Challenges of the administrative consultation wiki research project as a learning and competences development method for MPA students

Article
Teaching Public Administration
Challenges of the
2015, Vol. 33(3) 273–291
ª The Author(s) 2014
administrative
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DOI: 10.1177/0144739414557856
consultation wiki
tpa.sagepub.com
research project
as a learning
and competences
development method
for MPA students
Polonca Kovacˇ and Janez Stare
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
Administrative Consultation Wiki (ACW) is a project run under the auspices of the
Faculty of Administration and the Ministry of Public Administration in Slovenia since
2009. A crucial component thereof is the involvement of students of Master of Public
Administration (MPA) degree programs to offer them an opportunity to develop
competences in relation to problem-based learning. ACW has been established as a
research project to resolve complex problems in real administrative procedures’ prac-
tice. This article explores the results, hitherto missed opportunities and further chal-
lenges of MPA students’ integration in ACW as a learning method for MPA graduates,
based on the analysis of their expectations and achievements in 2013 and with special
regard to the development of Tuning generic competences. According to the results
of the study, the ACW project can be considered a role model in terms of both content
and methodology, necessary for work in PA practice, learning and research.
Keywords
administrative
consultation
wiki,
competences,
mpa
degree
program,
public
administration, problem-based learning, research
Corresponding author:
Polonca Kovacˇ, University of Ljubljana, Gosarjeva 5, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia.
Email: polonca.kovac@fu.uni-lj.si

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Teaching Public Administration 33(3)
Introduction
Administrative Consultation Wiki (ACW) (2013) is an innovative applied research
portal designed by the Faculty of Administration (FA, Faculty) of the University of
Ljubljana and the Ministry of Public Administration (Ministry) in 2009, and is ever since
upgraded within the relevant legal, administrative and information sciences. The purpose
of ACW is to help citizens, businesses, NGOs and authorities resolve their legal
dilemmas in administrative procedures through a Web 2.0 approach. The students of
Bologna’s second cycle (postgraduate) degree program participate in ACW in order to
strengthen their general competences, particularly problem-solving and interdisciplinary
research skills, resulting in enhanced employability and better work performance.
When designing and delivering postgraduate degree programs in and for public
administration (PA), several specific characteristics need to be considered. Teaching and
learning must be closely combined with research in terms of acquiring original new
scientific findings and knowledge. The latter applies to both teachers/lecturers and to
students, especially if participating in mid-career Master of Public Administration
(MPA) programs, in which they enhance their knowledge of theory and undertake
applied empirical studies. PA as an interdisciplinary discipline has become an integrated
science, requiring researchers and students to address administrative problems from
legal, organizational, managerial, economic, political, sociological, and other points of
view, simultaneously. The FA has combined all these and other aspects into a single
solution by involving postgraduate students in research work using an approach known
as problem-based learning. The first aspect is the acquisition of the relevant problems
from administrative practice. The second, most important in terms of development of
students’ competences, is finding the relevant solutions by means of research.
This article analyses the MPA students’ involvement in ACW as a learning and
competences development method based on a survey conducted in the summer of 2013
among approximately 70% of students involved in ACW from 2009 to 2013, who
responded to the survey based on the Tuning model of generic competences. By gen-
eralizing the findings, they can be shared as a good practice globally.
Linking PA practices to research as part of degree programs
Special characteristics of the study of PA in research and degree programs
PA as a discipline and professional field has its own unique features. One of the most
important is its interdisciplinary nature, which demands a synergetic connection of
different sciences and disciplines – from law and politics, sociology, organization and
management and economics to information science, psychology, etc. – in order to
achieve the coordination of different interests in society (cf. Raadschelders, 2011: 181;
Wright, 2011: 96). An interdisciplinary treatment of PA is essential because the
approaches of individual disciplines in complex social situations are not sufficient for the
understanding of these situations. The common denominator of administrative activity is
that it is not an end in itself (Pavcˇnik, 2007: 577). PA is always a professional and
indispensably holistic activity, enabling the implementation of the basic public policies.

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Kovacˇ and Stare
275
PA is therefore not only a productive activity but a necessarily creative one (Kovacˇ and
Virant, 2011: 30). It contributes to the value of overall progress of society, since its main
characteristics include constancy, a systematic nature, and initiative. For this reason, both
the work in PA and the relevant research and degree programs must be interdisciplinary
(Schuppert, 2000: 46). The latter is the main thrust of European and worldwide accred-
itation schemes since it underlines the multi- and interdisciplinarity of PA degree pro-
grams (Van der Krogt and Reichard, 2012: 1–10, cf. Hajnal, 2003: 245–258).
Important for the research framework in PA is the addressing of administrative
problems in the context of administrative science (German Verwaltungswissenschaft) or
PA as an autonomous scientific discipline (cf. Schuppert, 2000: 41; Wright, 2011: 98). In
such a context, the position of PA as a study field and research scientific discipline is
inevitably closely related to the understanding of PA as a social subsystem and the role of
the State and its administration within the society. A scientific, research-based approach
based on universally recognized theories generates the new knowledge necessary to
address complex issues (cf. Nemec et al., 2012: 19). If we were to study PA without a
research method, we could only redefine existing solutions rather than creating new
ones. The subject of administration science or PA as a discipline from the research point
of view is, above all, PA as a social subsystem and a pillar of the administrative level of
public governance in the sense of the implementation of institutional public policies
(Godec et al., 1993: 5–12; Raadschelders, 2011: 12–41). PA researches administrative
institutions, agencies and officials, structures and forms, and the function of administra-
tion where PA is treated simultaneously as authority and organization. The purpose of
research in the field of administration science, with various normative and empirical
methods (cf. Pavcˇnik, 2007: 31), is to identify key administrative phenomena and
improve the implementation of public policies through effective and democratic PA.
Through research, administrative science fulfils its functions, which range from the
cognitive and doctrine-related to the creative function, enabling the development of new
forms, modes and solutions of administrative operations. The latter is essential because
PA and the nature and content of administrative law, as the principal formal framework
for its operation, change relatively quickly as a result of radical social changes, even in
terms of fundamental principles where they also assume the logic and mode of operation
of the private sector (more in Peters and Pierre, 2005; cf. Kovacˇ et al., 2012: 26). For this
reason, alongside regulations, participants in administrative relations also make use of
additional resources (cf. Pavcˇnik, 2007: 371), that is, knowledge-providing legal
resources such as interpretative websites, including ACW. The whole process is sup-
ported by the development of IT that enables e-participation (more on the most success-
ful e-government projects, e.g. those based on Web 2.0, in Klein, 2008). In this way, too,
PA develops – through the doctrine of good administration – into a less top-down author-
itarian system where networking and partnerships are formed between the holders of
authority in administration and the addressees of authoritative acts or the users of public
services (cf. Bevir, 2011: 289; Rusch, 2011: 5–6; Statskontoret, 2005). The development
of PA in the sense of good administration is a prerequisite for political and economic
performance, hence the considerable recent increase in PA research and degree study
program developments (cf. Hajnal, 2003: 252; Raadschelders, 2011: 3).

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Teaching Public Administration 33(3)
Competences in MPA degree program developed following PA’s needs
The development of the society places new demands on employees. PA as an employer does
not expect from its employees merely knowledge in an individual field of work, but also the
willingness and the ability to use this knowledge in an appropriate manner. Employees are in
fact expected to adequately develop all those competences which are a condition for an
effective work performance. This also has a significant influence on education since uni-
versity faculties need to define, in cooperation with employers, degree program objectives,
expected results,...