LIST OF PANELS

The outset of the 21st century has been full of a new set of complex public policy issues confronting the developing world. Policy makers have been asked to respond to these daunting new challenges in a context marked by increasing volatility, uncertainty and unpredictability. A proper response to these issues demands important innovations in public policy, including (but are not limited to) new modes of governance and social coordination, new uses of social media and social networks, new monitoring and evaluation strategies, among other things. In other words, as the strategic importance of fostering public policy innovation became acknowledged, many important questions stay unanswered, such as: What exactly should be considered as a public policy innovation in the developing world, and what impact they have on politics and collective life, locally, nationally and internationally? What conditions, causal mechanisms or different modes of public policy innovations might be identified both historically and in the present? What do new forms public policy innovation mean for the development processes in different institutional and cultural contexts? How does public policy innovations interact with other traditional institutions and organizations in the public sector and society? How public policy innovation affect core functions and processes inside the government? Can public policy innovations in developed world inform new demands in Latin America, East Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (or vice-versa)? This panel is open for the experience of countries in the so-called developing regions, but also for comparative studies examining experiences of different countries. We specially welcome papers that are explicitly interdisciplinary and that foster discussion of research that is informed by diverse theoretical and analytical approaches. Papers may address topics that are historical and/or contemporary. We also welcome proposals that showcase case studies that explore salient issues related to public policy innovation in developing countries.  

The outset of the 21st century has been full of a new set of complex public policy issues confronting the developing world. Policy makers have been asked to respond to these daunting new challenges in a context marked by increasing volatility, uncertainty and unpredictability. New issues include, among others, the emergence of a virtual world, the widespread use of social networking, cyber wars, the euro crisis and the emergence of the BRICS, the global war on terror, the new threats to global health security and the dangerous consequences of climate change. A proper response to these issues demands important innovations in public policy, including (but are not limited to) new modes of governance and social coordination, new uses of social media and social networks, new monitoring and evaluation strategies, fostering the development of learning communities and smart cities, and the use of social analytics in planning, monitoring and evaluating public policies and governmental programs. Public policy innovation is a new subject that has been receiving growing attention in academic and professional circles. But to understand the role of public policy innovation in developing countries requires new analytical frameworks, new methodologies, and a better understanding of the dynamics of organizational and institutional changes and the ways to engage citizens on the decision making process and the co-production of collective goods. In other words, as the strategic importance of fostering public policy innovation became acknowledged, many important questions stay unanswered, such as: What exactly should be considered as a public policy innovation in the developing world, and what impact they have on politics and collective life, locally, nationally and internationally? What conditions, causal mechanisms or different modes of public policy innovations might be identified both historically and in the present? What do new forms public policy innovation mean for the development processes in different institutional and cultural contexts? How does public policy innovations interact with other traditional institutions and organizations in the public sector and society? How public policy innovation affect core functions and processes inside the government, including (but not limited to) human resources management, utilities regulation, infrastructure maintenance, budgeting and financial management, and performance management? How public policy innovations relate to innovations in other areas, including public services and government projects? What methodologies are most effective for conducting research on these questions? Can public policy innovations in developed world inform new demands in Latin America, East Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (or vice-versa)? This panel is open for the experience of countries in the so-called developing regions (Latin America, Africa, Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Asia), but also for comparative studies examining experiences of different countries. We specially welcome papers that are explicitly interdisciplinary and that foster discussion of research that is informed by diverse theoretical and analytical approaches. Papers may address topics that are historical and/or contemporary. We also welcome proposals that showcase case studies that explore salient issues related to public policy innovation in developing countries.