technical failures a reserve  address – aapaconf2021@gmail.com has been set up and is regularly checked for incoming correspondence.

AAPA 2021 Organizing Committee