Michiel de Vries is full professor in Public Administration and emeritus professor in Public Administration at Radboud University Nijmegen. He is vice-chair of the accreditation committee of ICAPA. He has published over 300 scholarly articles and 28 books. His interests are in local government, comparative public administration, and policy evaluation.

Mr. Juraj Nemec is full time Professor of Public Finance and Public Management at the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic and part time Professor at the Faculty of Economics at Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. He published about 600 academic publications and filled several academic posts, including the position of ‘Dean of the Faculty of Finance’. He has 45 years’ experience in teaching on pre-graduate, graduate and doctoral levels. He served and serves in many positions in international organisations - as the President of the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe, the Vice-President of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration, the Vice-President of the International Research Society for Public Management, the member of the Accreditation Committee of the European Association of Public Administration Accreditation and the member of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (United Nations). Mr. Nemec has also extensive advisory and consultancy expertise in various transition countries. His research focuses on public administration, public financial management and public policy, with specific interest in public procurement, health economics and policy.

Professor Ida Widianingsih is a professor of international development administration in the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran (Indonesia), where she currently serves as head of the department. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and management and a Master of Arts in international development from Flinders University, Australia. Professor Widianingsih is a leading scholar in public administration and development governance, with more than two decades of academic, research, and policy engagement. Her research focuses on decentralized governance, collaborative and adaptive governance, inclusive development, participatory public policy, gender and public administration, transformative research, and sustainability transitions. More recently, her work has expanded to the application of complexity science and systems thinking to address climate change, watershed governance, regenerative development, and socio-ecological resilience. She serves as executive director of the Center for Decentralization and Participatory Development Research (CDPD) and is an active researcher at the Citarum Research Center and the Gender Research Center, Universitas Padjadjaran. She has led and collaborated in numerous internationally funded research projects supported by organizations and institutions including the Australia-Indonesia Institute, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Monash University, Flinders University, and other international partners. Professor Widianingsih has published extensively in high-impact international journals and edited volumes on governance, resilience, sustainability, climate adaptation, inclusive policy, and public sector innovation. Her recent work integrates local and indigenous knowledge with systems approaches to promote transformative governance and climate justice in the Global South. Beyond academia, she actively contributes to policy development and capacity building by working with national and local governments, civil society organizations, and international partners to co-create evidence-based solutions for complex public policy challenges and sustainable development.

Gerald Kagambirwe Karyeija is a Professor of Public Administration and Management at Uganda Management Institute (UMI). There, he teaches Public Administration and Public Policy. He has published widely and supervised over ten PhD candidates and many Master’s students. At UMI, he is the Head of Quality Assurance, the Academic Coordinator for the Centre for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Studies, and a member of the University Council. He previously served as Dean of the School of Management Sciences. He earned a PhD and MPhil in Public Administration from the University of Bergen, Norway, and a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Public Administration from Makerere University, Kampala, along with various professional certifications. He also serves as a journal editor, reviewer, and external examiner for 16 universities. His work extends beyond teaching into national policy development and advisory roles. He contributed to key frameworks in Uganda, including the Public Service Reform Model, the Public Finance Management Reform Strategy, the National Refugee Policy, the Refugee Settlement Transformation Agenda, the National Rural Development Strategy, and the GKMA Governance Policy Framework (2026). He has also contributed to numerous strategic and policy documents for public agencies and NGOs. Karyeija has been involved in executive education and capacity building in the public sector. He has trained members of Uganda’s Cabinet and Parliament, taught at the Senior Command and Staff College in Kimaka, and manages professional development programs for civil servants through executive and postgraduate training. He is a well-known public intellectual, frequently sharing expert opinions on national TV and radio, and engaging in public discourse on governance and policy. Internationally, he is President of the African Association for Legislation, Visiting Professor at the Africa School of Government and Northwest University, and a Technical Advisor to the African Association for Public Administration and Management’s Executive Committee.

Prof. Dr. Hiroko KUDO is full professor of public policy and management at the Faculty of Law, Chuo University. After earning Ph.D. in Public Policy at the University of Venice in 1998, she worked as lecturer and associate professor at Waseda University before joining Chuo University, meanwhile served as visiting research fellow at Economic and Social Research Institute of the Cabinet Office and senior visiting research fellow at the Policy Research Institute at the Ministry of Finance, both of the Japanese Government. She has been appointed visiting professor and/or visiting research fellow at various universities in Italy, Germany, UK, and Slovenia. Her main research topics include: e-Government and digitalisation of public administration, Smart City, co-production in public service delivery, and local public management and finance. She has been awarded with the following best paper awards: The 2021 Annual Conference of the Asian Association for Public Administration Akira Nakamura Award (Best Paper Award), October 2021; CEE eDem and eGov Days 2019, Best Theoretical Paper Award, May 2019; CEE eDem and eGov Days 2015, Best Theoretical Paper Award, May 2015. Her major research projects have been awarded with JSPS Grants-in-aid for Scientific Research, and the on-going project is entitled “Interdisciplinary research on administrative and financial reform in local governments: understanding the uniqueness of Japanese-style reform and theory-building” (2024-2029). Her latest works include: Hiroko Kudo (2024), “Co-production: An Ethnographic Analysis of Local Services with Renewed “Traditional” Methods, in Irvine Lapsley and Peter Miller (eds.), The Resilience of New Public Management, Orford University Press. pp.262-292; Sieun Park and Hiroko Kudo (2024), “Cultural institutions as knowledge-intensive public organisations (KIPOs) and their role: how digitalisation can change them providing sustainable and accessible public services”, in Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management 36 (5): 660–684.

Ukertor Gabriel Moti is Professor of Public Sector Management and Governance, and an International Leadership Expert, Speaker and Trainer. He is a Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Member licensed to provide Facilitation, Speaking, Coaching, and Training on approved Maxwell Leadership and Professional Development content. Moti, an experienced administrator is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), a Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC) and former President, Institute of Management Consultants, IMC Nigeria. He is a CMC-Global Accredited Trainer on ISO 20700/2017 and licensed to deliver ISO 20700/2017 training on behalf of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMC). Moti is a CMC-Global Academic Fellow, (the International Management Consulting professional body) of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI), Zurich. He is the first Nigerian Professor and second African to be admitted into the International Academic Fellowship. Prof. Moti is involved in high profile international and national leadership and governance bodies. He is a member of the International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance (IMCLG), UK; member, African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM); Chief Editor of the African Journal of Public Administration and Management (AJPAM), Nairobi, Kenya; member Governing Council of the African Association of Public Administration and Management; former member, Governing Council of the University of Abuja (representing Senate), member of the Accreditation Committee (AC) of the International Commission on the Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training (ICAPA) – a quality assurance body of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Belgium, member, TETFund’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG-5), and Chairman, Governing Council, College of Education, Katsina Ala. Ukertor Moti was a Visiting Scholar at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium under the LLIR-UOS programme, Global Minds where he participated in drafting the framework for the establishment of Centres for European Studies in African Universities under the Platform for African European Studies (PAES). Professor Moti is a Research Fellow with the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), based at the University of Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is also affiliated with the Gulf Research Center, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, organizers of the Annual Gulf Research Meeting (GRM). Professor Moti who has concluded a two-term tenure as Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Abuja (2021-2025) holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Political and Administrative Studies (University of Port Harcourt), Masters in Public Administration (University of Lagos) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Administration (University of Benin). Ukertor Gabriel Moti rose through the ranks from Lecturer II to become a full Professor. He is a regular participant at various international conferences and leadership training summits where he has presented papers. Professor Moti was recently the Director of the Abuja Leadership Centre (a TETFund Centre of Excellence in governance and leadership) for a brief period in 2025.

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Dr. Rachel Emas is an Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Arts in Environmental and Sustainability Policy (MA-ESP) at the Trachtenberg School at George Washington University. Prof. Emas's research revolves around sustainability and environmental policies, especially around sustainable and equitable urban food systems. Rachel also studies public service pedagogy and inclusive teaching practices. Previously, Rachel was at the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark where she served as the Director of the Executive MPA, traditional MPA, and Online MPA programs.

Hendri Kroukamp was born in Cape Town, South Africa. After completion of his secondary education, he completed the BA and BA Hons degrees (majoring in Public Administration and Political Studies) at the University of Stellenbosch. Thereafter he completed the MA degree in Public Administration at the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) – now Nelson Mandela University (NMU). After a 2-year stint in the public service, he started lecturing at the UPE in 1987. In 1996 Hendri received the DPhil degree in Public Administration and was promoted to senior lecturer. In 1999 he was appointed as full professor and HoD of the Department of Public Administration and Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) and in 2005 as Programme Director: Public Sector Management. Hendri was appointed as Secundus Dean in 2009 and Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS in 2012 till February 2022. He acted as Vice Rector: Academic at the UFS in 2018. He is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher in the field of Public Administration and Management, member of various national and international associations, editorial boards and boards of management, and is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Public Administration and Management at the UFS. Hendri is married to Tertia, a clinical psychologist and they have two children, Dinki (35 years) and Hendri (33 years).

Dr. John-Mary Kauzya is a Professional Ugandan expert in public governance, administration and management who retired from the United Nations in 2022 after a successful career in the international public service that stretched for 22 years. He served as Chief of Public Service Innovation Branch (PSIB) of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.. Before taking on the management job of Chief of Branch in 2002, he had served as Inter-Regional Adviser in Governance Institutions and Systems in the same Division. Prior to joining the United Nations, he lectured at Makerere University in Uganda and served as the Deputy Director of the Uganda Management Institute. He has provided expert services as an International Consultant and Adviser to Governments in various fields of governance, Public Administration and Management including public administration and management training and consultancy, leadership capacity development, strengthening institutes and schools of public administration, public sector institutional transformation, innovation in public service delivery. He holds a PhD specialising in Public Administration and Management from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne He speaks English and French fluently. He is affiliated to prestigious professional associations, including IASIA, IIAS, ASPA, CLAD, NISPAcee, AAPAM, APS-HRMnet. He is a member of ICAPA,. He is a Member of the UNDESA/IASIA International Taskforce on Standards of Excellence in Public Administration Education and training. He was awarded with the O.P DWIVEDI AWARD 2014 by IASIA. The International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) awarded him the Braibant Lecture Award. The AAPAM) awarded him with a Gold Medal. He is co-chair of the Working Group 2 of IASIA. He has made more than thirty publications.

Dr. Polya Katsamunska received her BA (Hons) in English and Bulgarian Languages from “Konstantin Preslavsky” University, Shoumen, BG (1995) and her MD in International Business from “D. А. Tsenov” Academy of Economics, Svishtov, BG (2000). She was awarded Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of National and World Economy (UNWE), Sofia, BG in 2006, where she has been a full-time professor at Public Administration Department, Faculty of Management and Administration since 2017. Dr. Katsamunska has been a member of the Faculty Council at the Faculty of Management and Administration, UNWE (2023-Present), (2015 - 2019) and (2011-2015) and served as Vice-dean in International Relations and Quality at the Faculty of Management and Administration, UNWE (2015- 2019). Dr. Polya Katsamunska is one of the most prominent scholars of public administration in Bulgaria and has published in several highly regarded books and journals that have been well received internationally. She has been invited to lecture at prominent universities in Western Europe, Latin America and the United States. She was a member of the Publications Committee of American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) (2014-2015) and (2015-2016). For the period 2016-2020 she was awarded the honorary title for Distinguished Senior Research Scholar by the Institute of Public Management and Community Services in Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, Florida, USA. In 2023 at the 8th Venus International Women Awards (VIWA 2023) Dr. Katsamunska was awarded for Outstanding Woman Researcher in Public Administration in Humanities and Social Sciences by the Venus International Foundation, Chennai, India. Dr. Katsamunska has served as a member of the International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training (2013-2019), (2020-Present) and has participated in a number of accreditation programs offered by the most prominent schools all over the world. She is also a principle representative and member of NISPAcee in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.

I am a Senior Lecturer of Public Administration at the Centre for Public Policy, University of Glasgow and co-Editor-in-Chief of Public Administration and Development. My research includes the strategic state and mission-led government as well as the teaching of public administration. I have extensive consultancy and research experience and have successfully supervised six doctoral students to completion. I have been published in many of the top public administration and public policy journals and am a member of four editorial boards.

Ricardo Corrêa Gomes completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Georgia State University (2014), earned his Ph.D. in Public Management from Aston Business School (2003), his Master's degree in Public Administration from the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) (1995), and his Bachelor's degree from Fundação Educacional Serra dos Órgãos (1985). He is a CNPq Research Productivity Fellow (PQ-1D) and currently serves as Associate Professor at the São Paulo School of Business Administration of Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EAESP). He retired as Associate Professor IV from the University of Brasília (UnB). He is Associate Editor of Public Management Review, International Review of Administrative Sciences, and Public Administration Quarterly, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Public Administration, Financial Accountability Management, and the Revista do Serviço Público.

Actually, I’m senior researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Universität Potsdam. Until my retirement in October 2019, I was extra-ordinary Professor of Administrative Science. My research focus is on Public Policy, Public Administration and local Politics. Current projects are on innovations in local crisis management in Germany and the European Union and new trends in mayor elections in German municipalities. I’m fellow at the Local Government Institute at University of Potsdam. Co-editor Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance”; Fellow of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Member of the Accreditation Committee of International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration education and training (ICAPA), International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), Corresponding-Member of IGU-Commission Geography of Governance.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/ls-kuhlmann/lehrstuhl/prof-habil-dr-jochen-franzke.html.

Diana-Camelia Iancu is Dean of the Faculty of Public Administration at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) in Bucharest, Romania, and Associate Professor of Comparative Public Administration. Diana has extensive experience in programme development, curriculum design, institutional governance, and the international accreditation of higher education programmes. As an accreditation reviewer, she has contributed to the evaluation of public administration programmes across diverse institutional and national contexts, promoting quality enhancement, peer learning, and continuous improvement. Her research focuses on comparative public administration, democratic governance, public sector reform, public decision-making, and higher education. She currently coordinates research within several European collaborative projects examining democratic legitimacy, governance innovation, and administrative reform. Diana is actively involved in the international public administration community. She serves in the leadership of ASPA’s International Chapter, fostering collaboration among schools, scholars, and practitioners of public administration worldwide. She is also a member of the Group of Independent Experts (GIE) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, contributing to initiatives that strengthen democratic governance and local democracy across Europe. In 2025, she received the NISPAce

Prof. George Kojo Scott is Secretary General, of the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM), and Extraordinary Professor, School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University. Before his appointment with AAPAM, Scott served for many years in the public service of Ghana, in different capacities including Chief Director (Permanent Secretary) in various Ministries. He served for many years as Municipal/Metropolitan Coordinating Director for many localities in Ghana and as Director Finance and Administration at the Office of the President. He was for many years a part-time lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Scott has been involved with the work of several international organizations including the Guinea Current Marine Ecosystem, African Union, African Peer Review Mechanism, UNDESA and the UNPAN. Scott has authored four books, several book chapters, co-edited five recently published AAPAM books; and contributed widely to internationally accredited journals. He has served as contributor and reviewer of various academic curriculum for university courses and as Examiner/External Examiner for Doctoral Examinations. Scott holds PhD (Development Studies); Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA), and Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration.

Frank Naert (° 1957) holds a PhD in economics from Ghent University. He is a retired full professor at Ghent University having lectured on public finance, European economic integration and competition policy. He was chair of the department of public governance, management and finance at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration between 2013 and 2018. Between 2016 and 2022 he served as a member of the Board of Management of IASIA. He received the Pierre de Celles Best Award Outstanding paper presented at the IASIA Conference in Bangkok 2012 (with Stijn Goeminne) and the Best paper award at the IIAS-Lien 2019 Conference in Singapore, Nanyang Technological University.

Dr Lichia Saner-Yiu is an organisational psychologist and institutional-development specialist working across applied psychology, public administration, quality assurance and sustainable development. She is President and co-founder of the Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND), Geneva, an NGO with UN ECOSOC special consultative status, and President and lead auditor of the Swiss-accredited Academy for Quality in Training and Education (AdeQuaTE®). She holds an Ed.D. in Psychology from Indiana University and undertook postdoctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. For over four decades, Dr Saner-Yiu has advised governments, international organisations and educational institutions on administrative capacity, management development and programme evaluation. In China, she co-designed and implemented a UNDP and then Swiss-supported training-of-trainers and institution-development programme that modernised management training for senior civil servants and public-sector officials. Combining action learning with action research, the programme developed locally anchored capacity for change. In Slovenia, she co-designed and co-led a Swiss-Slovene public-administration reform programme that established two administrative units—one for administrative training and another for organisational performance and consulting—as institutional pillars of the country’s state-building process. Since 2006, she has also served as presentative of the International Association of Applied Psychology at the United Nations in Geneva, promoting applied psychology’s contribution to multilateral policy and sustainable development. Her work relates to the public-administration includes membership of the ICAPA Committee since 2020. She is co-chairing the IIAS Study Group on Governance and Ageing since 2016, and serving in editorial and reviewing roles for international journals, including Public Administration and Policy. Her relevant publications include “The Need to Mobilize Government Learning in the Republic of Slovenia” (1996); “Assessment and Accreditation of Non-Formal Management Education and Development Programmes” (2009); “Stakeholder Based Monitoring of Leadership Training in Public Administration” (2013); “Implementing the SDGs by Subnational Governments: Urgent Need to Strengthen Administrative Capacities” (2017); “System Change at National Government Level” (2018); and the forthcoming 2026 Sage handbook chapter “Applied Social Psychology and Large System Change in Public Institutions in China, Slovenia and Bolivia.”