Knowledge and Skills for Policy Making: Stories from Local Public Managers in Florida

Abstract

Local public managers regularly participate in the legislative policy-making process and even play a leadership role in policy preparation and deliberation. This phenomenon challenges the dichotomy model of the politicsadministration relationship and raises some rarely studied questions: How do managers work with their elected officials to shape legislative policy making? What knowledge and skills do they need to participate effectively in policy making? And how can MPA programs help prepare students who are interested in a local government career for this role? To answer these questions, we conducted interviews with city and county managers in Florida. The opinions from local public managers help us better understand their role in policy making and provide us with valuable insights about the development of MPA education.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yahong Zhang

Dr. Yahong Zhang is an assistant professor of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University in Newark. Her research interests include politicsadministration relationships, government performance analysis, government transparency, citizen participation, and human resources management in local government. She has published a number of articles in Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration, and Public Performance and Management Review. Zhang is the corresponding author. She can be reached at [email protected].

Robert Lee

Dr. Robert E. Lee is the professor of practice, senior executive in residence, and executive director of the Center for Florida Local Government Excellence at Florida State University. Before joining academia, Dr. Lee had a rewarding career as a city manager. His research interests include local government management and fiscal issues. He has recently published articles in Public Management and in Compensation and Benefit Review.

Kaifeng Yang

Kaifeng Yang is an associate professor and PhD director of the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University. He is managing editor of Public Performance & Management Review, and his current research interests include public and performance management, citizen participation, and accountability, among others.