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Professor Akhlaque Haque, who is also the Editor for Springer Nature’s South Asian Public Administration (SAPA) Series, held a meeting on 15th April 2026 with the Publishing Editor, Ms. Lorraine Klimowich, in New York. They discussed several ongoing book projects and plans for the Series. The Series has already made a significant impact in promoting public administration scholarships, particularly from South Asian perspectives.

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).

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South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) President Professor Akhlaque Haque and Easter Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) Executive Council Chairman Professor Nguyen Ba Chien, along with Secretary-General Professor Alex Brillantes Jr., signed the partnership agreement between the two organizations to advance research and collaboration in public administration theory and practice. SANPA Member Professor Dr. Amir Nasrullah was present at the signing ceremony. Professor Akhlaque Haque attended the Philippine Society for Public Administration (PSPA)-EROPA Conference 2025, held from 1 to 3 October in the Philippines.

Professor Akhlaque Haque, President, SANPA attended the Philippine Society for Public Administration (PSPA)- Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) Conference 2025, held on 1-3 October 2025, in Philippines, as a distinguished speaker.

Secretary-General Dr Mohammad Mizanur Rahman met SANPA Honorary Members Professors Alex Brillantes, Jr. Maria Victoria R. Raquiza, Dr. Lizan E. Perante-Calina while his visit to the ADB, Manila and Moscow. He also had the opportunity to meet SANPA Honorary Member Professor Alexander Kotchegura while he attended an event in Moscow. Both meeting held in September 2025. The Secretary-General encouraged the Honorary Members to contribute more to SANPA activities.

Professor Prabhat Kumar Datta, Professor Durga Prashad Chettri and Dr Aly Shameem attended the Theveli International Conference held on 18-20 August 2025 at the Maldives National University, Male. Apart from paper presentations they met several distinguished personalities and academics during their visit.

SANPA President Professor Akhlaque Haque attended the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) meeting and the 23rd session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) held at Conference Room 1 at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 15 to 19 April 2024. The meetings examined various issues in governance and public administration that are central to ongoing efforts to implement the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SANPA President interacted with the leadership of different UNPAN Members and the UNPAN team. SANPA is committed to the activities of UNPAN and CEPA.

SANPA entered into an MoU with the Public Administration Association of Nepal (PAAN) on 22 December 2023 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The MoU aims to build a collaboration between two organizations to advance the region’s public administration discipline. The signing ceremony was attended by Trilochan Pokharel, Deputy Secretary General, and Rajendra Adhikari, founding member of SANPA, and Krishna Hari Baskota and Dilip Raj Paudel, respectively, President and Treasurer of PAAN.

SANPA President Prof Habib Zafarullah inked an MoU with Bangladesh Center for Governance and Development (BCGD)-Dhaka International University on 18 Nov 2023. Dr K M Kabirul Islam, Prof Shafiul Islam, and the Secretary-General accompanied the President. Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary MP, Chairman, Board of Trustees, DIU, Vice-Chancellor Prof Saiful Islam, Asso Prof Dr. M Shariful Alam, and several faculties represented the BCGD-DIU side. Both Parties agreed to host an international conference, joint research, publications, and faculty exchange as primary areas of cooperation for 2024.

SANPA President Professor Habib Zafarullah speaking at the International Conference on Rivers of South Asia: Connecting Ecology, People, and Governance. The South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU) in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), University Brunei Darussalam (UBD), and National River Conservation Commission (NRCC), Bangladesh organized the conference on 22-23 July 2023 at NSU’s Syndicate Hall. The South Asian Network for Public Administration (SANPA) lent its support as an associate partner. http://www.northsouth.edu/sipg/news-and-events/international-conference-on-rivers-of-south-asia.html

“How to Make an Entrepreneurial State: Why Innovation Needs Bureaucracy”, written by Professor Wolfgang Drechsler, Rainer Kattel, & Erkki Karo (Yale University Press London), has won the Academy of Management’s 2023 George R. Terry Book Award. The Terry Award goes to the book “judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to the global advancement of management knowledge during the last two years.” In reviewing the book, the committee noted that it draws “from classic and contemporary organization theory, economic sociology, and political economy to move away from the prevailing narrative of the state as a passive facilitator of private sector innovation. Instead, the book proposes a new model of the ‘entrepreneurial state’ – a state that actively invests in and coordinates innovation and entrepreneurship through a variety of means, including direct investment, public procurement, policy, and strategic partnerships with private actors. Taken together, this view is a pathbreaking contribution to global management knowledge.” The Academy of Management is the pre-eminent professional association for management and organization scholars. Founded in 1936, it has about 18,000 members in 120 countries. The award was conferred today during the AOM’s annual conference in Boston. https://lnkd.in/eMgpK_-A UCL TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance, TalTech UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Courtesy: Professor Wolfgang’s LinkedIn page

We are thrilled to inform all colleagues that SANPA became a partner of the UN. Professor Atiqul Islam, the Vice-chancellor of the North South University (NSU), where the SANPA Secretariat is located, signed the MoU representing the NSU and SANPA, while Mr Juwang Zhu, Director, DPIDG, DESA signed representing the UN. Professor Habib Zafarullah, President, SANPA, signed as a witness. We acknowledge the commitment of Dr Maria Stefania Senese to steering the negotiations.

Recently SANPA and the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, a Taylor & Francis journal signed MoU to advance public administration research and publication. Professor Wai-Fung Lam, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Hong Kong University, inked the MoU on behalf of the journal. We thank Professor James L. Perry, the journal’s co-editor, for this initiative. As part of the MoU, SANPA President Professor Habib Zafarullah and Honorary Member Professor Ahmed Shafiqul Huque will be on the editorial board effective from January 2024, while SANPA General Member Professor Aisha Azhar has become the Executive Editor.

Several SANPA members, Professor Prabhat Datta, Professor Ahmed Shafiqul Huque, Professor Alex Brillantes, Professor Noore Alam Siddiqueee, Dr Saltanat Janenova, Dr Lalthansanga C. attended the Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH) Conference 2023 held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 17-19 May 2023. The theme of the conference was Meritocracy, Integrity and Innovation. The team member held a bilateral meeting with the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Hub Dr Alikhan Baimenov. SANPA and ACSH leaderships expressed their interest in more vital collaboration to advance comparative public administration studies and research in Central, East and South Asia regions.

The International Public Policy Association (IPPA) has awarded Dr Shahjahan Bhuiyan the 2023 Transition and Developing Economies Award for his contribution to the development of the field of Public Policy and/or Public Administration in a developing/transition country context. https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/award/transition-and-developing-economies-award/18

SANPA Vice President Professor Akhlaque Haque has been selected to receive an award for his contributions to the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). Dr. Haque is a professor of political science and public administration at UAB. ASPA has invited Haque to receive the award at its 2023 annual conference, which will take place March 20-24. The Donald C. Stone Service Award was created to honor members who have made significant contributions to society.

SANPA Honorary Member and Professor Emeritus, K-State, USA Dr. Krishna K. Tummala recently visited India and gave lectures at BMS COLLEGE OF LAW, Bengaluru, on Corruption in India: Lessons Learnt and Missed, at Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru on Public Personnel Systems in India and the USA.

SANPA partner South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), North South University, organized a book launching ceremony for the following two books- Public Financial Management System in Bangladesh: A Review from a Governance Perspective and Insights on Trust, Inclusiveness, and Governance in South Asia. SANPA Honorary Member and SIPG Adviser Professor Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman authored the first book, and the second is a collaborative effort by SIPG faculty members and students. Mr. Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh, Dr. Nomita Halder ndc, Managing Director, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), and Professor Ishtiaq Jamil, University of Bergen and SANPA General Member commented on the books. Professor M. Ismail Hossain, Pro Vice-Chancellor, North South University, presided over the program. Several general members and EC members of SANPA also attended the event.

NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SOCIETY OF INDIA conferred the prestigious Mohit Bhattacharya Lifetime Achievement Award-2022 on Professor Prabhat Datta, SANPA EC Member, for his outstanding contribution to the public administration discipline.

SANPA Vice-Chair, Professor Akhalque Haque, was honored as chief guest on the program on women’s rights as part of celebrating World Human Rights Day on 10 December 2022 at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kashipur, India. As a Senior Fulbright Scholar, Professor Haque is now on an academic visit to IIM, Kashipur. Professor K M Baharul Islam, IIM, Kashipur Professor and SANPA Founding Member, is seen with him.

Held on 5 December 2005, the meeting discussed some important issues to advance the objectives and aspirations of SANPA and SIPG and eventually agreed to adopt a joint-action plan for 2023. Under the joint action plan, both organizations planned, among other activities, to host an international conference, conduct research and publish a research journal. The SANPA team included in the meeting: Professor Habib Zafarullah, University of New England and SANPA Chairperson; Professor Ahmed Shafiqul Huque, University of McMaster and SANPA Honorary Member; Professor Ishtiaque Jamil, University of Bergen and SANPA Honorary Member; Dr. Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, SANPA Secretary-General. The members of the SIPG team were: the Director, Professor Sk. Tawfique M Haque; Asso Professors Dr. Rizwan Khair and Dr. M Mahfuzul Haque; Asstt. Professors Dr. Hasan M. Baniamin and Dr. Akram Hossain.

SANPA Chairperson and Honorary Members visited SANPA Secretariat at SIPG, North South University

SANPA and South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), North South University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 23 June 2022. SANPA Chairperson Professor Habib Zafarullah and SIPG Director Professor Sk. Tawfique M. Haque represented the respective side. SANPA Treasurer Dr. Mahfuzul Haque and EC Member Dr. K M Kabirul Islam were present. At the same time, Professor Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman, Adviser, SIPG, Professor Syeda Lasna Kabir, Professor Rizwan Khair, Professor Mahfuzul Haque, and Dr. Hasan M. Baniamin joined the event on behalf of SIPG. A good number of public administration academics were also present. Both SANPA Chair and SIPG Director expected that the partnership would deliver tangible results in public administration and governance research and advocacy. Professor Habib Zafarullah appreciated the Director, SIPG, for his keen interest in forging the partnerships.

Professor Habib Zafarullah, Chairperson, SANPA, had a meeting with the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Pro Vice-chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan. SANPA Treasurer Dr. Mahfuzul Haque, EC Member Dr. K M Kabirul Islam, and Secretary-General Dr. Mohammad Mizanur Rahman also attended the meeting.