South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) was established on the 8th day of the month of November in 2020 as a network of knowledge community to foster research, knowledge production, capacity building, knowledge dissemination, and strengthening regional and international partnerships in areas of Public Administration in South Asia and beyond.
South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) attended the 25th Session of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), 13-17 April 2026. SANPA President Prof Akhlaque Haque represented SANPA at the meeting, while SANPA Founding Member Prof Dr. Amir Nasrullah also attended the 25th Session. The discussions of the session revolve around 11 principles of effective governance: (1) competence, (2) integrity, (3) leave no one behind, (4) sound policymaking, (5) transparency, (6) no-discrimination, (7) collaboration, (8) independent oversight, (9) participation, (10) subsidiarity, (11) intergenerational equity. South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) promote these principles through its book projects, webinars, international conferences, and partnerships. At the meeting, he also met Dr Azeema Adam, Senior Inter-regional Adviser on Systems Thinking and Strategic Foresight, UN DESA and Dr. Bok Gyo Jeong, Chair of the United States Chapter of Asian Association of Public Administration (AAPA).
SANPA organized a webinar on 7 December 2025 on ‘From People’s Movement to Governance Reforms: Lessons from the Uprising of Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh’. The South Asian Institute for Policy and Governance (SIPG) and the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) were the partners in hosting the conference. Professor Tawfique M. Haque from SIPG, North-South University, Bangladesh, presented the keynote paper. Prof Akhlaque Haque, President, SANPA, offered the opening remarks. The designated panelists included: Prof Alex Britllantes, EROPA, Philippines; Prof Lalitha Fernando, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka; Prof Md Shariful Alam, Center for Policy Analysis and Advocacy (CPAA), Bangladesh; Mr Trilochan Pokharel, Nepal Administrative Staff College (NASC), Nepal; Prof Ghalib Ata, Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS), Pakistan. The paper presenter and the panelists underscored that the uprisings created significant opportunities for reforms and improvements in governance and development in South Asia. However, they also highlighted gaps between expectations and the reforms underway. They emphasized that, nevertheless, each country offered unique insights, yet there are some commonalities in the uprisings. The speakers noted that the countries of the region need to learn from the Arab Spring to consolidate the outcomes of the revolutions, emphasizing national unity and political convergence. Due to post-revolution political ruptures, Arab countries failed to benefit from the revolutions and further experienced authoritarianism, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia.
The first Executive Committee meeting of 2026 for the South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) was held on 4 April 2026. Professor Akhlaque Haque, President, SANPA, presided over the meeting. The meeting adopted the Annual Work Plan for 2026 and lined up three annual conferences for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively, in Nepal (National Administrative Staff College, NASC, and Public Administration Association of Nepal), Pakistan (University of Karachi), and the Maldives (Maldives National University). The EC expressed deep satisfaction with the success of the South Asian Public Administration Series (https://link.springer.com/series/17370/books?srsltid=AfmBOooJzFLtwo4XwSs1Klob8NJ2OuWuUKvSomcba-vSuSrBTJBRFWx7) and demonstrated its commitment to making it one of the most successful platforms for public administration scholarship. The South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) also decided to establish the SANPA Excellence Award to recognize the contributions of leading scholars in the field and successful practitioners across South Asia. The Executive Committee emphasized the need for stronger partnerships with regional and international platforms dedicated to public administration scholarship and practice.