The Academy’s Role

These are not our organization’s Grand Challenges—they are Grand Challenges for our entire field.  The Academy will work with stakeholders at all levels of government, in universities, and in the private and nonprofit sectors so that, collectively, the nation can make the needed progress.  The Academy’s role is to inspire action, enhance understanding, connect stakeholders, and drive change. 

1. Inspire Action
   • Set a ten-year agenda for the field (practitioners & academics)
   • Develop baseline understanding
   • Educate & inform stakeholders
2. Enhance Understanding
   • Conduct or support research to determine what works, identify key innovations, and disseminate effective practices and lessons learned
   • Convene conferences and seminars on particular GCs and focus areas
   • Develop case libraries and toolkits
3. Connect Stakeholders
   • Interagency
   • Intergovernmental
   • Intersectoral
   • International
   • Academics and practitioners
4. Drive Change
   • Identify and assess solutions
   • Highlight successful innovations & promote effective practices
   • Identify ways to scale up solutions
   • Develop action plans & issue recommendations
   • Assess & report on progress

What Are the Next Steps?

Public administration is a fascinating endeavor and field of study precisely because it is so interdisciplinary and so diverse.  As both an intellectual and a practical enterprise, the field includes:

• Federal, state, and local career civil servants;
• Political appointees inside agencies at all levels of government;
• Contractors delivering public services and providing various support at all levels of government;
• Professors, researchers, and students in universities;
• Nonprofit grantees;
• Private business enablers and partners in innovative public-private ventures;
• Professional associations and advocacy organizations;
• Think tanks; and
• Subject matter experts on specific policy or management issues.

This is a broad field and a deep bench for the nation to draw upon to address its Grand Challenges in Public Administration.  We believe that everyone has a role to play moving forward.  As an immediate next step, the Academy will begin convening stakeholders across the public administration community to develop action plans for each Grand Challenge.  We hope that you will join us.  Together, there are no limits to what we can accomplish.