In This Issue:

• #ASPA2021 Call for Proposals Deadline Friday!
• Nominate a Colleague for an ASPA National Award!
• E-Learning at Your Fingertips
• Focus on Membership: Plan for What You’ll Need in 2021
• ASPA Hosts Leadership Call Discussing Schedule F
• Now Accepting Nominations for 2021 Class of Founders' Fellows
• In Memoriam: David Miller
• In Memoriam: Judith Kirchhoff
• Author Slots Open for PA TIMES Online in 2021
• New Podcast: Public Sector Works!
• COVID Relief Programs Set to Expire
• Tips and Resources
• Coronavirus in the News
• (Otherwise) in the News
• Members in the News
• Around Public Administration
• PA TIMES Online

#ASPA2021 Call for Proposals Deadline Friday!

This is your final week to submit a proposal for a presentation you would like to give during ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference, taking place online this April. Centered on the theme, "Picking Up the Pieces: Pandemics, Protests and the Future of Public Service," this year's conference will be looking at the issues of our times and working toward solutions.

We encourage all interested parties to submit a proposal: academics, practitioners, nonprofit experts and beyond! More, since the 2021 Annual Conference will be entirely online, we encourage our friends and partners from around the world to join us. Submitting a proposal is simple: Pick your track (there are six options), determine your focus area and describe your presentation!

ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference is tackling the turmoil of our current environment head on this April. It's time to restore the integrity of our republic and institutions abroad. Recent months have provided the public sector around the world with serious crises to solve and tested our abilities to do so: COVID-19, protests against social injustices and economic decline have all become top priorities. Meanwhile, long-standing challenges like climate change, transportation, infrastructure, water quality and global unrest have continued to simmer, requiring attention with much more limited resources. What does our future look like and how do we begin to recover and work toward a post-COVID-19 world? ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference will delve into the most pressing topics affecting our profession and provide space for new solutions.

Simmering under COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and the myriad administrative burdens both have uncovered is a recognition of the fact that the systems that undergird our nation—health care, transit and transportation, budgeting and finance, the social safety net, environmental protections, education and more—are in serious disrepair, no longer working for all members of our society. There are serious administrative limitations and burdens placed on the most vulnerable in our society, constraining them from reaching their fullest potential, and limiting our country's potential as a result. Recovering from a year of pandemics and protests means evaluating these underlying systems and, instead of finding band-aids, envisioning new ways to support our society. Examining strategies international communities and regions have effectively employed can inform the American experience and offer new approaches to ensure success.

The 2021 Annual Conference will convene scholars, practitioners and students from around the world to look at the big problems we're all facing and the systems in which they operate, while working toward a future that is more equitable for all. Our call for proposals is for an online conference, enabling participants to contribute to this important conversation from any location, eliminating travel concerns for those who are unable to join us in person and ensuring we have as many diverse voices as possible to contribute to this conversation.

Detailed track descriptions are on our website, including sub-categories to guide your submission. Please review each description and think carefully about where your proposal fits best. Many topics featured in prior conferences—human resources, public safety, emergency management, public administration theory, legal and ethical frameworks, the environment, ethics and technology—are critical to this dialogue and are incorporated.

Tracks will include:

• Track One: Social Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: More Than a Seat at the Table
• Track Two: Money Talks: The Use and Management of Public Funds to Meet Today's Challenges
• Track Three: Good Governance and Meaningful Public Service
• Track Four: "Fixing" Our Government: Putting Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again
• Track Five: Beyond Borders: Joining Forces for Shared Learning and Action
• Track Six: Modern Infrastructure for a 21st Century Society

Nominate a Colleague for an ASPA National Award!

ASPA's Annual Awards Program is your once-a-year opportunity to nominate someone to be recognized as one of public administration's dedicated public servants.

• Do you know a current or former city official who has dedicated themselves to the public good?
• Do you know a public official who has stood up for equity and integrity in government?
• Do you know someone who has bridged the academic/practitioner divide and encouraged best practices because of it?
• Do you know someone who is all-around excellent?

• National Public Service Award
• Rosslyn Kleeman Keeper of the Flame Award
• Public Integrity Award
• Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award
• Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Exemplary Practices Award
• Center for Accountability and Performance Awards
• Walter W. Mode Scholarship
• Wallace O. Keene ASPA Conference Scholarship
• Oveta Culp Hobby Chapter/Section Training Award
• Patricia Yearwood Chapter/Section Newsletter Award

E-Learning at Your Fingertips

ASPA staff work tirelessly to keep your skills up to date and the information flowing all year long through our e-learning program. Visit our website to see more details about upcoming KeepingCurrent, BookTalk and Students and New Professionals series programming. Members, visit our webinar archives to catch up on what you have missed!


Students and New Professionals: Building a Successful Mentor-Mentee Relationship
December 10 | 1 p.m. ET
Presenters:
RaJade M. Berry-James, North Carolina State University
Ammar A. Malik, Evidence for Policy Design, Harvard Kennedy School
Abdul Samad, Moderator, Student Representative, National Council, ASPA

This webinar will offer useful information to students and new professionals—and people at all stages of their careers—for developing effective mentor-mentee relationships. Our panelists will cover tips for becoming an effective mentor, navigating the challenges to a successful mentor-mentee relationship, identifying effective relationships, approaching potential mentors, defining roles or clear goals/objectives and effective time management for both parties.

Those who join us for this webinar also will be able to take part in recognizing and honoring awardees from our 2020 awards program. We will be conveying a handful of awards during this webinar, honoring achievements from across the discipline. (Click here or scroll up if you are interested in applying for a 2021 award.)




KeepingCurrent: How East Asia Has Managed to Control the Coronavirus: The Case of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea
December 14 | 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET
Presenters:
Anthony B. L. Chueng, Education University of Hong Kong
Dohyeong Kim, Discussant, Chair, Korean Section on Public Administration, ASPA
Pan Suk Kim, Presenter and Moderator, International Director, ASPA and Yonsei University
Kim Moloney, Discussant, Chair, Section on International and Comparative Administration, ASPA
Akira Nakamura, Meiji University
Kendra Stewart, Introductions, President, ASPA and College of Charleston
Alfred Muluan Wu, Discussant, Chair, Chinese Section on Public Administration, ASPA
Lan Xue, Tsinghua University

How has the coronavirus been handled in each country? The need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic has created great challenges for national and local governments around the world. In the face of the new health crisis COVID has caused, some countries have responded relatively well, having a low number of infections and fatalities, while some countries are showing a relatively high number of both. But, we know that East Asian countries are responding relatively well in comparison with other regions, therefore, focusing on major cases in East Asia (mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea), we will look at crisis response leadership, crisis response governance and major response measures related to the coronavirus health crisis in a comparative administration perspective.




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Focus on Membership: Plan for What You'll Need in 2021

While we all are grateful 2020 is drawing to a close, there will not be much of a difference, for at least the next several months, between this year and the next. Plan now for what you will need in the new year, and include ASPA membership on your list!

Not only do we value the support you show for our work when you renew your membership, but also we hope you value the services you receive as a result:

• Member attendance at the Annual Conference
• Chapter and Section affiliations, including topic-based journals for many of our Sections
• Online and print articles in Public Administration Review
• Valuable webinar and BookTalk content, which, in recent months, has included such titles as "COVID-19: Do We Really Know What’s Going On?," "How the District of Columbia has Become a National Leader in Asset Management," "Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism," "The Post-Pandemic Economic Transition" and more
• Copies of PA TIMES, sent directly to your inbox twice each week—and several times each year when the magazine is released

ASPA Hosts Leadership Call Discussing Schedule F

While we held a Chapter/Section networking call last week, Chapter leaders and any other interested parties are invited to attend an urgent conference call, next Tuesday, December 15, at 3 p.m. ET, to discuss the Trump Administration's Executive Order (EO) 13957, otherwise known as Schedule F. Discussing the executive order itself and actions that can be taken in response will be ASPA President Kendra Stewart and President-Elect Allan Rosenbaum.

For those who have not been following this issue, Executive Order 13957 establishes a new classification of federal employees (Schedule F) and allows agency heads to decide which positions will be placed in it. The result: A large number of federal employees are at risk of being stripped of their civil service protections and subject to political review and dismissal for any reason. The order is scheduled to take effect following a 90-day agency review: January 19, the day before the presidential inauguration. However, OMB and OPM already have submitted their lists of civil servant positions to be reclassified for Schedule F and it is unclear how many more will do so prior to the January 19 deadline—or what next steps will occur after they do.

ASPA's National Council issued a resolution in late October calling for a repeal of this Executive Order or for Congress to exercise its oversight and legal authorities to resist this action, and ASPA's Executive Committee has authorized ASPA to join with a number of good governance organizations in letter-writing campaigns and other actions to make our voices heard in opposition to this EO.

Those who are interested may join this call, next Tuesday, December 15 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss this EO and its ramifications on the civil service, as well as what you can do to have a voice in this issue. Just a few options include:

• Hosting events or conference calls to educate your peers, colleagues, Chapter and Section members about this concerning issue
• Encouraging others to join in letter-writing campaigns
• Writing op-eds or other commentaries for publication in media outlets
• Calling attention to this issue through newsletter pieces, news article distribution and other public documents

Why is this so important? Schedule F has the potential to re-sort a large number of federal civil servants into new categories of employment that then could make them subject to political hiring/firing capacities, thus politicizing what are otherwise largely apolitical, administrative roles. It is by far the most impactful measure against the civil service in decades. A recent edition of GovExec featured a commentary from dozens of former OMB officials condemning this EO.

Why does it matter for you? Approximately one-third of ASPA members are potentially subject to this order, including some of your peers and colleagues who are current civil servants. Further, MPA/MPP students (and others in related disciplines) with civil service aspirations could have their careers impacted by the long-term effects this EO may have. State government employees also may be impacted should state houses take up legislation to pass laws similar to the EO.

Kendra and Allan will use next Tuesday's call to not only brief you about the EO and provide any updates available about its progress, but also answer any questions you may have about how you can get involved on this issue. If you are not able to join us for this discussion, but would like more information, please let us know and we will be happy to assist.



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Now Accepting Nominations for 2021 Class of Founders' Fellows

ASPA's Founders' Fellows program is accepting applications for its 2021 class! Geared toward accelerating careers of young public administrators, doctoral students and new researchers, this competitive Fellowship program provides results that could last throughout your career. Whether you fit one of these descriptions or know someone who does, start thinking now about applying for one of our 20 available spots (or suggesting a student apply for one).

The Founders' Fellows program recognizes the exceptional accomplishments and future potential of the next generation of public servants—in the academic and/or practitioner communities. The 2021 class will demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and professional promise.

All applications are due to ASPA by December 30, 2020. Click here to access the application form. Fellows receive the following benefits:

• Guaranteed acceptance to present their research as a part of ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference, including complimentary registration
• A year-long mentorship with a senior mentor in the discipline, matched with their Fellow, based on academic and professional interests
• Tailored professional development webinars that address their specific educational and professional needs

• Contact information and relevant biographical details
• An outline of career and research interests
• A resume or curriculum vitae
• A personal statement
• An analytical essay (details are provided within the application form)
• A letter of recommendation from your nominator

In Memoriam: David Miller

Longtime professor and dean at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) David Miller passed away on November 17. He was 73.

In addition to his career at GSPIA, Miller founded the Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT), an intergovernmental co-op between the city of Pittsburgh and its surrounding municipalities. He also served as an analyst at the Pennsylvania Economy League and as a budget chief in the administration of then-Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy. Admired for his ability to see the big picture, he had continued to influence city leaders in recent years.

Miller was an active ASPA member, attending Annual Conferences, participating in his local Chapter (the Keystone State Chapter) and the Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management, among other activities.

Miller grew up in Maine and met his wife, Marie, when they were students at Utica College of Syracuse University. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July.

After earning his bachelor's degree in political science in 1969, followed by a master's degree in public administration from Kent State University, he worked as a manager of several towns in Maine. He later pursued a doctoral degree in public policy research and analysis at Pitt, going on to serve as managing director of the Pennsylvania Economy League before heading the city budget department in 1996.

Miller played a leading role in developing a voters' guide and public television special to explain the workings of a home rule charter, which was adopted by city voters in a 1998 referendum; authored two textbooks about regional governance, along with hundreds of related articles and publications; and taught at GSPIA until his retirement in September.

Miller's career at GSPIA included founding the Center for Metropolitan Studies and serving as co-director of the Center for Public Policy and Management in Skopje, North Macedonia. He went on to develop CONNECT in 2009 and capped off his time there earlier this year, when the organization was granted a $1 million endowment through a local foundation.

You can find a complete obituary online here.

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In Memoriam: Judith Kirchhoff

Former Rutgers Associate Dean Judith Kirchhoff passed away on November 19, 2020. First joining ASPA in 1990, she was a long-time member of the Section on Health and Human Services Administration (SHHSA), the Section on Public Administration Research and the Section on Public Performance and Management. She was a leader in both SHHSA and the New Jersey Chapter. She attended and presented at many ASPA Annual Conferences, as well as serving on the Conference Program Committee in 1996, 2003 and 2004.

Kirchhoff received her master's degree from the University of Illinois and her doctorate in political science from the University of Maryland. She was a professor throughout her career, retiring in 2014, and met her husband, Bruce, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he was a professor, as well.

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Author Slots Open for PA TIMES Online in 2021

ASPA is seeking authors for PA TIMES Online for 2021! If you are reading the nuanced articles we publish through this online forum then you know our authors provide you and the entire public administration profession with new concepts, idea starters, thoughtful research updates and valued commentary. Now is your chance to get involved or invite one of your colleagues to do so!

We are looking for columnists who can speak to a range of subjects throughout the year. Topics include:

• Infrastructure and technology
• Emergency management
• Energy and the environment
• Revitalization of the middle class
• Social equity
• Budgets and financial management
• Volunteerism
• Procurement and supply chain management
• Federalism in the 21st century
• Evidence based decisionmaking
• Local government administration challenges

New Podcast: Public Sector Works!

ASPA's South Florida Chapter is proud to announce it is launching a podcast this holiday season: "PUBLIC SECTOR WORKS!" With plans for monthly broadcasts, the podcast will deal with best practices in public service administration and management in the South Florida area, as well as other areas nationwide. Best practices in academic administration, research and public sector higher education in the South Florida area will be included, as well as private, for-profit and nonprofit universities.

Thomas Hotz, Isidoro Lopez and Benjamin Paley will be your hosts. Tom, a veteran New York State and New York City government employee with experience in the medical board licensure investigations and human resources areas, received his MPA at New York University Wagner School of Public Services and currently is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at Northcentral University. He is a member of the South Florida Chapter's Board of Directors. Isidoro is president of the ASPA South Florida Chapter and a professor at Florida International University; Benjamin is a member of the South Florida Chapter's Board of Directors and a current law student. Launching this podcast will be an interview with ASPA President-Elect Allen Rosenbaum, distinguished professor at Florida International University, speaking to the Schedule F Executive Order and its potential impacts on the federal civil service.

The podcast will be available on Podbean, iTunes, Spreaker and other apps. If you’d like to be considered as a guest for a future episode, contact Tom Hotz for further information.

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COVID Relief Programs Set to Expire

Several programs enacted this past spring to mitigate economic damage related to COVID-19 are set to expire by the end of the year without further action from Congress, including economic impact payments, economic injury disaster loans, the coronavirus relief fund, extension of unemployment benefits, federal reserve lending facilities, tax credits and deferrals and more.

The Peterson Foundation has more details about each of these programs, and the role they have been playing in supporting our economy, individuals and businesses during the pandemic. Click the link below to learn more.



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Tips and Resources

Here are a range of resources posted online recently that you should check out!

An Open Letter to Public Servants
"Now the work begins" is the clarion call you've likely heard—and have come to expect—on the cusp of a new president and administration coming into office. But if you're one of the millions of career government employees who made a choice to serve, the work never ended. You continue processing Social Security payments, directing public safety efforts, administering benefits, fighting fires—and then some. This open letter to government employees includes sage and encouraging words from current and former civil servants whose wisdom is relevant for this moment and for the journey ahead.

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic
Experts who study the way we think and make decisions say that it can be more than politics driving our decisionmaking this year. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic undermines how we process information and assess risk. Need proof? Look around.

The Pandemic Safety Rule That Really Matters
Don't spend time indoors with people outside your household.

Retirement Gets Real: The Final To-Do List
If you're one of those people who picked a best date to retire awhile ago and have selected the end of this year as your time to go, it's time to start the countdown. Here's a list of to-do items to keep in mind as you eye the calendar.

Sedentary Pandemic Life Is Bad for Our Happiness
The times when we most want comfort and rest may paradoxically be the times we most need to move, for the sake of our well-being.

A COVID-Fighting Tool Is Buried in Your Phone. Turn It On.
Millions of Americans now have access to free, anonymous coronavirus exposure notifications. Too bad so few people use them.

Your Brain's Built-In Biases Insulate Your Beliefs from Contradictory Facts
There are several well-known mechanisms in human psychology that enable people to continue to hold tight to beliefs even in the face of contradictory information.

We released other lists of resources in previous editions of Bridge, dating back to April. Check out our archives and look for the "Tips and Resources" articles to find them!

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Coronavirus in the News
While you can find our usual assortment of news headlines from the past several weeks below, here are stories specific to the coronavirus that are noteworthy.

Infrastructure

• The U.S. Has Passed the Hospital Breaking Point
• Military's Role in Vaccine Will Be Strictly Behind the Scenes, Despite Trump's Claims
• Rural Areas Send Their Sickest Patients to Cities, Straining Hospitals
• U.N. Chief: Vaccine Can't Undo Damage from Global Pandemic
• New Jersey Contact Tracers Find 74 Percent of Sick People Won't Cooperate

• HHS Seeks Feedback on Pandemic Regulatory Actions
• More Than Half of Emergency Small-Business Funds Went to Larger Businesses, New Data Shows
• 12 Million People to Lose Unemployment Benefits This Month When Federal Programs Expire

• Some Agencies Are Super Positive About Telework. How Long Will It Last?
• Federal Prison Employees Fear Staff Shortages and Mass Reassignments As COVID-19 Cases Spike
• As the Pandemic Rages, the U.S. Could Use a Little Bit More 'Samfundssind'

• Not All Neighborhoods Want Slow Streets. Here's Why
• Pandemic May Cause Backward Progress for Gender Pay Gap
• Blacks, Latinos in Nursing Homes Hit Hard by COVID Surge

(Otherwise) in the News

Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from recent weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!

Infrastructure

• How Government Officials Delivered a Disaster-Free Election
• IRS Moves to Speed Up Contracting Through New Procurement Research Partnership
• Trump Administration Declines to Tighten Soot Rules, Despite Link to COVID Deaths
• Artificial Intelligence in Government and the Presidential Transition: Building on a Solid Foundation
• 'It's All Gone Too Far:' A State Election Official Takes on Trump and the Age of Misinformation

• Eight Mayors: We Need a Marshall Plan for Middle America
• Federal Appeals Court Rules Against the Trump Administration's Public Charge Rule

• E.P.A.'s Final Deregulatory Rush Runs into Open Staff Resistance
• Congress Will Let Federal Employees Carry Over More Annual Leave into 2021

• States Join Pilot to Investigate Cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Welcome New ASPA Members!
Click here to view the most recent new ASPA members!

Around Public Administration

Here are the most recent updates from across the profession. Did we miss you? Send us your news and we'll include it in the next round!

Upcoming Events:

• 2021 COMPA Conference
  Online
  February 25-28, 2021
  The Call for Papers is online; proposals are due by January 15, 2021. Registration is open; early-bird registration expires January 15, 2021. Click here for more information.
  
  
• 2021 ASPA Annual Conference
  Online, starting April 9
  Theme: "Picking Up the Pieces: Pandemic, Protests and the Future of Public Service"
  The Call for Proposals is online; proposals are due by December 11, 2020.
  
  
• 2021 International Conference on Public Administration (ICPA)
  Chengdu, P.R. China
  May 14-16, 2021
  Although public sector organizations may draw strength from their bureaucratic structures, experience increasingly shows the limitations of a hierarchical and top-down approach to the performance of governmental functions. Problems may spill across organizational boundaries so that a hierarchical approach within a single organization may be inadequate to address them. A top-down approach also may deprive decision makers of needed external input about how to fit solutions to the problems they seek to address. And, increasingly in today's world of public access to social media, top-down approaches may lack the legitimacy needed to ensure popular acceptance of governmental decisions.
  
  Collaborative governance can help overcome these and other limitations of a hierarchical structure by adding the benefits of a network management approach to help improve the quality of decision making. The literature defining the precise meaning of the term "collaborative governance" is unsettled. On one end of the conceptual spectrum, collaboration merely means the pursuit of joint goals by two or more government organizations. Governance would be the structure and function of making joint decisions to achieve objectives that further the aims of each organization. A more expansive definition is that collaborative governance is a process where government decisionmakers bring relevant stakeholders—public, private and NGO—into the decisionmaking process. In all cases, collaborative governance takes place under applicable laws and other rules and is shaped by them.
  
  2021 ICPA invites papers from academics and practitioners that highlight successful collaborative governance approaches to improving public sector decisionmaking and performance, and lessons learned. We especially welcome those that use case studies and comparative analyses to illustrate promising practices and significant lessons. Perhaps most important, papers are invited that derive lessons, not merely describe theory or isolated experiences. For the purpose of this Call for Papers, we will accept quality submissions that fall within the range of suitable definitions of "collaborative governance." Given the potential ambiguity of the term, it will be helpful to specify the definition of the term that a submitted paper adopts.
  
  Paper abstracts are due December 15, 2020.
  
  
• NISPAcee Annual Conference 2021
  Ljubljana, Slovenia
  May 20-22, 2021
  Theme: "Citizens' Engagement and Empowerment—The Era of Collaborative Innovation in Governance"
  The Call for Proposals is open through November 30, 2020; registration will open in December.
  
  
• 2021 PA Theory Annual Conference
  Portland, Oregon
  June 3-6
  Theme: "Administrative (Dys)function and Dedication: Contradictions in Public Service Values"
  The Call for Proposals is open through December 1, 2020
  
  

• SPAR Best Book Award Call for Nominations
  The Section on Public Administration Research (SPAR) has issued its Call for Nominations for its annual Best Book Award. The Section welcomes nominations for books on public administration published in 2019 and 2020. The criterion for the award is a book that significantly contributes to research in public administration. All research methods are welcomed, as are books across the wide range of public administration research. Edited volumes are welcomed. Books primarily written as textbooks will not be considered. We welcome international publications written in English. Recognition will be awarded at the ASPA 2021 Annual Conference next spring; the deadline for nominations is December 15, 2020.
  Find the Call for Nominations online here.
  
  
• Call for Papers: "The State of Black America"
  Sponsored by the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), this think tank is producing a report exploring the latest scholarship into the character, shape and tendencies of life in the United States for Black Americans. The report will be truly comprehensive in scope, covering economics, history, culture, legal contexts, education, health care, religion and political efficacy. It will highlight the interaction between public policies and community development, and it welcomes research at the micro and macro levels of analysis, quantitative and qualitative. The target audience is scholars, as well as policymakers and practitioners, including clergy leaders on the front lines of Black communities. All proposals are due by December 20, 2020.
  Find the Call for Papers online here.
  
  
• SENRA Call for Nominations: David H. Davis Award
  Graduate students are invited to submit papers on any environmental topic for consideration in the Section on Environmental and Natural Resource Administration (SENRA) student paper competition. Faculty members also can nominate student paper(s) for submission. Conference papers, term papers, journal manuscripts and are eligible for submission; literature reviews and review essays are ineligible for entry. The best written paper will be awarded a $200 prize and the author will receive a certificate of recognition from SENRA online at the 2021 ASPA Annual Conference. The deadline for receiving papers is December 31, 2020. Please contact Jill Tao with any questions or for more information.
  
  
• Journal of Emergency Management Special Issue: Analysis of Pre- and Post-Disaster Response and Recovery Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  The Journal of Emergency Management (JEM) Editorial Review Board invites the submission of original research papers, brief communications, case studies, etc. supporting a special issue: “Analysis of Pre and Post Disaster Response and Recovery due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.” As we transcend this global pandemic, the goal is to bring together a complete and comprehensive accounting of the event and its post mortem. This may include a pre-disaster assessment of the state of preparation as well as any post-disaster response, preparedness, mitigation and recovery. We expect this to be a comprehensive look at what went wrong and just as important, what went right. Manuscripts will be accepted for review immediately and will continue (tentatively) through the first quarter of 2021.
  Find the Call for Proposals online here.
  
  
• NCL All-America City Award Application Period Opens
  The National Civic League (NCL) is accepting applications for the 2021 All-America City award, themed "Building Equitable and Resilient communities." Since 1949, the NCL has designated more than 500 communities as All-America Cities for their outstanding civic accomplishments. The Award, bestowed annually on 10 communities, recognizes their work in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stronger connections among residents, businesses and nonprofit and government leaders. Finalists are announced in March and invited to assemble a community team to present their program at the virtual All-America City Event, June 4-6. The All-America City Award shines a spotlight on the incredible work taking place in communities across the country. By celebrating the best in local innovation, civic engagement and cross-sector collaboration, the All-America City Awards remind us of the potential within every community to tackle tough issues and create real change. All applications are due February 10.
  Find application details online here.
  
  
• SICA Gould Scholarship Call for Nominations
  SICA is now accepting nominations for its 2021 David Gould Scholarship, providing one or two students with a stipend to defray registration costs for ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference. To nominate a graduate student, send a letter of nomination by a faculty member and the student's CV to Kim Moloney, SICA Chair. The deadline for sending nominations is February 12, 2021.
  
  
• SICA Call for Nominations: 2021 Fred Riggs Award
  The Section for International and Comparative Administration (SICA) is seeking nominations for the 2021 Fred Riggs Award for Lifetime Achievement in International and Comparative Public Administration. The Fred Riggs Award was established by SICA in 1985 to recognize scholars who made significant and widely recognized contributions to the conceptual, theoretical and/or operational progress in the fields of international, comparative and/or development administration. This award is named in honor of Fred W. Riggs, a pioneer in these fields and a founder of SICA. The award is made annually at the SICA business meeting held in conjunction with the ASPA Annual Conference. Each letter of nomination should indicate in some depth the person's intellectual achievements and relevant qualifications for the award and include the nominee's CV and other supporting documents. There should be at least two letters of recommendation with at least one letter from a SICA member. The deadline for all nominations is February 12; the awardee will be announced by March 15 and the award will be offered online during ASPA's 2021 Annual Conference. All nomination materials should be sent directly to Kim Moloney, SICA and Riggs Award Chair.
  
  
• Sustainability Issues Call for Papers for Special Issue
  The journal, Sustainability, has issued a call for papers for a special issue: "Building Smart and Sustainable Cities: Emerging Technologies and Innovation for Digital-Era Governance and Long-Term Impacts." Although cities around the world already are implementing an array of initiatives in an attempt to become smarter, there is still no consensus among researchers and practitioners about what should be included or not in the conceptualization of "smartness." However, it seems to be clear now that smart cities are not only about harnessing the potential of new data and emergent information technologies, but also that many other components are essential to achieve some of the promises in terms of better services and improved quality of life. No matter what definition scholars and practitioners use, smart city success should involve being sustainable in the medium- and long-term. This special issue attempts to address a research need in terms of studies focusing on the (ecological, economic, social, and political) sustainability of smart cities. Manuscripts will be accepted until March 1, 2021.
  Find the call online here.
  
  
• 2021 Annual E-PARCC Teaching Case and Simulation Competition
  The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at the Syracuse University Maxwell School is sponsoring its 15th annual E-PARCC competition to further stimulate the creation of effective and innovative teaching cases and simulations. E-PARCC, a project of the "Collaborative Governance Initiative," provides free online resources for those who teach conflict and collaboration around the world. More than 3,000 visitors per month from more than 40 different countries take advantage of E-PARCC teaching materials. The E-PARCC competition now consists of two tracks: (1) collaborative problem solving, collaborative governance, and network governance and analysis, and (2) collaborative methods in international development. All entries are due by March 15.
  Find more information online here.
  
  

PA TIMES Online

Here's a selection of current pieces on PA TIMES Online, covering a range of issues within the profession. We accept individual articles on a rolling basis; if you have a piece you think would fit our publication, submit it to [email protected] for consideration. (Please review our submission guidelines in advance!)

• Professional and Personal Pointers for Credible Communication
  By Robert A. Hunter
  
  
• The Genius of Mary Parker Follett
  By Patrick Malone
  
  
• Paid to Populate: Demographic Disparities and Resident Incentive Programs
  By Ian Hutcheson