by Lucky Anguelov, Mike Craw, and Cali Ellis January 31, 2020

Three faculty in Evergreen’s MPA program, Lucky Anguelov, Cali Ellis, and Mike Craw, presented research at the Southern Political Science Association’s annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, held January 8 – 11th. Lucky and Mike both presented papers to the Conference within a Conference on Local Governance and Sustainability. 

Lucky presented the results of a 2019 MPA capstone project that three MPA students, Tricia Bateman, Margaret Blankenbiller, Jazmyne Kozak, and he carried out on how climate across the United States might impact the perception of various reclaimed water utilization programs. Their paper, titled “The Importance of Local Communities’ Climate in Determining Public Perception Regarding Appropriate Uses of Reclaimed Water,” was well received at the conference, with the paper’s discussant commenting that “This kind of research is badly needed, as there are lots of people who think they know how to communicate about water quality, but we have very little real evidence about it. This work contributes to that end… Overall this is a very promising project—I really hope that you put the work in to publish it since I think it can have a real-world impact.”  In addition, Lucky presented a paper, co-authored with Dr. Ben Brunjes at the University of Washington, titled “The Ethical Dimensions of Terminations for Convenience: An Exploration of Administrative Discretion and Responsibility”. This research explores an understudied topic in government contracting: termination for convenience. The preliminary findings indicate that this instrument grants contract administrators tremendous discretion in structuring contractual relationships to achieve a range of policy goals. 

Mike Craw presented a paper titled “Sustainable Neighborhoods: Sub-Local Institutions and Property Reinvestment.” This research finds evidence from a study of Little Rock, Arkansas that neighborhood and homeowner associations play significant roles in encouraging homeowners to maintain and improve their property.  This, in turn, helps to forestall blight and improve a neighborhood’s quality of place.

Cali Ellis presented her research, titled “Trust and Communication in Cross-Border Security Networks”, as part of a panel on “Public Administration in the Context of Disasters, Emergencies, and Crises.”  This research presented new quantitative network survey data to explain how interpersonal trust develops at the individual and community levels in the high-stakes environment of security near an international border. Complemented by qualitative interviews, Dr. Ellis found that while formal institutions such as mandated exercises and meetings provide an important opportunity to make connections, they are not sufficient for trust development. Instead, repeated interactions set the stage for the formation of trust relationships as individuals have the opportunity to demonstrate their competence under pressure and share important and relevant information. 

In addition, Lucky, Cali, and Mike each chaired panels and provided commentary on other public administration research presented at the conference. Cali served as a discussant on a panel on “Public Lands in Employee Hands”, while Lucky and Mike chaired panels on “Green Technology, Procurement, and the Digital Divide” and “Regional Coordination, Collaboration, and Competition”, respectively.