Taiwan Association for Schools of Public Administration and Affairs (TASPAA)

Since its establishment in 2003, TASPAA has become the largest organization in the public administration field, with 34 members from political science, political economy, public administration, administrative management and public affairs departments. TASPAA serves both instructors and students. In recent years, TASPAA is the leading association in promoting academic research, developing teaching strategies, designing curricula, facilitating cross-department collaboration, building online platforms, awarding scholarships, etc. TASPAA also holds annual meetings and conferences, which have become one of the most important events for presenting public administration papers in Taiwan.

Taiwan Association for Schools of Public Administration and Affairs (TASPAA) is an academic association originally consisted of 25 institutes and departments from different universities in public administration and public affairs related fields. It was formed on June 23rd, 2003, and approved and registered by the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) on August 15th, 2005. National Chengchi University (NCCU) Dept. of Public Administration (DPA) Chair Prof. Liang-Kung Yen invited many professors from different universities to discuss the organization of an academic event titled “Democratizing Administration” on Sep. 27th, 2002, the day before Taiwanese Teachers’ Day. Before the meeting, Prof. Thomas C.P. Peng, Dept. of Political Science, National Taiwan University, suggested that the public administration field in Taiwan can follow the precedent of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) in the US. NASPAA aims to create synergy through combining the strengths of each department and university, enabling it to achieve better research, teaching and service results. At NCCU, Prof. Yen, and Prof. Ming-Sheng Wang from the National Sun Yat-sen University, and together with a group of faculties decided to name the association the “Taiwan Association for Schools of Public Administration and Affairs (TASPAA)”.

Four preparatory meetings were held afterwards. Participants include:
Prof. Te-Yu Chen and Prof. Thomas C.P. Peng, National Taiwan University; Prof. Ding Wu, Prof. Hsing Ti Cheng, Prof. Min-Hsiu Chiang, National Chengchi University; Prof. Liang-Kung Yen, Prof. Kuo-Jung Chuang and Prof. Don-Yun Chen; Prof. Chin-Kuei Chen and Prof. Chung-Yi Lin; National Taipei University; Prof. Chen-Ming Chu; National Dong Hwa University; Prof. Ching-Ping Tang; National Chung Cheng University; Prof. Ming-Sheng Wang, National Sun Yat-sen University; Prof. Jen-Hai Chen, National Chi Nan University; Prof. Yung-Nane Yang, Central Police University; Prof. Li-Khan Chen, Soochow University; Prof. Mei-Chiang Shih and Prof. Chun-Meng Lu, Tunghai University; Prof. Chi-Lik Yu, Shih Hsin University; Prof. Ming-Siang Chen and Prof. Yi-Feng Huang, Tamkang University; Prof. Chong-Yuan Fan, Ming Chuan University; Prof. Wen-Chieh Hsu, Fo Guang University; Prof. Chii-Ching Chen, Kainan University; Prof. Shih-Pei Lai, National Open University; National Chengchi University Teaching Assistant Yia Ling Shih helped with all the preparation for the first annual meeting since TASPAA’s foundation, and her contribution is indispensable.

TASPAA founded in the hopes to facilitate active, effective and open exchanges of information between institutes and departments in different universities. TASPAA provides a user-friendly online platform for public administration faculties to acquire integrated data, such as the status of faculty members, professor publications, theses and dissertations, and the courses, enrollment, teaching materials, and academic events at different departments and institutions.

The first general meeting and academic conference “Democratic Governance and Taiwan Administrative Reform ??????” were held on June 21st, 2003. Prior to the event, representatives from various universities have decided that the meeting and conference should last no more than a day and be held simultaneously at multiple venues to allow for broader participation from all over Taiwan. The first conference was held at the Center for Public and Business Administration Education (CPBAE) at NCCU, with five breakout sessions and 50 presenting papers. Over 300 professors and students attended the founding conference held at noon.

In August 2003, Prof. Min-Hsiu Chiang was assigned Department Chair of DPA of NCCU. He continued to discuss with university representatives regarding the official registration of TASPAA and also submitted the application to the MoI. The second annual meeting and conference, convened on June 26th, 2004, at the CPBAE at NCCU, was also organized by Prof. Chiang and the DPA of NCCU. Titled “Repositioning of Public Governance in a Diverse Environment”, the conference had roundtable discussions on public administration research quality and public administration education quality, as well as 43 presenting papers in five breakout sessions.
The third annual meeting and conference, “Changes and Challenges in Public Administration”, was held on June 18th, 2005, by the Department of Public Administration and Policy of National Taipei University and Department Chair Prof. Chin-Kuei Chen on their Taipei Campus. A total of 79 papers were read out and discussed at seven breakout sessions. In January 2005, Professor Chen received the official document from the MoI, which indicated its approval of TASPAA’s establishment. After three years of preparation, TASPAA was finally able to call its founding conference on June 29th, 2005, and elected its first Board of Directors (27 directors) and Board of Supervisors (five supervisors). National Taiwan University Prof. Tsai-Tsu Su was elected the first TASPAA president.
Since taking charge in August 2005, NTU Department of Political Science was eager to set up various committees, create a TASPAA website (http://www.taspaa.org), and organize multiple academic events.

by TASPAA Honorary President Thomas C. P. Peng