Not Robots Yet: Keeping Public Servants in Public Service

Theme and Track Details

Like all professions and fields, public service operates in an environment where the only constant is change. Technological change has been especially fast paced, heralding the fourth industrial revolution and substantially shifting our field—in delivering public services, building smart cities, forecasting threats to the public good, anticipating emergencies for better preparedness, recruiting and managing the “best and brightest,” conducting high quality research and teaching the next generation of public service professionals.

Each passing day brings new digital tools. Some are introduced without a hitch and increase efficiency and outreach. Others gum up the works and pose new problems for service delivery. Some take humans out of the equation, relegating them to an oversight, behind-the-scenes role to ensure the tools behave as planned. Others still need humans, but perhaps fewer than before. All of them enable new forms of interaction, yet also can alienate some groups systematically. Above all, they require a different mindset for how we approach “serving the public.” ASPA’s 2025 Annual Conference will dive deep into how our profession can embrace today’s tools as enablers without being dominated by them.

The conference will take place at a time of immense challenge for public service. Tools are a critical example and there are others. Elections taking place in the United States and abroad. Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Global shifts in governance and democratic norms. Cross-national cooperation. All are transforming how leaders and policymakers exercise their powers and how public administrators conduct their work. In building an effective and responsive public sector, we must cope with fundamental changes to how we serve the public good. That is why we not only invite proposals related to the conference theme, but also those examining these shifts and their impacts, both known and unknown.

This year’s conference will look at all aspects of these challenges: ethics, accountability, trust, human resources management, equity, diversity, fairness, economic impact, service delivery—plus the technology itself and best practices that are developing and evolving as their use grows. Six tracks will shape these conversations.

We are seeking proposals for sessions, individual papers or topics and workshops that will delve into this theme and its related tracks. These proposals will form the bulk of the sessions presented during the conference and provide attendees with learning objectives throughout the event.

Conference Co-Chairs: Sukumar Ganapati (Florida International University) and Mila Gasco Hernandez (University at Albany, SUNY).



Tracks

Good Governance and Service Delivery
“Good governance” is usually conceptualized through human interactions and programs, but it has been the case for a long time that the average citizen is interacting with a website, and the average public administrator is processing digital forms, requiring little human connection. While that certainly fulfills our “efficiency” requirement, is it effective, economical or equitable? How does that help or hinder those looking to right-size government workforces? How is technology a detractor or an enabler for advancing effective governance? This track will explore what “good governance” means when humans are less connected to each other and digital tools play a bigger role in how we all experience government programs and services at all levels. Topics may include:
  • Today’s public servant role and profile
  • Public service motivation
  • Democratic norms
  • Intergovernmental coordination and communication
  • Performance management
  • Law enforcement tools and practices
  • Public service leadership
  • Civic engagement
  • Schedule F and threats to civil service protections
  • Digital transformation
  • Effective financial management
  • Evidence-based budgeting practices
  • Government structures and organizational behavior
  • Acquisition, contracts, procurement and grants
  • Intergovernmental collaboration in emergency management



Social Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Where does social equity, diversity and inclusion (SEDI) fit in with technological advances? Can any of these tools accommodate these values for all humans without bias? How can we use new technologies to advance SEDI goals? We know the improvements all of our voices bring to our communities but what happens when our tools and institutions automatically exclude people from the conversation (or add extra weight to a population)? We’ll look at our society’s ongoing challenges in achieving SEDI outcomes through current (and future) digital tools. Topics could include:
  • Protecting the marginalized and underserved
  • Post-affirmative action and equity in higher education
  • Equity for Indigenous peoples
  • Health care inequities and reproductive rights
  • Performance management for equitable outcomes
  • Diversity in government workplaces
  • Ongoing LGBTQIA challenges
  • Thoughtful budgeting
  • Administrative burdens and technology
  • The effects of technology on immigration and migration
  • Comparing SEDI values across state and national borders
  • Technology and biased outcomes
  • Natural resource management



Ethics, Trust and Accountability
Ethics, trust and accountability are deeply held human values in governance. Can you have any of these when the “machine” is in charge? Yes! Provided the humans controlling the machine are equally ethical, trustworthy and accountable. From facial recognition software to voting technology to cyber security and beyond, accountability and trust take on heightened meaning, particularly related to tools many citizens don’t understand. This track will explore this core public service value through some new lenses, as well as taking into account traditional accountability questions in light of our changing environment. Topics may include:
  • Election administration
  • AI in criminal justice sectors
  • Today’s public servant role and profile
  • Evidence-based decision-making
  • Cybersecurity, data governance, data privacy and security
  • Program performance management
  • Emergency management and crisis control
  • Corruption and patronage
  • Preemption
  • Ethical financial management
  • Third party accountability
  • Algorithmic governance
  • Natural resource management



The Tools
Extant and emerging digital tools are affecting individual work and organizational routines. They also are disruptive. Are you a ChatGPT nerd or a GIS expert? Have you engaged in facial recognition research? This is your track! Help your fellow attendees understand the tools currently in use (or even new ones on the horizon) and what user experience tells us—for the classroom, agency, community or world. These can be hands-on sessions or research panels but we want to dig into the latest and greatest (and the old and told) to learn how the tools are affecting all of us, maybe in surprising ways. This track is meant to include tools for the classroom and the field. Topics may include:
  • Generative AI
  • GIS software
  • Cyber-safety programs
  • The cloud
  • Facial recognition tools
  • Spatial methods
  • Social media
  • Mobile device apps and management
  • IoT and sensors
  • Autonomous vehicles and drones
  • Technology in transportation and public health



Human Resources Management
If we’re not robots yet, how does the technology affect the humans? Does it empower and enable or deflate and discourage? For as many government roles now exist to manage new technologies, how are tried-and-true careers affected? Is generative AI really coming for your job? Will you ever see an office again—and is that a bad thing? How do managers guide through these minefields, both positive and negative? The questions go on and on. This track will explore all of this and so much more. Topics may include:
  • Remote work capabilities and philosophies
  • Public service motivation for the 21st century
  • Retention strategies during uncertain times
  • Employee satisfaction and accountability
  • New skills and training needs
  • The generational divide(s)
  • Public pensions and retirement systems
  • New roles for public servants and public managers
  • Human resource information systems
  • Managing both tools and humans effectively



Public Service around the World
ASPA’s Annual Conference always creates space to compare global practices and this year’s conference enables more profound comparisons. No matter how your country is using technology to advance public service excellence, there are success stories, failed initiatives and lessons learned available from which everyone can benefit. This track will encourage exchanges of practices and recent research, and generate new ideas from global and comparative perspectives. Topics may include:
  • Nongovernmental organizations and public-private partnerships
  • Climate change and its impact on society
  • The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Technology across boundaries
  • Best practices and innovations
  • Public financing
  • Equitable access to tools and modernizations
  • Geopolitical challenges
  • Opportunities for public service around the world
  • Patronage systems across borders
  • The global digital divide
  • Global and transnational governance
  • Crisis management across cultures
  • Smart growth and livable communities
  • Energy and the environment