APPAM supports and encourages diversity in all of its programs and activities, including research discipline, gender, race/ethnicity, normative perspectives, and international emphasis. The association has an active Diversity Committee that provides guidance on how to enhance diverse participation in APPAM. Specific initiatives in these areas are as follows.
Research Discipline
APPAM desires the participation of individuals trained in every research discipline related to public policy analysis and management. In recent years, APPAM has undertaken special efforts to attract sociologists and environmental scientists to the association's programs and activities. About half of the recent participants in the annual Fall Research Conference have come from disciplines other than economics and public policy.
Gender
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Women scholars now comprise more than half of APPAM's individual membership, and 90% or more of the panels at the annual Fall Research Conference involve women. At the same time, we recognize that gender is not fixed or binary and that our community includes scholars of all genders. We are committed to supporting research focused on the implications of policy and management for women, gender-diverse, and transgender communities, and increasing the number of gender-diverse scholars in our field.
Race and Ethnicity
APPAM encourages racial and ethnic diversity in its membership and all of its activities. The APPAM Diversity Committee regularly engages in outreach to minority-oriented social science affinity groups and associations to encourage participation in APPAM among researchers from minority backgrounds. Furthermore, APPAM is a major sponsor of the Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA), a national initiative dedicated to increasing diversity in public service. For more information on PPIA, click here.
International Emphasis
APPAM welcomes international members to APPAM. There are no additional membership charges for international members to receive publications and other benefits. Beginning with the 1999 Fall Research Conference, APPAM has sought to integrate international policy and comparative policy and management research into all appropriate conference panels. In addition, APPAM hosts an annual international conference, bringing public policy research to the global stage.
Normative Perspective
APPAM seeks to include a wide range of normative perspectives on policy and management issues in its conferences and other activities. By fostering intellectual exchanges among perspectives, the association can better achieve its goals for improving the quality of research in the field. The Diversity Committee regularly promotes participation in APPAM among researchers that provide a range of perspectives on current key issues.
Equity and Inclusion Student Fellowship
In an effort to encourage participation by underrepresented students in APPAM and its activities, the Policy Council and APPAM’s Diversity Committee created the APPAM Equity and Inclusion Fellowship in April 2016. The fellowship supports the travel and participation of students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in the annual APPAM Fall Research Conference. The goal of this fellowship program is to introduce recipients to the world of public policy and APPAM, and foster a lifelong affiliation and engagement with both.
Public Policy Camp
In September 2017, APPAM hosted an inaugural Public Policy Camp to introduce the field of public policy to a group of students who might not otherwise be familiar with it, as well as increase the pipeline of diverse students into APPAM institutional member graduate public policy and public affairs schools.
Interested in serving on APPAM’s Diversity Committee? Please contact Tara Sheehan, Executive Director of APPAM.