Workplan 2000-2001
Richard Stillman
30 May 2000
Let me begin by thanking the SICA membership for asking me to chairs ASPA’s
oldest and most distinguished section this year. I look forward to working
with you to advance SICA’s agenda. My thanks also goes to the past chair,
Jos Raadshelders, for his able leadership and dedication to promoting SICA’s
cause. I would like to build on his achievements and those of the past
chairs and boards during the coming year. Indeed let me suggest that we
continue the same overall objectives for 200-2001 that Jos elaborated in
his work plan for 1999-2000, namely:
"To further develop SICA as an active forum for sharing experience
and knowledge acquired by practitioners (both government officials and
independent consultants) and academics on development management and comparative
administration in both the non-western and the western world."
Let me propose seven interrelated strategies to achieve this objective
for 2000-2001:
I. Membership Expansion: At present SICA has approximately
250 members or roughly half the number enrolled a decade ago. My aim is
to double our present size and return to out pre-1990 membership level
by three routes:
Action Item 1: Invite the 450 ASPA at large members (those
unaffiliated with any chapter) to join SICA by sending then a personal
letter, a SICA flyer, a membership form with return envelope.
Action Item 2: Write to each chapter president in ASPA encouraging
them to draw upon SICA members for possible international chapter programs
and events and enclosing the list of names of SICA members within their
respective chapter.
Action Item 3: Increase the visible and tangible membership benefits
of belonging to SICA as outlined below.
II. Increase Visible and Tangible Membership Benefits: In
order to attract more members, SICA needs to increase the clear and useful
incentives for joining the section. Unquestionably in recent years SICA
has moved in this direction by establishing its active website, journal
affiliation with PAD, The Global Network, its new flyer, but we
can and must do more to make SICA membership more attractive:
Action Item 1: Annually mail out a SICA Membership Directory
to all members that lists not only name, address, phone numbers, but also
e-mail address and research interests in order to create a wider sense
of community and foster exchange of interests and ideas among members.
Action Item 2: Annually mail out a hard copy of the SICA newsletter,
The Global Network, but in expanded format to include book reviews, articles
and bibliographic essays related to "what’s new" in the fields of comparative,
developmental and international administration.
Action Item 3: Include a journal as part of the SICA membership
benefits (as do other ASPA sections currently). Since SICA members have
a wide array of interests, talents, and professional careers, possibly
the choice of journal could be left to the individual member by selecting
from a menu of approved options.
III. Nationally Publicize and Expand the Gould Scholarships:
In honor of Professor David Gould who died in the 1989 Lockerby Plane Crash,
the University of Pittsburgh (where David taught) and SICA (in which he
was active) award four graduate students annually $600 each to encourage
them to take an interest in the field of international and comparative
administration. The success of the Gould Scholarship Program was evident
at the recent ASPA meeting and so therefore:
Action Item 1: Develop a national publicity campaign to promote
potential applications for Gould Scholarships by sending to each NASPAA
accredited school (approximately 230) an ad poster for display, application
forms and a letter to faculty encouraging "their best and brightest" to
apply.
Action Item 2: Triple the number of Gould Scholarships from four
to twelve for 2000- 2001 and seek support for continued expansion in future
years.
Action Item 3: Appoint a Gould Scholarship Committee to develop
formal selection guidelines, publicity and ways to expand this program
nationally.
IV. Keep the SICA Website as Current and Exciting as Possible:
Thanks to the hard work of several SICA members, our website is second
to none in ASPA. But our Webmaster Tjip Walker cannot do it all by himself
and thus should have a supportive team of talent from SICA to assist updating
and promoting our information highway.
Action Item 1: Set up a Standing SICA Website Committee, headed
by the webmaster, composed of interested SICA members, to advance by every
possible means our electronic information access and contents for members—as
well as potential members.
V. Enhance SICA’s Exposure Throughout 2001 ASPA National Conference:
The 2001, ASPA National Conference in Newark, New Jersey will have as its
theme, "New Century, Cities and Challenges." The host site, Rutgers University,
plans to use the entire greater NYC metropolitan to showcase what works,
or the "best practices" in the region, through tours of various facilities
such as the NYPD emergency control and command center. SICA can contribute
in various ways to 2001 ASPA in order to enhance its exposure and highlight
its activities:
Action Item 1: For nearly two decades SICA has offered a highly
successful workshop at the opening of each national conference, thanks
to the hard work and dedication of Derick Brinkerhoff. We hope once more
this workshop will be presented at ASPA 2001.
Action Item 2: Offer a SICA Track of Panels related to the general
conference theme but entitled, "Global Metropolitan Governance –Problems
and Prospects in the New Century" that would examine major individual metropolitan
cities that are exciting and innovative such as London, Amsterdam-Rotterdam,
Prague-Budapest, Teheran, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Seoul, among others (one
panel focused on problems/prospects of each city).
Action Item 3: Distribute the SICA Panel Papers on the SICA Website—ideally
ahead of time to encourage members to attend these panels.
Action Item 4: Volunteer SICA Member(s) to lead a tour of the
United Nations at ASPA 2001 and officially label the tour as SICA-sponsored.
VI. Highlight the Riggs Award at 2001 ASPA and Consider Creating
Other SICA Distinguished Awards: As everyone knows, the 2000 Riggs
Award for Outstanding Services in the field of developmental management
and administration was presented to Derick Brinkerhoff for his numerous
achievements and distinguished career in our field. The Riggs prize is
now a vital part of SICA’s effort to recognize the achievements of those
who labor long and hard in our profession and therefore:
Action Item 1: Appoint a SICA Awards Committee to develop ways
that we can promote and highlight the importance of the Riggs Award at
ASPA 2001.
Action Item 2: At the next business meeting consider creating
other awards such as a SICA-sponsored Ferrel Heady Distinguished Lectureship
that would select a prominent individual in our professions to deliver
an annual lecture at the national conference on some aspect of the future
of international, developmental or comparative administration.
VII. Cross-membership with the International Public Management Network:
Larry Jones, one of the founders of the International Public Management
Network, an online, free and open network of international management scholars,
consultants and officials concerned with government management issues all
over the world, offered to cross-list and affiliate SICA members in their
network free of charge.
Action Item 1: Permit Larry Jones to list SICA members in IPM
Network (any SICA member of course has the option of "opting out" if desired).
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