Annual Conference 2026

The 14th Annual CAPPA Conference

Theme: Revaluing public action: the quiet excellence of public administration

May 20 and 21, 2026
Hosted by University of Ottawa
Location: University of Ottawa

Important Information:

• To submit a proposal:
  Complete the online form under the Submissions tab by December 7, 2025.
• The commitee’s response:
  The proposals will be be validated by December 15, 2025.
• Paper or presentation submission:
  March 22, 2026
• Conference registration:
  Registration is available under the Registration tab.
• Conference Program:
  It will be available soon under the Program tab.

Click here to review the guidelines and requirements for submitting proposals.

Details

Theme: Revaluing public action: the quiet excellence of public administrations

Often invisible and sometimes taken for granted, excellence in public administration is evident in an institution’s ability to maintain trust, ensure continuity, and enhance the daily lives of its citizens. While most conferences in this field focus on uncertainty and challenges related to adapting to rapid change in public organizations, this conference aims to highlight these quiet but essential successes (and opportunities for success) by providing a space for reflection not only on their meanings and impacts, but also on the processes and dynamics through which they occur. As Alter (2010) points out, “ordinary innovation” is often built through routine practices and incremental adjustments made by everyday actors rather than through major, spectacular reforms.

To explore this theme, several sub-themes will guide the presentations and discussions:

Resilience in times of crisis

Public organizations are often viewed as cumbersome machines struggling to adapt to change. However, disruptive events in recent years have shown that public administrations can respond quickly and reorganize in emergencies to fulfill their mandate. How do administrations manage shocks—pandemics, natural disasters, economic crises—and what lessons can be learned? Recent work on institutional resilience (Casalegno et al., 2023; Duit, 2016; Profiroiu & Nastacă, 2021) highlights the role of organizational adaptation, learning, and collaborative governance. What have public administrations learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, for example?

Everyday excellence

These routine practices ensure continuity and trust in public services. Building on Norbert Alter’s concept of “ordinary innovation” (2010), research indicates that change arises not through grand reforms but through small, everyday practices. From Lindblom’s incrementalism (1959) to Lipsky’s street-level bureaucracy (1980) and Pollitt & Bouckaert’s work on reform (2017), scholars have highlighted how discretion, routines, and adaptation shape the excellence of public administrations. What does everyday excellence look like in contemporary public administrations? How do civil servants maintain effective routines and uphold this excellence?

Local innovations that matter

Municipal initiatives demonstrate how public administrations effectively enhance community life (Raj et al., 2022). By responding to local needs, these innovations—whether in housing, health, sustainability, or safety—generate lasting impacts. These local innovations underscore the importance of proximity, collaboration, and discretion in developing solutions that promote trust and resilience. How do local innovations balance responsiveness to contexts with broader goals? What lessons can local actors offer for strengthening legitimacy and future initiatives?

Quiet Drivers of Change

Reforms, administrative routines, and incremental adjustments often produce lasting societal improvements. Research on public service reform (e.g., Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2017; Lodge & Wegrich, 2014) suggests these changes frequently originate outside the visible political arena. Street-level bureaucrats, through discretion and interpretation of rules, play a crucial role in shaping how reforms take root and translate into outcomes (Lipsky, 1980). At a time when public service reform is at the forefront of government activity, how can public organizations, administrators, and frontline agents who implement policies drive change, rather than merely adapting to shifting directives?

Recognition and trust

How can we highlight the invisible contributions of public administration and strengthen its legitimacy among citizens? Recognition of public services is built through the quality of service and how it is communicated to the public. In a media environment dominated by social networks, public communication has become a key vector of legitimacy, promoting interactivity while exposing administrations to disinformation and polarization. Developing transparent, responsible, and credible communication appears essential for consolidating legitimacy and democratic trust (Zumofen et al., 2025). What strategies have organizations and stakeholders come up with?

Digital governance and trust

Digital technologies are reshaping the issue of transparency and open government. The use of artificial intelligence-based tools, often perceived as opaque, poses challenges for public accountability and data protection. Ensuring algorithm explainability, guaranteeing personal information security, and maintaining institutional openness are becoming necessary for preserving citizens’ trust and the legitimacy of public action (Grimmelikhuijsen & Meijer, 2022; Molnar, 2022). What solutions are organizations and stakeholders proposing to address this issue?

The civil service as a public good

Thinking about administrative success beyond efficiency: inclusion, equity, and sustainability as foundations of public service. Reflections on the New Synthesis of Public Administration (Bourgon, 2011) offer a vision of public service as a collective good, serving democracy and sustainability. Employment and working conditions in civil service play a crucial role in organizational performance and society’s well-being. By ensuring high standards of social protection, recognition, and quality of life at work, the public sector serves as a normative benchmark where resources are scarce and economic pressures are intense. It helps prevent social dumping and maintains rights and guarantees that benefit the entire labor market. Public human resource management extends beyond the organizational framework, serving as an instrument of social cohesion and enhancing citizens’ quality of life (Emery & Giauque, 2005; Walker et al., 2010). How can public administrations balance efficiency and broader values like inclusion and equity while maintaining legitimacy with citizens and decision-makers? As social innovations reshape work, how can public organizations ensure civil servants continue to embody public values in their work?

Teaching future (and current) public servants about success 

Teaching public administration and policy in uncertain times requires preparing students to respond to shifting public problems while helping them recognize the often-invisible excellence of public service. Beyond equipping them with analytical skills and adaptive capacities, education should cultivate appreciation for everyday practices, incremental innovations, and ethical commitments that sustain trust in public organizations. Highlighting the “quiet excellence” of administrations—through case studies of resilience, local innovations, or street-level bureaucrats’ discretion—ensures future public servants see themselves not just as crisis problem-solvers, but as stewards of essential contributions that underpin democratic life and collective well-being.