The Adequacy of MPA Course Content in Preparing Local Government Managers

Abstract

Due to the retirement of the baby boom generation, many individuals, in a relatively short period of time, will need to be trained and educated to step into local government senior leadership positions. The paper examines the question of whether Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs are doing an adequate job of preparing the next generation of local government managers. The critical competencies needed by city managers are identified using existing data, supplemented by new data resulting from a Delphi study using a panel of top practitioners and scholars in the field. These competencies are then compared to the content of curricula of MPA programs with a concentration in local government. The analysis identifies 118 individual competencies important to effective local government management. The majority of these competencies are similar to those that are important to business and Federal agency managers. MPA programs with a concentration in local government provide good coverage of competencies associated with administration, legal/institutional systems, and technical/analytical skills. There is less coverage of competencies associated with ethics, interpersonal communications, human relations, leadership, group processes, and community building.

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