About APPAM

The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) is a leading professional association for the public policy research community. Its 4,600 individual members include academics, practitioners, and students, while its 100 institutional members represent top graduate and undergraduate programs in public policy and management, as well as leading research organizations and think tanks.

APPAM convenes the field through its flagship annual research conference, which draws nearly 3,000 attendees, as well as a wide range of programs throughout the year. These include webinars on topics such as data visualization and emerging policy issues, as well as the Policy on the Rocks event series, which brings the community together for panel discussions and informal networking.

The association also supports members’ professional growth through annual awards and fellowships, as well as community groups that connect members both virtually and in person. APPAM publishes the field’s leading scholarly journal, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM), and will soon launch the Journal of Policy Implementation & Evaluation (JPIE).

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members including practitioners, academics and students

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institutional members from leading schools, think tanks and research organizations

Our Mission

APPAM is dedicated to improving public policy and management by fostering excellence in research, analysis, and education.

APPAM promotes its mission through the following activities:


  • A multidisciplinary annual research conference that attracts the highest quality research on a wide variety of important current and emerging policy and management issues, and is structured to encourage substantive interaction among participants.
  • A peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal that publishes the highest quality research on public policy and management.
  • A dedication in all activities to respecting and enhancing racial, ethnic, gender, disciplinary, and other forms of diversity among participants in all of the Association’s activities.
  • The involvement of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars in the Association’s governance and the Fall Conference.
  • Initiatives that include and foster participation in the Association among students interested in public policy and management.

This language is the result of several years of discussion within the Policy Council about APPAM’s mission and is intended to guide the Association’s programs in the future. It is meant to be a “living document” that will evolve over time. The Policy Council last amended this statement on April 4, 2003.

Bylaws

Bylaws of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (Initially adopted 11/5/1999 and amended 1/14/2004, 6/29/2013, and 1/15/2017)

View Bylaws

Strategic Plan

APPAM revisited its initial 2011 strategic plan, reviewed it and suggested some new goals and objectives to help guide the next 5 years of the association’s work.

View Our Strategic Plan

History

1978: The Sloan Foundation sponsored a conference on the public policy and management curriculum at Hilton Head, South Carolina. A proposal was made to create a new professional association of graduate schools of public policy and management.

May 1979: APPAM was formally created at a conference at Duke University by representatives of 15 policy schools and research institutes. Within a few years, APPAM evolved into a unique association of both individual and institutional members with an elected leadership and Policy Council (the Association’s board of directors). The first APPAM Fall Research Conference was held in Chicago.

1981: The first issue of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management was published.

1985: The Fall Research Conference was held in Washington, DC, in all odd years and outside Washington in all even years.

1986: The first meeting of APPAM’s Committee of Institutional Representatives, in combination with an annual Spring Conference.

1993: After years of being headquartered at Duke University and supported by part-time staff, the APPAM office moved to Washington, DC, and acquired a full-time executive director.

1994: APPAM adopts its first logo

2011: APPAM’s budget hits $1 million

2011: APPAM undergoes its first strategic planning process

2013: APPAM adopts a new logo

2013: APPAM’s membership surpasses 2,000

2013: APPAM undergoes a bylaws change, increasing the roles of institutional members in the Association’s governance. Two student seats are added to the Policy Council, and the overall size of the Policy Council is decreased from 43 to 28 members

2016: APPAM creates the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellowship, designed to foster participation from underrepresented professionals and students in the APPAM Fall Research Conference

2019: APPAM’s membership surpasses 3,000. Retired membership type is created.

2019: APPAM’s staff grows to 8 employees

2022: APPAM’s budget surpasses $2 million

2023: APPAM’s membership surpasses 4,000

2024: APPAM creates an undergraduate membership type.

2024: Attendance at the Annual Fall Research Conference surpasses 3,000

2025: APPAM’s budget surpasses $3 million

2026: APPAM creates the Journal of Policy Implementation and Evaluation (JPIE)

Governance

APPAM is a nonprofit corporation chartered in Washington, DC and recognized as tax-exempt by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Founded in 1979, APPAM incorporated in 1999 under the laws of Washington, District of Columbia. The association is governed by its elected Policy Council (board of directors) and its membership. The Executive Committee of the Policy Council, consisting of the eight elected officers along with the editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (ex officio non-voting) and the APPAM executive director (ex officio non-voting) are empowered to act on behalf of the Policy Council in certain instances.

The membership meets annually to approve election ballots for the Policy Council, receive financial reports, and raise any issues of concern. APPAM has a standing Committee of Institutional Representatives for the purpose of representing the interests of the institutional members. That committee elects several members of the Policy Council and has adopted formal procedures for operation.

Explore Governance