Public Management Research Association

Public Management Research Association
Name	Public Management Research Association
Type	Professional association
Founded	1980s
Headquarters	International
Leader title	President

Public Management Research Association

The Public Management Research Association is an international professional association connecting scholars like Elinor Ostrom, James Q. Wilson, Paul A. Sabatier, Herbert A. Simon, and Mary Parker Follett with practitioners from institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard University, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and University of California, Berkeley. The association organizes events comparable with International Political Science Association, American Political Science Association, European Consortium for Political Research, International Public Policy Association, and Academy of Management, and publishes work alongside outlets like Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Governance (journal), Policy Sciences, and Administration & Society.

History

The association was formed amid intellectual movements associated with scholars including Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber, Herbert Kaufman, V. O. Key Jr., and Dwight Waldo and developed during eras shaped by organizations such as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, European Commission, and International Monetary Fund. Early conferences drew contributors from Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Cornell University, and debated themes linked to policies from events like the 1973 oil crisis, Thatcherism, Reaganomics, Fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Maastricht Treaty. Influential founding figures have included academics with affiliations to MIT, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Syracuse University, and University of Michigan. Over decades the association adapted to research trends associated with projects at RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Hoover Institution, and National Academy of Public Administration.

Mission and Objectives

The association’s stated mission aligns with priorities championed by thinkers such as Herbert A. Simon, Elinor Ostrom, James Q. Wilson, Paul A. Sabatier, and Christopher Hood: to advance empirical and theoretical research relevant to policy and administration practiced by agencies like United States Department of State, European Commission, United Nations, World Health Organization, and Department of Homeland Security. Objectives include fostering collaboration among faculty at London School of Economics, New York University, Australian National University, University of Toronto, and Peking University; promoting methods associated with centers like Harvard Kennedy School, Max Planck Institute, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, and Fraunhofer Society; and supporting early-career scholars linked to programs at Oxford Martin School, Yale Jackson Institute, Cambridge Judge Business School, Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, and Utrecht University.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises academics from institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Chicago, Columbia University; practitioners from United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, OECD, European Central Bank, African Development Bank; and policy analysts from Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, RAND Corporation, The Heritage Foundation. Governance structures mirror practices of American Political Science Association, Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Public Administration (Ireland), and Royal Institute of Public Administration, with elected officers including presidents with profiles comparable to those at Academy of Management, European Academy of Management, and advisory boards drawing members from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Conferences and Events

Annual and biennial meetings attract participants who also attend conferences run by American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, European Consortium for Political Research, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and Academy of Management. Special panels have featured collaborators from Harvard University, Stanford University, London School of Economics, Sciences Po, and University of Melbourne, and thematic symposia have addressed issues aligned with initiatives at World Economic Forum, G20, UNESCO, UN Women, and Global Fund. Workshops and doctoral consortia mirror formats used by Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Political Methodology, Royal Economic Society, European Public Choice Society, and Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.

Publications and Research Outputs

The association sponsors journals, edited volumes, and working paper series that intersect with publications such as Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Policy Studies Journal, Governance (journal), and Administration & Society. Its research outputs have been cited in reports by World Bank, OECD, European Commission, United Nations, and Inter-American Development Bank and by scholars affiliated with Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Columbia SIPA, Yale School of Management, and Tsinghua University. Special issues have included contributions from authors connected to Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Kellogg School of Management, Wharton School, Fuqua School of Business, and INSEAD.

Awards and Recognition

The association grants awards named in the tradition of honors like the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Guggenheim Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship, Fulbright Program, and National Humanities Medal—with categories recognizing lifetime achievement, best article, and early-career promise. Recipients have included scholars associated with University of Oxford, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, Harvard University, and Stanford University and practitioners from United Nations, World Bank, OECD, European Commission, and US Government Accountability Office.

Partnerships and Impact

Strategic partnerships include collaborations with World Bank, OECD, European Commission, United Nations Development Programme, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and academic alliances with Harvard University, Stanford University, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and University of Melbourne. The association’s research has influenced policy dialogues at G20, United Nations General Assembly, European Parliament, US Congress, and African Union and informed practitioner training at Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, INSEAD Executive Education, Oxford Said Business School Executive Education, Kellogg Executive Education, and Wharton Executive Education.

Category:Learned societies