ASPA is proud to host a robust e-learning program including three series of webinars: BookTalks, KeepingCurrent events and Students and New Professionals topics. This list is refreshed constantly as new events are added to our calendar. Please contact us if you have any questions about our upcoming discussions or would like to join us to host an event.

BookTalk: Technology and American Democracy

Sponsored by National Louis University
July 16 | 1 p.m. EDT

Anthony Trotta, Author

Technology's growth and proliferation in American society continuously places new demands on the U.S. government and the health of its democracy, affecting both policymaking and public administration. The book discusses how technology available in the modern era can be used by the public sector to facilitate interactions associated with both e-government and e-governance, and that such efforts can expand the participatory frameworks available to citizens interested in engaging government through emergent innovative means. Technology and American Democracy explores the underpinning democratic theories, including constitutional justifications and competing political rationales, that may guide decisionmakers as they apply information technology in governance to promote democratic principles such as transparency and accountability. The book examines the importance that tenets of deliberative democracy are present to help guide responsive, adaptive U.S. government decisionmaking and correspondingly expands on the possible dangers that may arise with overreliance on a technocratic approach being used to guide the policy path of government.

KeepingCurrent: Emotional Intelligence in PA: Mastering Strategic Communication Skills

July 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. EDT

While emotions are an intrinsic part of the human experience, it is the ability to harness and guide them that truly defines effective leadership in governance. In an age characterized by misunderstanding, skepticism and mistrust, cultivating trust is paramount for the legitimacy of governance. Emotional intelligence fosters transparency, integrity and authenticity, whether forging bonds of trust between administrators and the public, or between your team's professional development needs. It paves the way for transformative change. Emotional intelligence allows administrators to navigate through conflict situations with empathy and understanding. It helps them recognize their own emotions as well as the emotions of others involved in the conflict. By understanding these emotions, administrators can approach conflict resolution more effectively.

Speaker:
Ashley Kent, Rocky Mountain Leadership Strategies

KeepingCurrent: Undermining Our Rights: A National Emergency for the LGBTQ+ Community

August 13 | 1:00 p.m. EDT

Accurate data on the numbers of LGBTQ+ people is very important to understanding the current climate for the LGBTQ+ community on the national, state and local levels. Chris Surfus will discuss the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey and present demographics data on the LGBTQ+ population of the United States. This data contrasts with the recently released (March 13, 2024) Gallup poll data. The importance of this discrepancy is that the LGBTQ+ population in the United States, which is actually above 10 percent of our American population, is facing critical challenges by forces opposed to human rights. Wallace Swan will review the various attacks on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and present opportunities for advancing the LGBTQ+ community in federal data collection.

Speaker:
Christopher Surfus, Faculty Specialist I/Lecturer, Western Michigan University
Wallace Swan, Contributing Faculty, Walden University

KeepingCurrent: The UN Global Report on Gender Equality in Public Administration

August 20 | 1:00 p.m. EDT

More information coming soon!

Speaker:
Mihriban Muge Finkel, University of Pittsburgh
Melanie Hughes, University of Pittsburgh

BookTalk: The Overlooked Pillar

September 3 | 1 p.m. EDT

Alisa Moldavanova, Associate Professor, University of Delaware

Offering an original perspective on the sustainable-development discourse by emphasizing the importance of culture and cultural institutions in facilitating societal sustainability goals, The Overlooked Pillar conceptualizes sustainability as an institutional logic that develops in organizations and is enacted by managers of such organizations who make decisions and engage in sustainable thinking on a daily basis, leading them to reconcile current organizational realities and the need to adapt to those realities with considerations of the needs of future generations. Drawing on more than five years of research conducted on a variety of organizations within the domain of the arts and humanities, author Alisa V. Moldavanova provides a framework for organizational sustainability based on the dynamic interplay of two narratives—institutional resilience and institutional distinctiveness—and identifies mechanisms and strategies adopted by managers of cultural organizations that maintain and enhance intergenerational sustainability. The broader intellectual implication of the insights offered here encompasses the critical notion that genuine long-term sustainability, the kind that secures the rights of future generations, requires sustainable stewardship today.

KeepingCurrent: Building Capacity for Performance Management: Lessons Learned over 25 Years with Mid-Atlantic StatNet Leaders

Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance
September 5 | 1 p.m. EDT

More Details Coming Soon!

KeepingCurrent: 2024 Park University Hauptmann Lecture

Sponsored by Park University
September 12 | 1 p.m. EDT

This year's Hauptmann Lecture will be provided by Don Moynihan, The Ford School at the University of Michigan.

More Details Coming Soon!

BookTalk: Collaborative Governance Primer: An Antidote to Solving Complex Public Problems

Sponsored by Rutgers University—Newark, School of Public Affairs and Administration
September 17 | 1 p.m. EDT

James Agbodzakey, Author
Peter Haruna, Moderator

Drawing on examples from the U.S. at the local government level, author James Agbodzakey will share how this book accentuates the growing utilization of bottom-up approaches in addressing complex societal concerns, with a particular emphasis on public health issues such as HIV/AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic. The book approaches the topic with the following questions in mind:
(1) Does collaborative governance provide a viable alternative to complex public problem solving compared to the traditional top-down bureaucratic approach?
(2) Is cross-sector stakeholders’ involvement in collaborative governance a viable pathway forward in the administration of peoples’ affairs?
(3) Can societal well-being be better promoted with non-mandated collaborative governance?
(4) Would the representation and participation of target populations in policy decision making and/or implementation generate constructive and sustainable solutions for societal benefits? and (5) Is collaborative governance the future of public management/administration?

Attendee takeaways:
  • a primer on collaborative governance and its essential principles
  • unique references to health services within the context of complex public problem solving
  • key components such as antecedent conditions, process variables, outputs and outcomes