It’s time to restore the integrity of our republic and institutions abroad. Recent months have provided the public sector around the world with serious crises to solve and tested our abilities to do so: COVID-19, protests against social injustices and economic decline have all become top priorities. Meanwhile, long-standing challenges like climate change, transportation, water quality and global unrest have continued to simmer, requiring attention with much more limited resources. What does our future look like and how do we begin to recover and work toward a post-COVID-19 world? ASPA’s 2021 Annual Conference will delve into the most pressing topics affecting our profession and provide space for new solutions.

Simmering under COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and the myriad administrative burdens both have uncovered is a recognition of the fact that the systems that undergird our nation—health care, transit and transportation, budgeting and finance, the social safety net, environmental protections, education and more—are in serious disrepair, no longer working for all members of our society. There are serious administrative limitations placed on the most vulnerable in our society, constraining them from reaching their fullest potential, and limiting our country’s potential as a result. Recovering from a year of pandemics and protests means evaluating these underlying systems and, instead of finding band-aids, envisioning new ways to support our society. Examining strategies international communities and regions have employed can inform the American experience and offer new approaches to ensure success.

The 2021 Annual Conference will virtually convene scholars, practitioners and students from around the world to look at the big problems we’re all facing and the systems under them, working toward a future that is more equitable for all. Our call for proposals envisions presentations that enable participants to contribute to this important conversation from any location, and ensure we have as many voices as possible to contribute to this conversation. Detailed track descriptions are below, including sub-categories to guide your submission. Please review each description and think carefully about where your proposal fits best. Many topics featured in prior conferences—human resources, public safety, emergency management, public administration theory, legal and ethical frameworks, the environment, ethics and technology—are critical to this dialogue and are incorporated.

Proposals for fully-formed panels, workshops and individual papers (to be placed within topical panels) will be considered.  

TRACKS

• Beyond Borders: Joining Forces for Shared Learning and Action
• “Fixing” Our Government: Putting Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again
• Good Governance and Meaningful Public Service
• Modern Infrastructure for a 21st Century Society
• Money Talks: The Use and Management of Public Funds to Meet Today’s Challenges
• Social Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: More Than a Seat at the Table