IPMN Newsletter 2000
Number 3

News about the International Public Management Journal

By now, all IPMN members should have received copies of IPMJ volume 2, issues 1and 2. Volume 3 (2 issues) is now in preparation and will be out later this year. Our publisher is now Elsevier-Oxford and the journal is produced under the Pergamon imprimatur, because Pergamon is the most prestigious segment within the Oxford-Elsevier publishing empire according to our Oxford-based editor. We have struck an agreement with the publisher so that all IPMN members will receive complementary issues of volumes 3 and 4. In exchange for this support, the obligation of IPMN members is to have their library or institution subscribe to IPMJ. We have a set of institutional sales targets for the next five years and we need to be aggressive in marketing our journal. Therefore, we ask you to make sure that your university, college or institution has subscribed or will subscribe to IPMJ in the next year. Complete instructions on how to have your library subscribe are provided through the IPMN website at www.inpuma.net(click on journal and then Elsevier Science), or more simply, by going directly to the Elsevier website for our journal at: http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/6/2/0/2/1/8/620218.pub.htt 

Also, our Editor Fred Thompson encourages all IPMN members and others to send manuscripts for review to him at: fthompso@willamette.edu At this point, our review performance is the most timely of any of the high quality, refereed journals in the field. This means that when you submit a manuscript for publication consideration you will get feedback very quickly, typically within two months. 

Please encourage your colleagues to submit their work to IPMJ, and to join IPMN of course. The incentive to join IPMN will never be stronger as membership is free and with it you receive a two-year subscription to IPMJ. IPMN now has more than 425 members from more than fifty-five nations.

IPMN Workshop in Odense, Denmark July 18-20, 2001

The next IPMN workshop will be held at the University of Southern Denmark in2001, hosted by Professor Kurt Klaudi Klausen. Planning for the workshop is well underway and a draft program will be issued in a subsequent newsletter. We also have put together a very attractive social program for this event. At this point we would like to know how many IPMJ editorial board members plan to attend, and whether they plan to bring spouses, family members or friends. IPMJ editorial board members, could you please take a moment to send an e-mail note to Professor Klausen kkk@sam.sdu.dk with a copy to Larry Jones Dukedmb@aol.com indicating whether you plan to attend, and whether you will be accompanied by anyone. We need a rough count of attendees for session, event and lodging planning. The workshop theme (working title) is "Exploring Public Management Curriculum and Program Design Alternatives." 

Call for Contributions on Innovative Teaching in Public Management

As the Odense Workshop will deal with "Developing and Integrating Graduate Public Management Curricula" and will focus on shared knowledge and experiences of IPMN members on that topic, we intend to collect 'good practice' examples of innovative teaching forms for public management from all over the world. It is clear that the result of this collection will be made accessible for IPMN members. If you feel that you are using an innovative pedagogical approach within your public management program, you are kindly invited to share your experience with us through the IPMN. Please send your curricula and/or other material to Kuno Schedler kuno.schedler@unisg.ch before November 15th, 2000. 

Student Exchange

[Editor] IPMN encourages student exchanges among our members' institutions. This past year Daniel Oesze, a doctoral student from the University of St. Gallen, spent the academic year in California at the invitation of IPMN colleagues. A brief report on his experience follows:

 [Daniel Oesze] As a doctoral student at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), I spent one year as a visiting scholar in California, writing my dissertation. It was an excellent experience for me, doing research and getting to know scholars and people in the USA. During my stay, I was assisted and supported by several university faculty members. I would like to thank them all, especially Professor Lawrence R. Jones, Department of Systems Management, Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and Professor Eugene Bardach, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of California Berkeley. I would like to encourage other public management students to take advantage of the contacts through IPMN to engage in study in foreign countries.

IPMN Member Report on AUSTRIA

[Editor] It appears that Austria is being punished within the international community at the moment for the results of its recent democratic elections. A report by IPMN colleague Bernhard Wieder deals primarily with developments in the new public management in Austria with some introductory comments about the political circumstance:

[Bernhard Wieder]

Introductory comments:

This country report was originally written in a period which is sometimes referred to as the most severe crisis in Austria's political system in the last 3 decades, if not in its post-war history. The shift from a moderate left to a right coalition government ? integrating the far right Freedom Party (FPÖ) ? in January 2000 has resulted in a series of diplomatic and also economic measures against Austria, and has also lead to a strong domestic opposition. Despite the strong 'temptation' to discuss political aspects of the situation described above, the author acknowledges that this newsletter is not intended to be a forum for political discussions in the narrower sense.

However, political changes can have a considerable impact on public management practice. At the current stage, it seems that this impact might be weaker than expected by the public, but it is still difficult to predict or forecast future directions in public sector management in Austria. This report will, therefore, focus on initiatives started and implemented within the past two years. A clearly separated section at the end deals with public sector reform plans of the current coalition government as outlined in the coalition agreement and the first actions taken. 

Public Administration and Public Sector Reform in Austria (98-99): Despite of recent initiatives intended to increase the outcome, efficiency, etc. of the public sector, Austria is still lagging behind the developments in many other 'IPMN-countries', where NPM has been an issue for years both in practice and theory. Consequently, the comprehensive Austrian Administration Reform Program (VIP ? Verwaltungs-Innovations-Programm) adopted by the Federal Government on the 3 December 1997 was a very significant step towards the adoption of NPM-ideas. The objectives outlined in the VIP program were ambitious, considering the fact that NPM-ideas have not been issues of high priority in Austrian public administration before. It is obvious that the theoretical and practical debate at the international level on New Public Management in New Zealand, Effective Governance in Switzerland, or the new German Steering Model, have all influenced the definition of objectives in Austria, which were: 

· Reorienting the role of the state from a regulator to a service provider.

· Annual productivity rise of 2-3%. 

· Gradual introduction of effective, outcome-oriented governance by 

· Steering through agreed objectives and targeted performance. 

· Development of product catalogues bringing about transparency of costs and results phased decentralization of resource accountability.

· Introduction of efficient human resource management, in order to exercise empowered management in a professional manner, and ensure a flexible use of staff consistent with their qualifications.

The program was headed by R. Ruttensdorfer, Federal Secretary for Public Sector Reform in the 'Ministry of Finance', and W. Molterer, 'Federal Minister of Agricultural Affairs', and managed be E. Dearing. The Federal Government was the main driver of the program, but many State and Local Governments also participated or developed similar programs.

For internal and external communication the promising slogan 'Austria now gets the most modern public administration in Europe' was used ? doubtlessly more a marketing slogan than a real objective. In June 1999, the preliminary results of the program were published (see references below). Professor E. Buschor, St. Gallen, Switzerland, was invited to comment on the project and the importance of NPM in general. The authors of the publication emphasize that 'important goals' have been achieved ? and that there is still a lot to be done. The main achievements were: 

· Successful completion of several "new technology"-projects intended to increase the quality of public service, e.g. the development of an Internet-based agency guide (help.gv project). 

· Successful installation of exemplary offices and showcase governments ("Musterämter"). 

· Introduction of cost accounting and controlling in several agencies. · Completion of the project 'a vision for the whole public sector'