Trans-European Dialogue 2027

Introducing the IIAS Governance Index: A Preview at IASIA 2026 in Athens

Diogo Pereira,

IIAS is developing the IIAS Governance Index to offer a global reference for understanding how public institutions perform and where progress is needed. Drawing on the Institute’s international network and commitment to better governance, the initiative aims to support informed public debate and reform by helping researchers and practitioners assess institutional performance.

Participants at the IASIA 2026 Conference in Athens will have an opportunity to explore the thinking behind the Index during a dedicated session introducing its overall logic and selected methodological choices. This early preview will prepare the ground for the presentation of the complete methodology, findings and country comparisons at the IIAS 2026 Conference in Seoul.

Marco De la Cruz, IIAS Scientific Director, explained the ambition behind the project:

“With the IIAS Governance Index, we want to offer a trusted global reference for understanding how public institutions perform and where progress is needed. It can support better-informed debate and reform; for IIAS, it provides a flagship initiative that brings together our international network and commitment to better governance. Developed under the vision and leadership of President Srinivas, with the support and direction of Sofiane Sahraoui, the Index is a shared institutional project for IIAS.”

Further details about the Athens session will be shared soon.

Stay tuned.

Public administration and management research has long drawn most of its ideas from Western, industrialised democracies. Yet Asia and the Global South have become major sites of administrative change, with large-scale reforms, fast-moving technology and some of the most inventive experiments in governance. Research from these regions has grown accordingly, but it is still often used to illustrate or apply theories made elsewhere, rather than to produce new ones.

This special issue of Public Management Review aims to change that. It invites authors to treat practice in Asia and the Global South as a starting point for theory: to test, question or extend established approaches, and to propose new concepts and explanations. It does not look for a single theory of these regions, which are far too diverse for that, but for context-sensitive contributions that also say something useful for policy and practice.

ASPA and EGPA call for papers | New Orleans, April 12-13, 2027 | Deadline: November 30, 2026

As democratic institutions face mounting pressure worldwide, public administrators are increasingly asked to spell out the role of their field in protecting and improving democratic systems. The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) are responding with the 2027 Transatlantic Dialogue (TAD), held alongside ASPA’s Annual Conference.

The theme is The Role of Public Policy and Administration in Shaping Democracy and Promoting the Resilience of Democratic Norms and Institutions.

From 12 to 16 October 2026, the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) held its Annual Conference in Athens, hosted by EKDDA, the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government. Under the theme “Rethinking Governance for a Changing World”, the conference gathered 400 delegates from 57 countries and marked the 65th anniversary of the association. Athens was a conference grounded by learning and history but also new projects and connexions.

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