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Annual Conference of the UK Association for Public Administration (UKAPA) 2026

Dates: Wednesday 9^th September to Thursday 10^th September 2026 plus Doctoral Colloquium Tuesday 8^th September 2026

Venue: Manchester Metropolitan University, Dalton Building, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD

Conference Theme:

Building on last year’s conference which considered the future of public administration, this year’s theme is ‘Defending Public Administration in theory and practice’.

This theme is chosen considering recent impacts on UK public administration, both domestically and globally. Recent years have witnessed international shifts away from accepted modes of working in public administration, such as collaboration. Scholars have described a contemporary era of ‘turbulence’ (Ansell et al., 2023) and related populist attacks on established ideas of processes and conventions in public administration such as attempts to decry bureaucracies and the importance of checks and balances. Prominent populist figures also seek to undermine trust in governing institutions that threatens the roles and practices of public administration organisations.

Public administration has further been threatened by issues of industrial relations in some public services focused on pay and conditions that have resulted in strike action despite a renewed appreciation of public services during the pandemic. Equally, staff in public services continue to suffer from boundary spanning, overwork, voluntarism, stress and associated impacts on public administration identity.

Additionally, issues of funding and resources stubbornly remain in UK public services. Despite the growing influence of ideas such as relational public services and the widespread use of practices like co-production and value co-creation the use of metrics underpinned by New Public Management (NPM) remains prevalent in UK public services, such as healthcare, education and policing. Indeed, the UK Government has recently championed the use of such performance management indicators

This two-day conference provides a space for academics, researchers, and doctoral students engaged in public administration research across disciplines as well as practitioners working in and in collaboration with public services to debate defending public administration in theory and practice.

Link to conference website: UKAPA 2026

Early bird registration deadline: 9^th July 2026

Conference Dinner

On Wednesday 10th September there will be a conference dinner in the Dalton Building. Join us for food, drinks and a chance to relax and chat with other conference attendees. The ticket includes a 3-course dinner and ½ bottle of wine or soft drinks per person.

University Accommodation: Archway Halls is our newest student residence, available to book for a minimum of a 2-night stay. Please use the drop down list in the ticket options to select how many nights you would like to stay and add this to your basket, along with your conference ticket - see below note when adding more than one ticket to your basket. Please ensure you specify the dates you wish to stay when completing the registration details.

Archway Halls is approximately 5-10 minute walk to Dalton and offers en-suite accommodation with a shared kitchen and dinning area. There are 8 bedrooms in each flat.

Hotels: If you would like to enquire with our hotel partners, please send an email to [email protected] and we will send you a document containing preferential rates and how to book.

PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to purchase more than one ticket, i.e a day ticket and a dinner ticket; please add your conference ticket to the cart first, complete the registration details and before selecting 'view cart', add the second ticket. You won't need to complete the registration details again. When you select 'view cart', both tickets will be available to purchase.