Research on public administration continues to provide a vital role in the discussion around how to address the challenges that currently face the public sector and more broadly, the public realm. With this in mind, the UK Association for Public Administration (UKAPA) provides a site that facilitates scholarly discussion and encourages enquiry.

We are delighted to announce that UKAPA’s Inaugural Doctoral Conference will take place on 11 September 2024 at the University of Birmingham and is open to applications from doctoral students studying at membership institutions. It will offer participants opportunities to discuss, critique and share ideas on researching public administration and related areas; it will also provide opportunities to discuss the PhD experience.  We invite papers from doctoral students on any theme related to the broad disciplines of public administration, management, governance, and policy.  The Doctoral Conference will provide doctoral researchers with an opportunity to present papers on conceptual critiques, early-stage research, progress in fieldwork or research findings and impact. Your paper may draw on your PhD project or other publication projects (e.g. a paper prepared for a journal submission).

To maximise the value of the Doctoral Conference, we ask that participants submit full papers by 23 August.  In return, an academic panel will undertake to read the papers received and provide constructive feedback in a supportive environment during the conference.

The conference will also provide doctoral participants with a session on publishing as a doctoral student. 

Following the Conference there will be an opportunity to network with UKAPA’s Executive in advance of the Doctoral Conference Dinner which will be free of charge.

The Richard Chapman Prize (£400) is awarded for the best overall paper presented at the Doctoral Conference.

The Public Administration Prize is awarded for the most publishable paper presented at the Doctoral Conference. Following the Doctoral Conference, the author will receive editorial support so the paper can be published in Public Administration.

Academic and submission enquiries: Dr Elke Loeffler elke.loeffler@open.ac.uk