Presidential Address & Awards: Going Local: The Value of Research on Local Government Policies and Programs

Session Submission Type: Special Event

Abstract

Please join us for the 2025 Presidential Address & Awards! Please find a seat upon arrival - food & drinks will be available at your table to enjoy during the event.
See the agenda here.

Awards:

David N. Kershaw Award

Presidential Address by APPAM President, Ingrid Gould Ellen, New York University:

Going Local: The Value of Research on Local Government Policies and Programs
For a long time, public service researchers and educators have focused their attention on the federal government, meaning towards research and evaluation of federal agency performance, federal policies, and federal programs. While these efforts have produced highly valuable and impactful work, the APPAM community has missed opportunities to engage with public policy and management challenges at the state and particularly local government levels. There are several unique features of local governments and local policy and public management research that make it particularly attractive and potentially impactful. First, local governments perform critical, unique and salient functions that affect people’s daily lives. Second, local governments offer welcome variation that researchers can study – variation in program design, implementation, and context. Third, local governments arguably need more help than their federal counterparts, given their more limited capacity to undertake research and evaluation internally. Fourth, local governments may be more able and willing to make changes in response to research findings. Finally, local governments can provide access to unique, longitudinal administrative data on program participation and outcomes. I hope to see more APPAM members turning their sights to local government policies and programs, especially at this moment in time as the federal government pulls back on many areas of domestic spending, including on policy research and evaluation.

Policy Area

• Special and Business Events

Speaker

• Ingrid Gould Ellen, New York University