On 9 November 2016, the lecture series of the winter semester was kicked off with a very well attended session about the different perspectives of WIPCAD’s principal investigators on knowledge in and of public administrations. Knowledge plays a crucial role for public administrations’ organisational paths and choices made on coordination and strategy and, ultimately, for establishing legitimacy.
The session opened with an overview on Wicked Problems and Knowledge by Prof. Falk Daviter, focusing on the different conceptualisations knowledge has in various streams of public administration research. Following this, Prof. Theresa Wobbe and Léa Renard detailed one perspective on the generation of knowledge in public administrations by presenting their work on the social construction of statistical categories as instruments for structuring knowledge in the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Prof. Sabine Kuhlmann completed the picture with a presentation on the use of knowledge in public administrations by outlining her prospective project on the use of impact knowledge through the institutionalisation of Regulatory Impact Assessments and its effect on the legitimacy of legislation drafting in ministerial bureaucracies. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion, bringing up topics such as the definition of knowledge in public administration research or the gap between knowledge generation and its use.
Topic: Perspectives on Knowledge in WIPCAD
Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Falk Daviter, Junior Professorship Administration and Policy
Prof. Dr. Theresa Wobbe, Chair for Sociology of Gender and Léa Renard, Doctoral Researcher
Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuhlmann, Chair for Political Science, Public Administration and Organization
Date & Time: Wednesday, 9 November 2016, 2.15-3.45 pm
Location: University of Potsdam, Campus Potsdam Griebnitzsee, House 6, Room S27