Background

Over the last ten years, the world has been gripped by rapid, wide ranging changes. The world today is a society that is experiencing and living a new world order, which many today refer to as the “global and digital society”. Rapid advancements in information technology have made territorial boundaries no longer relevant in relations among nations. Today global values can easily permeate the society in remote areas. Consequently, marginalized people, who are often considered to be very far from the center of power, also have access to drivers of global developments. Local population has easy access to information on global politics taking shape in other countries. Meanwhile, local phenomena is easily picked up by international community to become international issues. The most recent issues such as terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime, are examples of some of the issues that can be regarded as being global and local at the same time. Within the context of the above change, what is the actual position and role of public administration? Based on the general perception of public administration science experts, public policy is often regarded as the product of the interaction among domestic actors such as bureaucrats, politicians, members of business and civil society community who conduct their work based on conventional mechanisms. The reality is that there many international actors who play various roles in public policy process of any given country. Donor agencies (IMF and World Bank), Multi-National Corporations, international non-governmental organizations, regional bloc organizations (ASEAN, AFTA, etc) are institutions that often influence policy in a certain country. To that end, issues and problems which any government face today have changed as well. What problems do governments face today?; which public will influence and be influenced by policy?; what institutional mechanisms can be used to solve social problems that governments face today?; To what extent can local institutions collaborate with global institutions in resolving public problems? The International IAPA Conference will attempt to explore and delve into the above issues in order to enrich extant research on this theme in the realm of public administration science.

  1. Studying and Learning Public Administration: Global Perspective
    Studying and learning public administration needs to be brought into the broader domain, namely in the global context. This global context will open insight into the theory and practice of public administration based on learning from across state-nations. This panel will discuss studying and learning public administration in a global and international context.
  2. Ethics and Integrity in the Digital Era
    The digital revolution has changed the way people live and communicate. It has an influence on various aspects including in public administration study. Beside offers benefits, the digital era has negative excesses that will affect the ethics and integrity in governance. To reduce the negative impact, policy and regulation of the cognitive and affective aspects of the state civil apparatus need to be discussed and created. This panel discusses how ethics and integrity in the digital era.
  3. Accountability and Performance in Public Service
    In governance and particularly in public services, accountability and performance play importance role. With the existence of clear principles of accountability and performance, a better, cheaper, faster and smarter public service could be provided. This panel discusses theory and practice of accountability and performance in public services.
  4. Politics, Administration and Governance Relations in Globalized World
    Public administration can never be released from a broader context, especially in the context of politics and governance. Politics, administration and governance are always inseparable and interrelated. What is the current and future issue of politics, administration and governance relations particularly in the globalized world? This panel will strengthen the understanding and identification of interlinkage between politics and administration to build a more democratic and effective government.
  5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Government
    The development of AI is in line with the objectives of creating a better performance and consistency of government. AI will slowly change the way civil servants do their jobs, from paperwork to IT based work. Artificial intelligence (AI) is more than just technology. AI is the road to public administration transformation. This panel discusses AI and the future of government.
  6. Best Practice and Lesson Learned of Public Sector Reform in Asia
    Public sector reform becomes a necessity and a prerequisite for the success of a development process. It could enhance accountability, capability and improving public services provision. This session will discuss specifically related to the best practice and lesson learned from public sector reform in Asia.