Origins SICA was created in December 1973 as ASPA's first organized section with Dick Gable serving as the first chair.  SICA was created out of the merger of ASPA's International Committee and the Comparative Administration Group (CAG), when the latter's funding dried up.

CAG, a group of self-identified academics and practitioners interested in comparative public administration, found a home within ASPA during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Renowned professionals, such as Fred Riggs and Ferrel Heady, were the mainstays of CAG, which received a Ford Foundation grant to conduct studies and publish a series of occasional papers. [Note: For a personal retrospective of CAG, see the relevant chapter of Fred Rigg's autobiography].

In 1997-98, SICA celebrated its Silver Anniversary.  To note to occasion, the Public Administration Review published a symposium of three articles in January/February 1998 [58:1] that looked retrospectively and prospectively at the place of international and comparative administration as a subfield.  A fourth article in the series, focussing on the future of development management, appeared in July/August 1999 [59:4].

 
Global Connections: IIAS, ACIPA
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: This section incorporates the contributions of Donna Wolf to the initial SICA web-site maintained by Jamie Langlie

 Prior to 1972, ASPA served as the link between the American public administration community and the rest of the world through the International Institute for Administrative Sciences (IIAS),  the only worldwide membership organization devoted to the improvement of the administrative sciences. The IIAS was established in 1930 with active support from American public administration greats Luther Gulick, Leonard White, and Donald Stone. Located in Brussels, Belgium, the IIAS has a current membership of about 95 countries and 10 international organizations During the early years, many Americans, most of whom were ASPA members, participated in the triennial Congresses of the IIAS. Don Stone also established the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) as an IIAS affiliate and served as its first Chairman for over twelve years. In 1972, ASPA withdrew from IIAS when U.S. membership dues were raised creating a financial hardship for the association.

Not wishing to forfeit the U.S. presence in the international public administration community, Alan Dean and others created the American Consortium for International Public Administration (ACIPA) in 1973 to become the U.S. section of IIAS.  ASPA immediately joined ACIPA as one the ten Founding Members and has continued to support the organization.  Unfortunately, a combination of declining institutional membership in ACIPA and rising dues forced the closure of the organization at the end of 1998.  Writing in the 1999 International Campaign Supplement of The PA Times, Michael Britnall, the current director of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and the last president of ACIPA, noted that:

A post-ACIPA solution to the problem of U.S. national membership in IIAS is being sought.  IIAS's new director general, Giancarlo Villela, has made this his highest priority.  His first act after his appointment has been to visit the United States to met with the U.S. public administration community.
Other 
Global Linkages
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: This section incorporates the contributions of Donna Wolf to the initial SICA web-site maintained by Jamie Langlie

 From time to time, and based upon the priorities/interests of the current President, ASPA has been involved with other international activities. For example, in 1975, when Randy Hamilton was President, he represented the U.S. at the 700th anniversary of the City of Amsterdam. In the late 1970's, two delegations of ASPA members made study tours of the People's Republic of China. Although these delegations came after the U.S. Ping Pong team, they preceded almost all other U.S. professional groups in establishing ties with the PRC. The Chinese had a growing fascination with the concept of "management," a newly rediscovered notion that followed the Chinese break from the Russians.

In the early 1980's, ASPA, working with the Institute of Public Administration in Canada (IPAC) and the Instituto Nacional de Administracion Public (INAP), agreed to conduct an annual tri-lateral symposium on a management or policy issue of mutual interest. The symposia were to be hosted in turn by each of the three organizations. In 1980, the first workshop on the topic of "Managing National Energy Policies" was held in Ontario. A second seminar on "Food Policies" was conducted in Cancun, Mexico, in 1981. However, the U.S. never conducted the third seminar, and the effort languished.

ASPA, acting alone or in concert with ACIPA, has entered into a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with similar professional public management organizations worldwide, including China, Hong Kong, and Korea, among others. After several years of inattention, ASPA and SICA are attempting to revive these arrangements so that they benefit both ASPA and the international signatories.
 
Campaign for International Relations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: This section is based on notes prepared by WIlliam Miller.

  The Campaign for International Relations (CIR) was formally established in 1994 as a cross-cutting mechanism to promote ASPA’s international activities within the association, with kindred groups in the US, and with international colleagues and institutions that can strengthen the professional goal of promoting excellence in the public service at all levels. CIR has had several objectives, including:
  • Raising the consciousness level of ASPA members and sections regarding their international/local professional interactions. Every section and ASPA component has some, albeit different, international linkages. Often, the members are unaware of the commonality of purpose they have with their international counterparts.

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  • Implement the memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that ASPA has with organizations and colleagues around the world.

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  • Networking with other professional associations, such as the World Future Society and the United Nations, to develop substantive conferences, workshops, and activities of mutual interest to promote the public service.

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  • Encouraging international colleagues to participate in ASPA activities, such as the annual meeting and the exchange of professional information.

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  • Publishing an annual International Supplement to the PA Times.

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  • Coordinating with external groups, such as the People to People Ambassadors Program, to develop fact-finding/technical assistance missions to areas such as the Three Gorges Dam site in China.
After five successful years of operation, CIR was disbanded in 1999.  However, plans for a successor committee are being drawn up by William Miller for presentation to ASPA's National Council in November 2000.  In the meantime, SICA has assumed greater responsibility for promoting international and comparative perspectives within ASPA.

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Last update: July 1, 2000.