Public Administration and Policy Management

In the United States and beyond, public infrastructure faces an uphill battle. Examples include crumbling bricks-and-mortar bridges and highways, crowded transportation systems, underdeveloped cyber infrastructure and waterways fraught with health and transportation concerns. Addressing the infrastructure challenge is not about bringing aging systems up to prior standards; it is about foreseeing an infrastructure for the future. How will we pay for it, especially given unpredictable funding streams? How will we manage it with an ever-complex intergovernmental system and reliance on public-private partnerships? We invite innovative research and on-the-ground practices to answer these questions, ideally in ways that are transferable across governmental entities. The stakes have never been higher.

Tayo A Zubair is of the opinion that, Nation Building is a process of constructing and fashioning a national identity. The choice of these key words, process, and construction and fashioning are very fundamental because they are the basic ingredients of nation building. Taking a critical look at these words one will realize that nation building is indeed a process which takes place over a long period of time. It is gradual and not drastic or a sudden occurrence. Construction and fashioning are also very important in nation building because there are things to be constructed and fashioned out, both in physical and intangible terms. Fashioning here is a conscious effort at creating an identity and a national image

Gender and Diversity in Organizations

Revenue is income collected and received by a Local Government. Revenue refers to a sum of payments received by a LG from individual residents and organizations and transfers by the national government for the purpose of financing service delivery and devolved expenditure functions. The locally raised revenues (LRRs) are expected to be received from within the jurisdiction of the Local Goverments.
Local Revenue Context LRRs are a discretionary source of financing and therefore a critical success factor in providing sustainable service delivery and more especially the operations and Maintenance (O&M) The capacity of local governments to raise and administer local revenues is essential for enhanced decentralization, participatory democracy, and better service delivery. This is the foundation of a genuine local government.
Communities are demanding more services and better services. The need for sustained local revenue enhancement can therefore not be over emphasized. Survival and continued relevance of local governments are critically dependent on betterment of local revenues and in turn service delivery in support for the SDGs and National Vision 2040. Communities are likely to be willing to “buy” the concept if there is a significant linkage to quality and quantity of service delivered. 

\r\n Social accountability requires that revenue mobilization has a functional relationship with service delivery. LGs must, at foremost, be able to “sell” to the community, the concept of paying revenues locally. Revenue collected is important because the operations and functions of the LLG Council largely depend on the availability of revenue. There are little direct government grants directly sent to LLGs and therefore to sustain local priority services at the LLG maximum effort must be put in maximizing collection. 

Social accountability requires that revenue mobilization has a functional relationship with service delivery. LGs must, at foremost, be able to “sell” to the community, the concept of paying revenues locally. Revenue collected is important because the operations and functions of the LLG Council largely depend on the availability of revenue. There are little direct government grants directly sent to LLGs and therefore to sustain local priority services at the LLG maximum effort must be put in maximizing collection.

Better remuneration-Increased local revenues may result in better allowances for councillors and better salaries and conditions for staff, also contribution to retention of skilled staff. LGs must consequently develop innovative strategies to increase local revenue to match the increasing quality service demand.

Ethics provide accountability between the public and the administration. Adhering to a code of ethics ensures that the public receives what it needs in a fair manner. It also gives the administration guidelines for integrity in their operations. That integrity, in turn, helps foster the trust of the community.

Additionally, a code of ethics creates standards of professionalism that co-workers in the public sector can expect from each other — the public can also expect the same from their leaders. With a strong code of ethics in public administration, leaders have the guidelines they need to carry out their tasks and inspire their employees and committees to enforce laws in a professional and equitable manner.

The globe may be large, but the public administration world is more inextricably linked than ever before. Actions in nation-states can directly, often quickly, affect policy and administration in others. As important, one nation’s experiences can inform others, providing best practices that bridge the geographic divide and can be applied in a global context. This track addresses public administration from an international perspective. What is working well beyond borders and across oceans? Where do common struggles provide for opportunities to work together to solve them?

Public service is a bold and noble profession, but one too often subject to demoralizing commentary and pejorative characterization. In the meantime, the rules and practices under which civil servants operate—from recruitment to retention, engagement to training—are drawing heightened attention with an eye toward putting best practices and reform into action. We invite panel submissions that highlight what is working—and working well—across all levels of government, as well as the non-profit sector and those dedicated to the public good.

No matter the public program or service, government must be able to pay for it. Operating in an environment where uncertainty is the norm, predictability can be finance’s best friend. What tools can finance and budget office’s use to identify and address problems before they happen, make fiscally responsible decisions and operate effectively? We invite practices and research aimed at providing ways for administrators to better understand budgeting, fund public programs, anticipate challenges and address current needs on a shoestring. Public administrators can understand and master finance; this track will show them how.

Accountability was defined in Study Session 1 as the duty of an organisation or individual to account for their actions and accept responsibility for them. Different aspects of accountability apply to organisations and individuals. Personal accountability is the duty of the individual to take responsibility for his or her actions. Every individual is socially, morally and legally accountable to the community or organisation that they belong to. Defining what this means for each member of a team is often a critical part of a community or organisation leader’s job. Encouraging team members to be personal accountable can have the following results. It can ensure that community members and organisational employees are held accountable to local agreements and bylaws.

As Written by Prof. William F. Fox Jr. In the broadest sense, administrative law involves the study of how those parts of our system of government that are neither legislatures nor courts make decisions. These entities, referred to as administrative agencies, are normally located in the executive branch of government and are usually charged with the day–to–day details of governing. Agencies are created and assigned specific tasks by the legislature. The agencies carry out these tasks by making decisions of various sorts and supervising the procedures by which the decisions are carried out. For example, Congress has charged the federal Social Security Administration (SSA) with the administration of the nation’s social security program. Under that mandate, SSA does two things: (1) it makes general social security policy (within the terms of the statute, of course) and (2) it processes individual applications for, and terminations of, social security benefits. Affected persons who disagree with the agency’s decisions on either the substance of the social security program or the procedures under which that program is implemented—and whose grievances are not resolved within the agency—are permitted to take their dispute into federal court for resolution. Occasionally, aggrieved persons return to the legislative branch in an attempt to persuade Congress to alter the statute under which the social security program functions.