The impact of COVID‐19 on American Society for Public Administration's scholar and practitioner membership

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• Author: Claire Connolly Knox,Kim Moloney,Rebecca M. Entress,Tonya E. Thornton,Bok Gyo Jeong,Nathalie Bernier
• Date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13698

VIEWPOINT

The impact of COVID-19 on American Society for Public

Administration’s scholar and practitioner membership

Claire Connolly Knox

1

| Kim Moloney

2

| Rebecca M. Entress

1

|

Tonya E. Thornton

3

| Bok Gyo Jeong

4

| Nathalie Bernier

4

1

University of Central Florida, Orlando,

Florida, USA

2

Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar

3

Global Connective Center, Washington,

DC, USA

4

Kean University, Union Township, New

Jersey, USA

Correspondence

Tonya E. Thornton, Global Connective Center,

Washington, DC, USA.

Email: tonya.thornton@gcc-us.org

Abstract

The novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which caused COVID-19, emerged in China

in December 2019 and by March 2020 had rapidly spread becoming a global pan-

demic. The pandemic tested nearly every aspect of the public sector including

efforts to respond to, recover from, and mitigate its impacts. This Viewpoint

explores COVID-19 impact on US-based public administration scholars and practi-

tioners. The results of a survey conducted for members of the American Society

for Public Administration showed that respondents grappled with issues involving

institutional trust, organizational inequity and capacity, group-based inequity,

health measures, shifts in academic practice, and challenges arising from intergo-

vernmentalism. We conclude with recommendations for future research.

Evidence for practice

•The pandemic functioned as an external shock to increase awareness of ongoing

group-based social equity issues.

•The public health crisis helped link structural-level problems with individual-level

awareness and action.

•Topics not highlighted in previous COVID-19 related surveys mattered, including

organizational capacity (not just inequity), intergovernmental administration,

and the specifics of research.

•The practice of public administration requires increased interaction with crisis

management and emergency management subdisciplines.

•Practitioners and academics should rethink and revitalize conventional pro-

cesses so that crisis management is viewed less as a one-time event response

but instead, a potential constant in our globalized world.

INTRODUCTION

The novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which caused

COVID-19, emerged in China in December 2019 and by

March 2020 had rapidly spread becoming a global pan-

demic. The virus disproportionately impacted vulnera-

ble, disadvantaged, underserved, and marginalized

populations, including those individuals with underly-

ing medical conditions and those 65 years of age or

older (Jordan et al., 2020). Specific to the United States,

researchers identified two groups experiencing the

highest levels of severe acute symptoms and death:

African Americans/Black people and low-income indi-

viduals (Deslatte et al., 2020; Menifield & Clark, 2021).

Still, disparate outcomes from a global pandemic do

not exist in a demographic vacuum; it also impacted

the public service professions.

The pandemic tested nearly every aspect of the public

sector including efforts to respond to, recover from, and

mitigate its impacts. From street-level bureaucrats to

leaders, an effective administration was essential to man-

aging the crisis and ensuring the delivery of goods and

services to its citizens. In the United States, the pandemic

brought to light inadequate public health preparations, a

strained federalist system, lack of science in administra-

tive decision-making, inadequate data collection and

analysis for performance, and ongoing social inequity

and systemic racism issues (Entress et al., n.d.; Deslatte

et al., 2020; Gaynor & Wilson, 2020; George et al., 2020;

Kettl, 2020; Xu & Basu, 2020).

Received: 1 May 2023 Revised: 23 June 2023 Accepted: 29 June 2023

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13698

Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:1387–1393. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar © 2023 American Society for Public Administration. 1387