Committees

APPAM has several committees through which it accomplishes the work of the association. In consultation with the Executive Director, the current President appoints members of the Policy Council to committees soon after the election every January. New chairs are also appointed at this time.

Committee tasks are created based on the current strategic plan, any pressing issues, and regular activities that the committee performs annually. Occasionally, ad-hoc committees are created for a specific purpose (i.e. AI committee, JPIE Implementation Committee). In addition, there are several award selection committees.

Interested in serving on a committee? Sometimes, we ask APPAM members to serve on committees, especially if they have specific expertise. Please email [email protected] if you would like to serve on a specific committee.

Participation

Committees meet virtually throughout the year and the chairs of each committee report on the activities of their committees at each of the two in-person annual Policy Council Meetings. The committees work in conjunction with APPAM staff throughout the year to achieve goals set out in the Strategic Plan. Committee members are expected to participate in the committee’s work and with APPAM staff on accomplishing both Policy Council and committee goals for the year.

Active APPAM Committees

APPAM has several standing committees:

AI Committee

The APPAM AI Committee helps define the role of artificial intelligence in public policy research by clarifying the AI landscape, exploring ethical considerations, and developing guidance for responsible adoption. Rather than providing technical training or tool-specific instruction, the committee focuses on identifying opportunities, challenges, and principles that can help the public policy research community navigate AI.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

This committee is responsible for developing and overseeing the Association’s activities to promote diversity in its membership, at its member schools, and in its leadership.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee assists the Policy Council in fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities by providing oversight, guidance, and recommendations related to APPAM’s financial management, budgeting, investments, reserves, and financial policies. The Committee works with staff and the Treasurer to monitor the organization’s financial condition and support financial decision-making.

Institutional Reps Committee

This committee is comprised of the four elected institutional reps on the Policy Council and is charged with ensuring that the interests of the institutional representative members of APPAM are well represented on the Policy Council.

Meetings & Conferences Committee

This committee advises the operations, logistics, agendas, sites and all other details for all APPAM meetings and conferences.

Membership Committee

This committee helps develop membership recruitment plans and priorities, develops new membership benefits as appropriate, reaches out to underserved members, assesses renewal strategies and member satisfaction for professional, student, and institutional members.

Nominating Committee

This committee prepares a slate of candidates for the annual election to the APPAM leadership and APPAM Policy Council. They work with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to ensure that the slate of candidates for election to leadership is as diverse as possible.

Policy Relevance, Development, & Communications Committee

This committee is responsible for ensuring that all APPAM activities and events connect policy to practice and helping identify and implement training and educational opportunities for all APPAM members, across all communication channels and platforms.

Sponsorship & Partnerships Committee

The Sponsorship/Partnerships Committee is tasked with helping APPAM staff identify/target/solicit organizations for Fall Conference sponsorship, APPAM membership and general partnership to achieve strategic organizational goals.

Student Activities (SAC) Committee

This committee oversees student activities, programs student sessions at the Fall Conference and considers ways to strengthen the representation of students in all APPAM activities and events. The committee is comprised entirely of students and includes one of the student members on the Policy Council.