ENPA research communities

Research Groups and Thematic Panels

ENPA Research Groups (RGs) study a diverse range of topics in public administration, public policy and public management research. In line with the overall mission of ENPA, we provide a platform for existing research communities to engage with ENPA, and for new research communities to be established. ENPA can provide logistical support including website and conference organisation. RGs will meet at the ENPA annual conference, where there will be panels, workshops and other events for their members. Also, throughout the year, RGs can organise any activities they consider relevant to achieve the goal of building vibrant research communities.

For more information about each Research Group, click the respective card in the list below.

ENPA will also host a series of innovative Thematic Panels at its Annual Conference. Details of the Thematic Panels accepted for the 2027 conference in Madrid can be found here soon.

ENPA Doctoral Seminar

If you are an aspiring public administration researcher currently pursuing a doctoral degree, we warmly invite you to take part in the ENPA Doctoral Seminar. Whether you are refining an established research agenda or still exploring where your interests fit best, the seminar offers in-depth feedback on your paper and interactive group work designed to help you build a strong peer support network.

Find out more
23
research groups
79
co-chairs
22
countries

Showing all 23 research groups

Artificial Intelligence and Public Administration

Studies how AI reshapes public authority, organisations and government-society relations, and how administrations can govern it and take responsibility for its use.

Co-chairs
  • Aleksander Aristovnik (University of Ljubljana)
  • Muiris MacCarthaigh (Queen's University Belfast)
  • Edoardo Ongaro (The Open University)

Behavioral Public Administration

Applies a behavioural perspective to the micro-foundations of public services, and asks what they mean for governance and democracy.

Co-chairs
  • Amandine Lerusse (Leiden University)
  • Sheeling Neo (American University)
  • Joris van der Voet (Leiden University)
  • Saar Alon-Barkat (University of Haifa)
  • Peter Rasmussen Damgaard (University of Southern Denmark)

Bureaucracy and Democratic Governance

Studies the values, roles and positions of civil servants amid rising political populism and democratic backsliding.

Co-chairs
  • Kutsal Yesilkagit (Leiden University)
  • Katarína Staroňová (Comenius University Bratislava)
  • Bram Verschuere (Ghent University)

Digital Governance

A long-standing international community studying the digitalisation of the public sector, the responsible use of technology and algorithmic decision-making.

Co-chairs
  • Shirley Kempeneer (Tilburg University)
  • Ignacio Criado (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
  • Albert Meijer (Utrecht University)

Ethics & Integrity

A forum for European scholarship on ethics and integrity in governance, from public values and corruption to ethics regulation, oversight and organisational culture.

Co-chairs
  • Leonie Heres-Van Rossum (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
  • Ciaran O'Kelly (Queen's University Belfast)

Francophone workshop in ENPA

A forum for Francophone researchers in dialogue with other European administrative traditions. Papers may be in English, discussion is in French.

Co-chairs
  • Emil Turc (Aix-Marseille University)
  • Jihane Sebai (University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines)
  • Jan Mattijs (Université libre de Bruxelles)
  • Stéphane Nahrath (University of Lausanne)

HRM and Leadership for Public Service

Focuses on people management and leadership in organisations providing public services, and on how they relate to public service performance and context.

Co-chairs
  • Anne Mette Kjeldsen (Aarhus University)
  • Carina Schott (Utrecht University)
  • Emily Rose Tangsgaard (University of Southern Denmark)
  • Eva Knies (Utrecht University)

Legal Perspectives on Public Administration

Studies administrative law, legal theory and constitutional frameworks, the rule of law in public governance, and where administrative, private and criminal law meet.

Co-chairs
  • Polonca Kovač (University of Ljubljana)
  • Krisztina Rozsnyai (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Yseult Marique (University of Essex)

Nonprofit governance and management

Examines nonprofit governance and management, from cross-sector collaboration and funding to accountability, volunteering and the role of nonprofits in policy.

Co-chairs
  • Johan Hvenmark (Marie Cederschiöld University)
  • Ben Suykens (Ghent University)
  • Jurgen Willems (Vienna University of Economics and Business)

Policy Analysis and Evaluation

Advances the research and practice of policy analysis and evaluation, and the links between policy inputs, outputs and outcomes.

Co-chairs
  • Bishoy Zaki (Ghent University)
  • Céline Mavrot (University of Lausanne)
  • Ellen Fobé (KU Leuven)
  • Sonja Blum (Bielefeld University)

Policymaking Dynamics

Studies policymaking from formulation through to ground-level implementation, focusing on collaboration, trust, accountability and decision-making.

Co-chairs
  • Anat Gofen (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
  • Nadine Raaphorst (Leiden University)
  • Anka Kekez (University of Zagreb)
  • Fritz Sager (University of Bern)
  • Gabriela Lotta (Getulio Vargas Foundation)

Politics and Governance of Health and Social Care

Studies health and social care reform, from digitalisation, workforce shortages and ageing to the sector's links with housing, education, labour markets and migration.

Co-chairs
  • Tanja Klenk (Helmut Schmidt University)
  • Elisabetta Notarnicola (Bocconi University)
  • Karsten Vraengbaek (University of Copenhagen)
  • Mirko Noordegraaf (Utrecht University)

Politics and Management of Policing and Public Safety

Links policing research with public administration, fostering exchange between scholars and practitioners in both fields.

Co-chairs
  • Kim Loyens (Utrecht University)
  • Jean Hartley (The Open University)
  • Kathy S. Quick (University of Minnesota)
  • Eckhard Schröter (German Police University)

Public administration, technology, and innovation (PATI)

Studies how public institutions handle technological and societal change, from AI to energy and mobility, balancing innovation, legitimacy and accountability.

Co-chairs
  • Alessia Caputo (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies)
  • Rainer Kattel (University College London)
  • Peeter Vihma (Tallinn University of Technology)

Public Participation and Co-Production

Researches how citizens, communities, public bodies and NGOs cooperate, with the aim of governance that is open, democratic and effective.

Co-chairs
  • Elke Loeffler (University of Birmingham)
  • Marlies Honingh (Utrecht University)
  • Vedran Đulabić (University of Zagreb)

Public Sector Accounting and Financial Management

A nexus for academics and practitioners debating research on public sector accounting and financial management, and the tools that support transparency, accountability and decision-making.

Co-chairs
  • Marco Bisogno (University of Salerno)
  • Sandro Brunelli (University of Rome Tor Vergata)
  • Isabel Brusca (University of Zaragoza)
  • Eugenio Caperchione (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia)
  • Francesca Manes Rossi (University of Naples Federico II)
  • Gorana Roje (Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets)

Public Sector Communication and Branding

Brings together researchers and practitioners on public sector marketing and communication, including social marketing, place branding, digital communication and transparency.

Co-chairs
  • Christophe Alaux (Aix-Marseille University)
  • Vincent Mabillard (Université libre de Bruxelles)
  • Martial Pasquier (University of Lausanne)

Public Sector Organizations

Examines the structure, role and challenges of public sector organisations and their part in the policy process, with a strong comparative interest.

Co-chairs
  • Jonas Lund-Tonnesen (University of Bergen)
  • Katerina Sharova (Barcelona Institute of International Studies)
  • Marlene Jugl (Bocconi University)
  • Lars Brummel (Leiden University)

Public Sector Performance and Value(s)

Asks whether the public sector can still perform in turbulent times, through performance measurement and management and strategies for sustaining it.

Co-chairs
  • Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg (Uppsala University)
  • Gerhard Hammerschmid (Hertie School)
  • Wouter Van Dooren (University of Antwerp)
  • Francesco Vidè (Bocconi University)

Research-Based Knowledge Dissemination in Public Administration

Examines the uneven pathways by which research reaches practitioners, policymakers and institutions, and how it is communicated, shared and applied.

Co-chairs
  • Karin Bottom (University of Birmingham)
  • Monika Knassmüller (Vienna University of Economics and Business)

Sociology of the State in Europe: Institutions, Processes & Reforms

Studies the state, its bureaucracies and the core executive in comparative European perspective, drawing on sociology, political science and history.

Co-chairs
  • Jean-Michel Eymeri-Douzans (Sciences Po Toulouse)
  • Marie Göransson (Université libre de Bruxelles)

Strategy and policy management for public value

Focuses on the strategic management of public policies and services, from policy design and evaluation to crisis management, to create public value.

Co-chairs
  • Anne Drumaux (Université libre de Bruxelles)
  • Jan-Erik Johansen (Tampere University)
  • Francesco Longo (Bocconi University)

Theories of Public Administration: Interdisciplinary and Historical Perspectives

A forum for debating theories of public administration, management and governance, drawing on the social sciences, the humanities and history.

Co-chairs
  • Elisabetta Colombo (University of Pavia)
  • Edoardo Ongaro (The Open University)
  • Eckhard Schröter (German Police University)
  • Hiroko Shimada-Logie (Kyoto University)