NPA-II or the Minnowbrook Conference- II

Minnowbrook Conference - II

Minnowbrook conference has become institutionalized now. It is conducted every 20 years. The first effort in this regard took place during September, 1988 through the Minnowbrook Conference- II. This conference following the part-I has become an academic get-together in every 20 years to identify and address the changes in both, the theory and the practice of Public Administration and thereby, to redefine the public administration.

This conference took place under the leadership of Dwight Waldo. It was also conducted in background of a crisis related to the identity of the discipline. During the 1970s, because of the new-liberalism, there was an emphasis on the minimalization or rolling back of the state or shrinking of the state. The emphasis was not only to reduce the size of the state and increase in the size and operations of the market but also developing a state based on the market. It resulted into a reengineering of the state beginning with the developed countries. For the state to become efficient, it needed to reduce its area and size of operation.

Dwight Waldo said that public administration is going to be there for a long time to come, so be with cheers and go on with it. He also said that in the era of rolling back of the state, role of the state will be redefined but the importance of the state will not be undermined. He tried to emphasize that in the background of new-liberalism, the government in action will undergo some changes. While these changes are going to there, the government will still remain the most important institution of the state.

Critics say that there is nothing new in NPA.

“Newness does not lie in the threads of the fabric rather in the manner the fabric is woven.”

“The newness does not lay in the content of the package rather lies in the packaging.”

Thus, NPA provided a coherent, organized and systematic view to PA.

Minnowbrook-II Conference was attended by a large number of scholars. This significantly showed that the discipline has grown and gained vibrancy. The average age of the scholars in this conference was considerably higher than the previous Minnowbrook conference. In terms of gender equity, the Minnowbrook Conference-II was more gender wise equal than the Minnowbrook Conference-I. The participation of minorities was higher in Part-I than Part-II. In terms of the academic background, the scholars of Minnowbrook-II were more diverse than Part-I.

It was acknowledged that the state is undergoing a change and these changes are market-related stages. Thereby, it emphasized on study of certain concepts like LPG, M&A, contracting out, outsourcing, imposition of user-fee etc. The committee also reemphasized on the Discretionist character of Public administration as was the case in Minnowbrook Conference-I. It was said that these concepts, market-related practices are adopted by the state in order to become efficient and the efficiency of the state should be primarily directed towards attaining equity, constitutional goals and ethos of the society. Thus, the philosophy of the state i.e. well-being of the citizens, remained unaltered. The conference reemphasized the importance of concepts like justice, democracy, honesty, integrity etc. This conference also appreciated a new public service approach (the market principles will be used to enhance the purposes of the state and society).

S. No.	Minnowbrook Conference-I	Minnowbrook Conference-II
1.	This conference was revolutionary and radical.	This conference was more sober in character.
2.	This conference was strictly anti-behavioural.	This conference though emphasized on a value-laden approach, still recognized the importance of behavioural approach.
3.	This conference was optimistic in character.	The mood in this conference was that of constrained optimism or hopefulness. They emphasized on the centrality of the state but also provided a note of caution.