ICDG has implemented a comprehensive, targeted public management training program for the next generation of China's municipal and provincial government managers. The annual training program provides the professional knowledge and skills that managers need to make China's governments more efficient and responsive to citizens and businesses.

This training program contributes directly to better public management of subnational governments across China, improving Chinese citizens' quality of life and business environment. In this way, the project contributes to the ongoing democratization and development of China as well as increases the mutual understanding between China and the United States.

Our Experience

Since 1999, ICDG has managed joint training programs in China that have been attended by more than 500 junior and senior public managers in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Qinghai. These programs are taught by University of Georgia faculty members and public administration practitioners from around the state in partnership with Chinese administrative institutions.

Each training program has two parts. The first is composed of short courses taught in China that include core public management topics such as

• public management,
• human resource management,
• public budgeting and finance,
• local government productivity,
• administrative law,
• public policy analysis,
• planning,
• governmental-nongovernmental relationships, and
• program evaluation.

In addition, specialized courses requested by partner institutes have been offered, including e-government, local economic development, environment policy, leadership, crisis management, and the impacts of the World Trade Organization (WTO). For the second part of the program, participants travel to the United States for two additional weeks of training. During these trips, they meet with public managers and government officials as well as representatives of the private and nonprofit sectors around Georgia and in Washington, D.C.

Through these training programs, ICDG has enriched the professional knowledge and development of public managers in China. Many program participants have already moved to higher positions in provincial and city governments. The programs have become highly valued by the participants, their sponsor organizations, and the partner institutions.

Our Partner Institutions

The training programs are provided jointly with administrative colleges or institutes found within each province or municipality. These institutions work closely with the personnel bureaus and organizational departments of the municipalities and provinces to meet government training needs. These institutions of higher learning are primarily attended by the younger public managers who are most likely to move into higher public service positions during their careers.

A Growing Need

Requests from Chinese institutions for the type of training ICDG provides are numerous and growing. Our current partners are pleased with the program's impact and want additional training programs. In preparing for the 2008 summer Olympics, the Beijing municipal government is eager to offer its public managers professional training in democratic/market-oriented public management. Beyond Beijing, ICDG has received requests from all the provinces in which the center has provided training. ICDG also has received requests from new partners—Gansu Province, Yunnan Province, Ningxia Province, and Hainan Province. The center's attention is now turning to western China; municipalities and provinces there are facing the greatest challenges to political, social, and economic development.

Other Programs in China

ICDG also has completed a three-year program to improve public administration education and outreach in Shanghai. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the project brought together the University of Georgia, the Shanghai Administration Institute, and Fudan University. Essentially a faculty-exchange program, the partnership sought to build capacity in Shanghai to provide both pre-service and in-service training and education to future and current public managers.

ICDG also has provided special-topic training. Two such programs with the Shanghai Administration Institute focused on community development and governmental training techniques. Additionally, in 2005, ICDG launched a new internship program that brings higher-level officials from the Sichuan province to the University of Georgia for about three months, and then places them within Georgia state or local government offices for two to three months.

Internship Program

ICDG has been developing its internship program with China. University of Georgia undergraduate students—two students in 2005 and four students in 2006—received summer internships for the Sino-American Joint Training Program. The students spent two weeks in China as members of the training program delegation. The students were able to gain both an understanding of what is involved to make the Joint Training Program work and the value of international collaborative efforts as they helped the program coordinators organize the agenda for the training and interacted with the municipal officials.

[China 2007 Summer Internship Guidelines and Application]

Exchange Programs with China

ICDG hosts numerous visiting scholars, students, and government officials each year. This is part of the ongoing academic and practical exchange between ICDG and our partner institutions. The exchange covers several disciplines with a focus on public administration.

China Hub on UGA Campus

In addition to its China activities, ICDG also has gradually developed into a “China Center” at the University of Georgia. ICDG has coordinated or participated in numerous China-related academic assistance programs, practical projects, and activities across the campus. Examples include a public budgeting and finance training program with the School of Public and International Affairs, a media training program with the College of Journalism's Cox Center, and a new HIV prevention program with the College of Public Health.

Database of Chinese Expertise

In 2005, ICDG, with the support of the University of Georgia's Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, compiled a database of University of Georgia faculty and staff members who are active in China. This database shows that activity is spread widely through the university, and in many cases, two or more departments are working with the same university or in the same city or province. This information is used by the university and others in Georgia as they work to deepen ties between China and Georgia. The database also allows those across the university engaged in China to easily get to know one another, network, and develop new strategic initiatives for the university.

[Photos from the China program]