In contrast to the much larger Fall Research Conference, APPAM's annual Spring Conference has been an intimate gathering of leaders within the policy analysis and management field. Usually devoted to topics of interest to public policy educators, the Spring Conferences have explored issues of concerns to APPAM's member institutions. Occasionally, the conference has focused on specific research topics. In its earlier years, the conference was hosted at various sites around the United States. 

 

*Information on the 1987 and 1989 Spring Conference is currently unavailable.

Year	Spring Conference Theme / Focus
1986	Inaugural spring conference. No specific theme. Conference was focused on the curriculum in public policy graduate schools.
1988	No specific theme. Conference was devoted to envisioning the future of APPAM.
1990	"Public Policy and Management Curriculum: Academic Content and Practical Knowledge"
1991	No specific theme. Major session on "Global Economic Interdependence: Implications for Public Policy Research and Education."
1992	"Journalists and Policy Analysts: How to Develop a Policy Analytic Framework for Journalists"
1993	"Increasing Diversity in the Public Policy Process" (funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation; part of the restructuring of the Public Policy and International Affairs Program)
1994	No specific theme. Sessions examined diversity issues in case writing and curriculum development in policy education, and enhancing communication between academic researchers and policy practitioners.
1995	"Innovations in Practice and Teaching"
1996	"The Changing Policy Landscape: The Challenges to Curriculum and the Practice of Policy Analysis"
1997	"Civic Engagement and Undergraduate Public Policy Education"
1998	"Census 2000: Implications for Policy and Practice"
1999	"After Affirmative Action: Practical Strategies for Assuring Equal Opportunity"
2000	"APPAM in the 21st Century: Where Are We? Where Are We Going?"
2001	"Public Policy Education in the New Economy: Outreach, Careers, Technology and Globalization"
2002	No conference held. APPAM's Policy Council held a full-day retreat to consider the Association's mission. APPAM's Institutional Representatives held a special meeting on ranking systems for master's programs in public policy and management.
2003	No conference held. APPAM's Institutional Representatives met to discuss their role in the Association and announced the intention to resume holding the Spring Conference beginning in 2004.
2004	No specific theme. Three sessions examined "soft skills" in the MPP curriculum, the design and management of client-oriented project courses, and the structure of the PhD in public policy curriculum.
2005	"Globalizing Public Policy Education and Research"
2006	"Charting the Next Twenty Years of Public Policy and Management Education" (Special, multi-day conference held in Park City, Utah, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the 1986 conference.)
2007	No specific theme. One track was a multi-association summit on faculty diversity in the social sciences, and the second track was a planning session for conducting research on how pedagogy influences learning outcomes in public policy and management education.
2008	"Constructing the APPAM Future: Competition and Cooperation on Campus"
2009	"Weathering the Storm and Preparing to Make the Most of Its Aftermath: Management and Marketing Initiatives Amidst a Time of Challenge and Change"
2010	"Transparency, Openness and Accountability in Public Policy and Management"
2011	Vision for APPAM: Strategic Planning
2012	No specific theme; conference was focused on APPAM governance issues.
2013	"Diversity, Equity, & Public Policy"