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This research uses a multifaceted approach to develop an MPA/MPP curriculum to support a data science track within the existing MPA/MPP programs by identifying the core and elective areas needed.

The approach includes (1) identifying a suitable structure for MPA/MPP programs which can allow the program to develop its capacity to train students with the data science and general public administration skills to solve public policy problems and leave explicit space for local experimentation and modification; (2) defining bridging modules and required modules for the MPA/MPP programs; and (3) developing of data science track thought to make suggestions for the inclusion of suitable data science modules into the data science track and benchmarking the data science modules suggested with the best practices developed by other professional bodies. The authors review 46 NASPAA-accredited MPA/MPP programs from 40 (or 22.7%) schools to identify the suitable required modules and some potential data science and analytics courses that MPA/MPP programs currently provide as electives.

The proposal includes a three-course (six–nine credits, not counted in the program but as prerequisites) bridging module, a nine-course (27 credits) required module and a five-course (15 credits) data science track/concentration.

This work can provide a starting point for the public administration education community to develop graduate programs focusing on data science to cater to the needs of both public managers and society at large.

This purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which accreditation of public affairs programs can be a tool to advance social equity, diversity, and inclusion. The paper is presented in the context of the widespread acceptance of the importance of addressing social inequalities in Latin America and the critical role that public policy and public administration can have on advancing these goals.

International and national accreditation standards are compared using content analysis for their reference to social equity and diversity in their standards regarding faculty, students, curriculum content and learning outcomes. The research applies content analysis of key documents and thematic coding.

International accrediting agencies that focused explicitly on programs in public affairs place a much greater emphasis on social equity and diversity than their national counterparts which accredit a full range of programs and institutions. National accrediting agencies assert the value of diversity, but their standards and reporting requirements suggest otherwise.

The research suggests that international accreditation standards have the potential to advance social equity goals more effectively than national standards and that there is great potential to enhance this component of national accreditation standards. Implications for policymakers, accreditation professionals and scholars are identified.

The research is original in its focus on the role of accreditation in promoting social equity and its comparison of national and international standards. Although limited to Latin America and public affairs programs, the research provides a basis for examining similar patterns with respect to other disciplines and professions, and in other regions of the world.

This introductory article to the special symposium entitled “The Evolution of Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting Education” introduces the five symposium articles that follow. The article also presents information to assist governmental and nonprofit educators in business schools and public administration educators in other colleges within a university in making comparisons between their perspectives and approaches. The authors’ view as accounting professors is that students in both disciplines develop stronger competencies for success in the public sector when their programs integrate context and techniques that come from using alternative instructional approaches and a diverse set of resources.

The purpose of this study is to examine the tension that a graduate education field called non-profit management education (NME) faces as it decides whether or not to adopt accreditation. The tension at hand is the politically wrought process of accreditation and the challenge many professional graduate education programs face in maintaining distinctive characteristics of their programs while conforming to the perceived legitimate norms within the larger field of higher education.

This case study is focused on a multi-day Summit, collecting data from participant presentations and discussions, observations and field notes and documents. Inductive coding and deductive coding are used to analyze data, framed under the theoretical framework of organizational legitimacy, strategy and homogeneity.

Three major themes are identified that illuminate the inherent tension between the ambiguous nature of legitimacy and the structured character of accreditation: arguing the field is unique, establishing threats to innovation and drawing boundaries.

This study offers unique insights into the political nature of accreditation and its ties to legitimacy for professional graduate education programs. With the expansion of graduate education into more applied fields and the increased pressure to provide programs that are directly related to professional and career advancement, many programs may benefit from accreditation standards while garnering legitimacy. However, it is imperative that those seeking accreditation understand they may risk losing the very elements that make their programs distinct.

The paper describes an integrated, interdisciplinary nonprofit management three-course concentration developed for an undergraduate public service major at a small, private college. We describe the course development process and implementation issues pertinent to nonprofit management education that include where to house programs, faculty issues, interdisciplinary teaching, students’ needs and experiential learning. Our course objectives aimed to develop business competencies from accounting, finance, management and marketing in the context of nonprofit organizations for students with no prior business knowledge. The paper concludes with a description of our three courses.

Purpose – The chapter provides a review of the debates about the discipline of public administration and public management as art, craft, and science. Thus, the chapter includes a conceptualization of public administration and a discussion of public administration and public management research, scholarship, and practice. The review of the discipline includes a historical perspective and contemporary debates of public administration, new public management (NPM), public sector management, and governance in order to discuss the future trajectories and trends of the discipline.

Design/Methodology/Approach – A range of historical, seminal, and recently published scholarly works are reviewed and discussed, including also an analysis based on primary and secondary research of journal databases, conference proceedings, academic schools, and websites relevant to the discipline.

Findings – The study of government in various guises – whether public administration, public management, governance, public policy – will continue to develop, evolve, and fascinate scholars and practitioners. There will be a continued interest and study of the business of government with three possible trends: (1) a narrow focus on technocratic, managerial approaches in an attempt to provide solutions for more effective and efficient government; (2) a multidisciplinary approach to addressing complex social problems or “wicked policy” problems across narrow specialized interests for “greater principles” of society; and (3) methodological pluralism in the study of government, which may add to the depth or fragmentation of the discipline.

Research limitations/Implications – The research is limited to a review with some primary and secondary research. It provides scholars and practitioners with the conceptualization of public administration, public management and governance. The chapter provides a critical perspective of the state of research and scholarship with an argument that academics need to move beyond parochial debates within the discipline and provide practitioners with empirically based solutions to increasingly complex social and “wicked policy” problems.

Practical implications – This chapter provides scholars, students, and practitioners with (1) a conceptual understanding of public administration, public management, NPM and governance; (2) a historical and contemporary perspective of the discipline; and (3) a critical perspective of research and scholarship that will provide a debate on the state of discipline.

Originality/Value – The chapter is a synthesis and review of the discipline in terms of research and scholarship drawing upon international perspectives to provide a critical debate for scholars and practitioners.

Beginning in the late 1940s, classical Public Administration was challenged by the works of Herbert Simon and the movement he started, logical positivism. Although only writing in the field for a few years, Simon shifted the locus and focus of the field so dramatically, for a time it almost disappeared from view. This article examines Simonʼns legacy, first by exploring its philosophical antecedents and its later epistemological progeny. The article concludes with an assessment of how the field of Public Administration responded to Simonʼns challenge in the late twentieth century and now, early in the twenty first century.

This article asks (1) what megatrends are likely to significantly influence public sector roles and in what ways and (2) how might higher education institutions better prepare public sector leaders for the future shaped by these trends. While public sector leadership in every region, country and locality is unique, they are exposed to the same set of global megatrends. Therefore, this article teases out general insights, observations and implications for public sector leaders and educators by focusing on the effects of these trends.

The article is informed by a review and synthesis of relevant academic and practitioner sources and is complemented by the authors' survey (n = 64) of public affairs practitioners and educators. The survey is not representative and is used to supplement other inferences from the literature.

The key megatrends reshaping public sector jobs include demographic and climate changes, technological advances and deepening social fragmentation. The confluence of such trends has increasingly strained the public sector's capacity to respond to present challenges, let alone prepare for the future. The future public sector leaders can benefit from new competencies, including ability to think systematically, see the big picture and ability to solve complex problems. Ideally, they would also have a strong capacity to foster collaboration and cohesion among diverse stakeholders, to model ethical and inclusive behavior, to accommodate, facilitate and bridge competing and conflicting viewpoints and become creative innovators and doers who can operate in increasingly complex environments, while navigating and reshaping their governments' outdated institutional structures.

The key trends reshaping public sector jobs include environmental, demographic and technological factors and deepening social fragmentation. The confluence of such factors has increasingly strained the public sector's capacity to respond to present challenges, let alone prepare for the future. The authors observe that the future of public sector practitioners may benefit from new competencies including digital and data fluency, high emotional intelligence, who are also big picture thinkers who understand global megatrends and their impacts locally. Ideally, they would have a strong capacity to foster cohesion among fragmented and polarized communities, to model ethical and inclusive behavior, to accommodate, facilitate and bridge diverse viewpoints and become creative innovators and doers who can operate in increasingly complex environments, while navigating and reshaping their governments' outdated institutional structures.

The megatrends listed above have significant implications for public sector leaders and educators who train them.

There is a new awareness about the need to train public sector workers on diversity and inclusion issues. This paper discusses global trends through this lens.

This synthesis of the literature from academic and practitioner sources, supplemented with the original survey of educators and professionals, intends to open up a conversation about the future of public affairs leadership and education.

In the USA, there is sustained interest in the use of case studies in public administrative education in management and administrative law dates from the 1940s. Public administration and law both turned to cases as teaching devices when their dominant intellectual traditions were no longer viable. Although it has since declined, a public management case study movement was very influential in the late 1940s and 1950s. Administrative law casebooks have remained popular, and there are several titles specifically intended for public administration programmes. Efforts to “reinvent” public administration are likely to generate renewed interest in management‐oriented cases.