The fourth core competency put in place by NASPAA is the ability to articulate and apply a public service perspective. This includes understanding the different ethical systems and perspectives that have been applied in public administration and acting ethically at all times when performing duties and responsibilities; following professional norms; and ensuring that those affected by policy and organizational decision viewpoints are actively solicited and considered before action is taken. In order to illustrate this competency, I've chosen the following coursework:
Developing a Public Service Perspective
This competency draws on exposing students to various theories of public service in order to allow students to decide what style of public service they want to employ in their public administration careers. Prior to this assignment, I was unaware that there were waves of changes that occurred in the public administration profession. I knew that there were different leadership styles, different approached to governing, but completing this book review assignment after reading The New Public Service: Serving, not Steering by Denhardt and Denhardt helped me identify these different methods and governing philosophies such as the “Old Public Administration”, the “New Public Management”, and the New Public Service. In this assignment, I was able to utilize theory and history to explore the shift from an exclusive method of governing to a more inclusive, citizen-driven method. This is particularly useful in illustrating a picture of the current state of public administration and how community and civic engagement can fill some of the gaps in government and citizen relations.
Committing to Inclusivity
In understanding who has been traditionally marginalized, we find the importance of learning how to reintroduce those voices to the democratic arena. In my commitment to ensuring future and current practitioners are informed and prepared to be agents of inclusivity, I, along with the Department of Community and Civic Engagement and Auburn University’s ICMA Chapter hosted a Community and Civic Engagement Workshop. As the primary coordinator of the event, the experience allowed me to think intentionally about leading a discussion of identity, as well as connecting practitioners and future practitioners. The graphics below show a couple of slides from my presentation. The first provides examples of identity and the second slide displays the debrief discussion questions. Pictured to the right is are two of our presenters: Councilwoman for the City of Opelika and the Director of Circles of Opelika, an initiative of Envision Opelika.
