National Academy of Public Administration Holds Virtual and In-Person Fall Meeting November 3-9

Post Date: November 03, 2021

Meeting Focuses on Intergovernmental Approach to Addressing Grand Challenges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Academy of Public Administration today kicks off its annual Fall Meeting, held November 3-9 at Academy headquarters in Washington and at four additional host sites across the country: Phoenix, Arizona; Omaha, Nebraska; San Francisco, CA; and Bloomington, Indiana. This year’s meeting focuses on “Addressing Grand Challenges Through the Intergovernmental System” and ways that government at all levels can work collaboratively to solve problems and foster resilience.

“As governments at all levels continue to face the impacts of the global health pandemic, social inequities, significant climate events, and economic uncertainties,” said Terry Gerton, Academy President, CEO and Fellow, “it is critical that public administrators work collaboratively to solve immediate and long-term problems, to ensure that our nation becomes stronger and more resilient at every level. We recently launched the Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships, so we are excited to focus on best management practices and solutions to our society’s biggest intergovernmental challenges.”

During the week-long Fall Meeting, topics related to the 12 Grand Challenges in Public Administration and intergovernmental collaboration will be examined by panels of experts from the public, private and academic arenas. The conference itinerary rotates daily among the five sites, each spotlighting a specific focus related to the meeting’s theme, “Addressing Grand Challenges Through the Intergovernmental System.” The Fall Meeting itinerary includes:

Wednesday, Nov. 3 – Academy HQ, Washington, D.C.

Theme: Academy Business – New Fellow Orientation and Induction, Awards, Meetings, and Standing Panels

Thursday, Nov. 4 – Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs, Phoenix, AZ

Theme: Technology, Innovation and Digital Equity for the Future

Highlights include:

• Welcome: The University and Public Service for the Future
• Panel Session: Technology, Innovation and Governance for Recovery and Renewal
• Panel Session: Digital Equity and Opportunity in Communities

Friday, Nov. 5 – University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Omaha, NE

Theme: Protecting and Advancing Our Democracy

Highlights include:

• Panel Session: National Civic League’s Model City Charter Revision
• Panel Session: Law Enforcement and Democracy
• Panel Session: Civic Engagement and Democracy
• Panel Session: The Role of the Media in Protecting Democracy

Monday, November 8 – University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Theme: Intergovernmental Dimensions of Advancing the Economy, Health & Social Equity

Highlights include:

• Plenary Session: Covid-19: Assessing Federal, State, & Local Collaboration Through Crisis & Recovery
• Panel Session: Local and Regional Government Partnerships with Foundations to Advance Economic Development, Meaningful Work and Social Equity
• James E. Webb Lecture: Re-imagining A More Effective Intergovernmental System for the Future, presented by Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
• Panel Session: Advancing Health Equity: State, Tribal, and Local Perspectives on the Intergovernmental Systems

Tuesday, November 9 – Indiana University Bloomington’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bloomington, IN

Theme: Public Leadership to Expand the Boundaries of Urban Sustainability

Highlights include:

Panel Session 1: Public Leadership to Expand the Boundaries of Urban Sustainability

Panel Session 2: Urban Food Systems

Panel Session 3: Justice, Equity, Energy

• Luncheon Speaker: Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet
• Elmer B. Staats Lecture: The Honorable Carlos Monje, Jr., Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation

The Fall Meeting also features the induction of the Academy’s 2021 Class of Fellows; the presentation of the 2021 George Graham Award for Exceptional Service to the Academy to Academy Fellow G. Edward DeSeve; the presentation of the 2021 Louis Brownlow Book Award to Academy Fellows Frank Thompson, Kenneth Wong and Barry Rabe, authors of Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism; and the presentation of the 2021 Herbert Roback Scholarship Award to Rochelle Brahalla and Julia Konrad, graduate students at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

A detailed meeting agenda and registration details can be found here. Media planning to attend in-person or virtual sessions should contact bholahan@greatpointstrategies.com for access to registration and session links.

About the National Academy of Public Administration

Chartered by Congress to provide non-partisan expert advice, the Academy is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations. Learn more at www.napawash.org

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