The recipient of the teaching public administration and journal of public affairs education 2022 award for outstanding contribution to public administration pedagogical scholarship and research is Christoph Reichard

The award

In 2021 the editors of JPAE and TPA came together at the invitation of JPAE to create an annual award which would recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions to PA pedagogy through research and scholarship. We wanted to acknowledge the work undertaken by individuals and the ways in which they acted as important influencers to others working in the broad field of pA. We recognise – especially through our roles as journal editors – that innovations, new thinking and ways of teaching and learning often come out of collaborative experiences. We work in a field which depends upon that relationship between researchers, teachers, practitioners and professionals (at all stages of their professional development)to be the place where ideas and practice are explored, developed and in a continuous process lead to the reconceptualisation of practice and theory. In 2021 the Award went to Mary Guy recognising her outstanding contribution to the field.

2022: Christoph Reichard

In making the award this year to Christoph we want to celebrate and to acknowledge his profound and consistent contribution to the development of the field. One of the characteristics we think connects the two recipients of the Award is their presence in the lives of many, many academics from established to young and early career ones as well as practitioners. Christoph has been and is a mentor, a supporter, a critical friend, a facilitator and a source of insight and understanding to individuals across the field of PA both within Europe and internationally.

These differing roles and the commitment over time he has shown to individuals all underline his significant contribution to the field. We recognise that in many ways we can see where and how this contribution has been felt. Through a very brief summary of his career to date there are academic roles, publications and networks where his explicit and public influence is clear. From the later 1960s to 2010 he developed, taught and led training programmes for senior public sector managers. In 1973 as Professor of Public Management and co-founder of the Berlin Civil Service Training College he led on the introduction of new forms of PA pedagogy. From 1997 to 2006 he was Chair of Public Management at Potsdam University and since 2006 he has been Emeritus Professor.

During his time at Potsdam he was Director of the Mid Career Master of Public Management and Dean of the German-French Master of European Governance and Administration with the Ecole National d’Administration in Paris. He, also, supported the development of PA and worked with seeking to capacity build the field in Afghanistan working with the German Agency for International Development.

It is his other roles and contributions to the development of others (as individuals and as groups or teams) that we can see again his importance and presence. His consistency of presence and the guidance and connections he provided underscore why we have made this award.

Through his roles as Chair of the European Association of Public Administration Accreditation from 1998 to 2015 he helped shape and facilitate the development of Public Administration in a time where it was important in strengthening civic leadership and institutions. His role, in particular, as one of the key convenors of the Teaching and Learning Panel within the EGPA annual conference and networks highlights his contribution to pedagogical scholarship and practice. His role within the IRSPM networks and Panel on Teaching and Learning not only highlights his contribution within pedagogical enquiry but also situates it in an international context too.

Across all of these differing networks he acted as an inspiration and facilitator to those engaged in research and broader scholarship in the field of Public Administration. It is for this consistency of practice that he is the recipient.