In fall 2013, the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Centre in Paris and the COST action will offer a Joint PhD-Training School on the theme of local public sector reforms. The course will be held in Paris, 30 September - 2 October 2013.
About the PhD-Training School:
Local governments all over Europe are in a period of intense reform activity, not least of all because in some countries they have been the level of government most seriously affected by the still expanding global financial and economic crisis. They are simultaneously faced by a variety of – partly contradictory – reform pressures, often aimed at conflicting reform objectives (e.g. efficiency vs. participation). Against this background, the PhD-Training School is meant to discuss reforms, experiments and changes in local democracy and local public sector institutions.
The course is intended to provide training in theories and methods to be applied in the study of local public sector reforms and democracy, especially in comparative perspectives. The training school will focus on democratic reforms and new instruments of citizen participation (e.g. referenda, direct election of mayors). In addition, it concentrates on New Public Management (NPM) reforms that were targeted towards marketization, privatization and ‘corporatization’ as well as the more recent ‘Post-NPM’ reforms, which were often aimed at correcting the shortcomings of earlier NPM measures. Finally it will include the more nationally driven territorial and functional reforms (municipal amalgamations, decentralization) that have been fuelled, in part, by recent austerity measures and the hopes of national policy makers that such reforms will facilitate economies of scale.
Early stage researchers (PhD students and PhDs + 8 years) from disciplines such as administrative science, law, economics, sociology, political science or history interested in the overall topic are encouraged to participate. The number of participants is limited to 35. PhD students in need of credit points will be preferred.
The course will give participants five credit points. Students are expected to give a brief presentation of their work (PhD topic, about 15 minutes) during the seminar and to write a small essay based on their participation in the course; the essay should be completed within a month after the seminar. A reading list will be published. Participants with no need of credit points may present also their topic, depending on available time slots.
Fees and Financing:
No participation fee will be charged for participants. The Centre will give a reception and organize joint dinners and lunches. Participants may apply for financial support from the COST project or the Norwegian Centre. The COST Action ‘LocRef’ can give a grant to 25 applicants coming from the participating countries of the COST action. The grant will be a lump sum of 750.- € for participants from outside France. The grant for participants from France will be 500.- €. Attendance on all three days is mandatory. The selection will be based on the paper/abstract quality.
Registration procedure:
Please submit an abstract that provides a brief outline of your current work (PhD topic/project outline, 300 words max., in English) accompanied by a short CV, electronically by July 31, 2013. To apply for the PhD-grant of the COST Action LocRef, please send your abstract and CV to Sabine Kuhlmann ( sabine.kuhlmann@uni-potsdam.de ) and Christian Schwab ( schwab@foev-speyer.de ) and refer to ‘Phd-Training School Grant’ in the subject line. Acceptance of participants and grant holders will be notified in August.
For more information about the Training School:
PROFESSOR HARALD BALDERSHEIM
Democracy Programme at the University of Oslo
harald.baldersheim@stv.uio.no