National Academy of Public Administration (United States)

The Academy's studies are directed by a group of over 850 peer-elected fellows.[2] Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors for those engaged in the study or practice of public administration. The fellows are responsible for establishing the organization's policies and priorities and serving as advisers on panels, convened for each study, which issue the studies findings and recommendations.

Webb's impetus in forming the Academy was to create an organization that would provide independent, nonpartisan and neutral advice to government leaders and agencies on all levels of government. The Academy provides advice to a variety of organizations including:

• Various U.S. Congressional Committees
• U.S. Department of Energy
• U.S. Government Printing Office
• U.S. Office of Management and Budget
• U.S. Department of Defense
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Agency for International Development
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
• National Weather Service
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Small Business Administration
• Federal Aviation Administration
• University of California

As per the Congressional Charter,[3] the Academy's mission is:[4]

Through its trusted and experienced leaders, the Academy improves the quality, performance, and accountability of governments in the nation and the world. To this end, the Academy's Congressional Charter calls on it to:

1. Evaluate the structure, administration, operation, and program performance of governments; anticipate, identify, and analyze significant problems; and suggest timely correct action;
2. Foresee and examine critical issues in governance; and formulate practical approaches to their resolution;
3. Assess the effectiveness, structure, administration, and implications for governance of present or proposed public programs, policies, and processes; and recommend specific changes;
4. Advise on relationship of federal, state, regional, and local governments; increase public officials', citizens', and scholars' understanding of requirements and opportunities for sound governance and how these can be effectively met;
5. Demonstrate by the conduct of its affairs a commitment to the highest professional standards of ethics and scholarship; and
6. Investigate, experiment, and report upon any subject of government whenever called upon by Congress or the federal government.

Through its studies, the Academy has focused attention on a range of government issues, including:

• Strategy development and change management
• Organizational structure and design
• Program evaluation
• Human capital and multisector workforce
• Acquisitions, budget and finance
• Intergovernmental relations
• Workshops and outreach

Most studies are carried out under the direction of Project Panels which consist primarily of elected Academy Fellows. Recent studies include:

• Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement: Strategic Organizational Assessment (March 2017)
• Agricultural Research Service: Review of Administrative and Financial Management Services (February 2017)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Improving CDC’s Executive Recruitment, Performance Management, Compensation and On Boarding Processes (February 2017)
• Federal Aviation Administration: Personnel Reform Effectiveness Assessment (January 2017)

The Academy's over 850 fellows are current and former public managers and scholars, business executives and labor leaders, Cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, and diplomats who provide insight and experience as they oversee Academy projects and provide general guidance. Fellows are also the Academy's primary vehicle for addressing emerging issues and contributing to the intellectual and popular discourse on government. Fellows elect new members of the Academy each year. The principal criterion for selection is a sustained and outstanding contribution to the field of public administration through public service or scholarship.

Some notable Fellows include:

• Mary G. F. Bitterman
• Michael M. Crow
• Jonathan Koppell
• Greg Lashutka
• Colin Powell
• James Perry
• Alasdair Roberts
• Donna Shalala
• Dick Thornburgh
• Robert Agranoff
• David Walker

• George A. Graham (1967-1972)
• Roy W. Crawley (1972-1976)
• George H. Esser (1976-1982)
• J. Jackson Walter (1982-1985)
• Ray Kline (1985-1992)
• R. Scott Fosler (1992-2000)
• Robert J. O'Neill, Jr. (2000-2002)
• Phillip M. Burgess (2002-2003)
• Howard M. Messner (2003-2003)
• C. Morgan Kinghorn (2003-2006)
• Howard M. Messner (2006-2007)
• Jennifer L. Dorn (2007-2010)
• Kristine M. Marcy (2011-2011)
• Dan Gregory Blair (2011–2016)
• Terry Gerton (2017–present)

• Good Government Organizations (United States)

• National Academy of Public Administration
• The Collaboration Project
• Memos to National Leaders Project
• The Political Appointee Project