The Future of Public Administration

HTM3216 The Future of Public Administration includes advanced level studies intended for master’s students in Administrative Sciences who possess fundamental knowledge about public administration as a science and practice and about the public sector and the organization and functioning of governmental institutions. This prerequisite knowledge can be based on either previous bachelor’s level studies or master’s level coursework in administrative sciences with a focus on public administration and management.
Students need to:
• be comfortable following lectures and read public administration literature and documents in English and/or Finnish
• participate in class discussions and share their understanding of the topics or relevant experience
• work in a small team on a joint presentation and essay

At the end of this course, students will be able to develop the following knowledge areas in public administration:
• Examine key theoretical and practical developments in the field of public administration
• Explain the challenges and opportunities facing the public sector in Finland and internationally at this moment and in the future
• Interpret theoretical and practical developments in the field of public administration
• Anticipate how the public sector is expected to change in the future and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for governmental organizations

In this course, you will receive support to develop the following skills, which are important for further studies and work life:
• Reading and understanding academic literature and policy documents
• Research and communication skills in English
• Analytical writing in English
• Critical thinking
• Teamwork

The course gives advanced skills the following common learning objectives of the Public Policy and Management major: ability to analyze and interpret public activities and their operational environment from the perspective of organizations and regions. In terms of sustainable development, the goal is to learn to develop effective, responsible, and transparent institutions at all levels, as well to promote public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

• Chapter 1, sections 1.8, 1.9 and 1.10, pp. 18-23 of Pollitt, C. and Bouckaert, G. (2017) Public Management Reform, A Comparative Analysis – into the Age of Austerity, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Dan, S. (2024). Theoretical approaches to measuring governance: Public administration, in Lewis, J.M. and Triantafillou, P. (eds.) Handbook on Measuring Governance, Edward Elgar.

• Chapter 8 of Torfing, J., Andersen, L. B., Greve, C., & Klausen, K. K. (2020). Public Governance Paradigms, Competing and Co-existing? Cheltenham and Northampton: Edward Elgar

• Chapter 1, section 1.11, pp. 23-25 of Pollitt, C. and Bouckaert, G. (2017) Public Management Reform, A Comparative Analysis – into the Age of Austerity, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Ansell, C., Sørensen, E. and Torfing, J. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic as a game changer for public administration and leadership? The need for robust governance responses to turbulent problems, Public Management Review 23(7): 949-960.

• Mehr, H. (2017). Artificial Intelligence for Citizen Services and Government, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Kennedy School, Harvard University

• Leikas, J. et al. (2022). Governing Ethical AI Transformation: A Case Study of AuroraAI, Front. Artif. Intell., Sec. AI for Human Learning and Behavior Change, Volume 5, pp. 1-12.