TAMIU's Dr. Peter Haruna Wins Jean-Claude García-Zamor Best Paper Award at ASPA Conference in Washington, D.C.

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) professor of Public Administration and director of the Master of the Public Administration Program, Dr. Peter F. Haruna was recently awarded the Jean-Claude García-Zamor Best Paper Award for a paper he co-authored on community-centered governance in Ghana with Dr. Jessica Kritz, assistant professor at Georgetown University's department of Global Health. The Award was presented at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Conference in Washington, D.C.

Named in honor of Professor Jean-Claude García-Zamor, a distinguished scholar and long-time ASPA member, the prestigious Award recognizes outstanding research in international and comparative administration.

The two scholars' paper titled, "Context, Culture, and Governance in an Informal Community in Ghana: A Case Study of Community-Based Adaptation in Public Administration," utilizes a longitudinal research design and participatory action research to address how the question of public values and belief systems shape public governance and administration within a state-citizen interaction framework.  

Longitudinal studies of this nature are time-consuming but crucial for generating knowledge and understanding of governance and public administration, the co-authors noted.

"The study yielded both theoretical and practical insights about how to strengthen state-citizen relationship in the era of falling public trust in institutions toward improving the effectiveness of the implementation of public health policy and public management," the co-authors said.

The International and Comparative Award Selection Committee praised the paper for its insight and relevance, stating: “The co-authors use a longitudinal water and sanitation project in Ghana to explore governance in international development settings and translate international standards to local contexts. This article has strong potential to make a valuable contribution to the field, and its well-structured analysis ensures that it will serve future research in public administration and governance. It is a highly recommended read for scholars and practitioners alike.”

Drs. Haruna and Dr. Kritz expressed deep appreciation for the honor.

“We are highly honored to have been selected by the committee of distinguished researchers and scholars for this prestigious award,” the co-authors said.

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