• Chinese Culture and History
• Government, Politics and Policy Development in China
• Public Administration and Policy Implementation in China
• Performance-based Accountability

CALL FOR PAPERS

Final draft of abstracts due August 20, 2009

Submission of Abstract to:

Tangerine Bolen, Program Coordinator

bolen@pdx.edu

INVITATION:

Globalization has produced ever-higher PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS at all levels of government. These pressures have resulted in major new initiatives, some of which include the creation of performance measurement and evaluation systems. Others include the development of new governance processes and structures. The goal of this international conference is to share what we have learned from these initiatives and the implications for improving governing systems and practices.

The three university co-sponsors for the Conference are well-known in their respective countries for performance based approaches to public service education, research and outreach.

1. The China Center for Local Governmental Performance Evaluation (CCLGPE) - The School has taken the lead in China to introduce a performance-based approach in educating the next generation of public service officials. Due to its pioneering work, both the central government and local governments in China are starting to recognize the importance of independent third-party government performance evaluation. The school aims to reinforce and strengthen the governmental capacity by taking the initiative of government performance management. Dean Bao Guoxian is one of China's leading consultants to governmental agencies and provinces on performance management.

2. The Public Service Research Institute at Waseda University, one of Japan's most prestigious universities, is taking the lead in bringing a performance oriented approach to the education and training of public service officials. In keeping with the spirit of Okuma, who modernized and reorganized Japan's fiscal system, the Public Service Research Institute is working with public officials to modernize Japan's budgeting and auditing systems.

3. The Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University is a dynamic, fast-growing public affairs institution with a national reputation. With an outstanding faculty, 13 degree programs including a Ph.D., three academic divisions and six institutes and centers, the Hatfield School is an intellectually rich institution that carefully nurtures its students. Located in an award-winning new $40 million building, the Hatfield School offers students the latest in technological capabilities and exposure to a wide variety of courses spanning political science, public administration, and criminal justice.

Submission of Papers:

The Conference is seeking paper proposals and case studies from both practitioners and academic scholars on any of the following topics:

· Use of performance measures for management purposes

· Performance-based budgeting

· Measuring and evaluating leadership performance effectiveness

· Role of performance information in the policy-making process

· Role of nonprofit organizations in enhancing public performance

· How to manage the role relationship between business and government organizations to enhance public performance

· How to measure the success of decentralization: Balancing the need for control versus the need for flexibility

· Measuring the success of policy implementation

· How to measure the role and effectiveness of public participation (i.e., groups, individual citizens, neighborhoods, nonparty organizations, etc.)

· Measuring the role and importance of rule-enforcement

· The role of transparency on government performance

· The role of cultural diversity in performance success

· Effective ways of creating accountability

· Innovative governance processes and structures that leverage resources and build legitimacy.

The conference encourages team presentations, especially those that link practitioners with academic researchers. All papers should be those which have not yet been published in any academic or professional journal. The conference welcomes papers with foresight and creativity which probe government performance management and public governance innovations. Papers can be submitted in Chinese or in English with the word limit of 10,000.

Location and Organization:

Founded in 1909 and located in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University is one of the key universities under the Ministry of Education in China. In 1981, Lanzhou University became one of the first universities entitled to enroll Bachelor, Master's and Doctoral degree candidates; it was also authorized to set up postdoctoral research programs in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. At the conference on Asian Higher Education held in Manila, Philippines in 1993, 100 universities were cited for their academic excellence; Lanzhou University ranks sixth among the 26 universities selected from China. In 1995, 13 Chinese universities were selected as the most Prominent universities in China and, once again, Lanzhou University ranked sixth in this category. All of these achievements help make Lanzhou University well-known at home and abroad.

Lanzhou University is active in developing international education exchange and cooperation through the international exchange of post-graduate students, visiting scholars and scientific research cooperation with universities and organizations in more than 30 foreign countries and regions including USA, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, Russia, Hong Kong and many others.

Conference Venue:

Lanzhou University,

No.222, Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu ,

Zip 730000, P.R.China