WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...
WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...
WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...
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Knowledge <strong>and</strong> Skills for Policy Making:<br />
Stories from Local <strong>Public</strong><br />
Managers in Florida<br />
Yahong Zhang<br />
Rutgers University at Newark<br />
Robert Lee <strong>and</strong> Kaifeng Yang<br />
Florida State University<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
Local public managers regularly participate in the legislative policy-making<br />
process <strong>and</strong> even play a leadership role in policy preparation <strong>and</strong> deliberation.<br />
This phenomenon challenges the dichotomy model <strong>of</strong> the politicsadministration<br />
relationship <strong>and</strong> raises some rarely studied questions: How do<br />
managers work with their elected <strong>of</strong>ficials to shape legislative policy making?<br />
What knowledge <strong>and</strong> skills do they need to participate effectively in policy<br />
making? And how can MPA programs help prepare students who are interested<br />
in a local government career for this role? To answer these questions, we<br />
conducted interviews with city <strong>and</strong> county managers in Florida. The opinions<br />
from local public managers help us better underst<strong>and</strong> their role in policy making<br />
<strong>and</strong> provide us with valuable insights about the development <strong>of</strong> MPA education.<br />
In the public administration literature, scholars have recognized local<br />
public managers’ participation in the local policy-making process <strong>and</strong> criticized<br />
the politics-administration dichotomy (e.g., French & Folz, 2004; Hassett &<br />
Watson, 2002; Lee, 2001; Montjoy & Watson, 1995; Nalb<strong>and</strong>ian, 1999; Newell<br />
& Ammons, 1987; Svara, 1999a). There remain some questions to be further<br />
addressed: How do local public managers work with elected <strong>of</strong>ficials in the<br />
policy-making process? What knowledge <strong>and</strong> skill set should they possess for<br />
policy-making responsibilities? And how can MPA programs help? This study<br />
explores these questions based on interview data collected in Florida. The article<br />
starts with the background <strong>of</strong> the research questions, followed by literature review,<br />
research methods, <strong>and</strong> findings. Discussions <strong>and</strong> implications are at the end.<br />
JPAE 18(1), 183–208<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Affairs</strong> Education 183