Professor Richard M. Walker receives lifetime achievement award in public administration
Lingnan University's Professor Richard M. Walker has been awarded the Routledge Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM). He is the first scholar from Hong Kong to receive this honor.
Professor Richard M. Walker, Head of the Department of Government and International Affairs and Lee Shau Kee Foundation Chair Professor of Public Administration at Lingnan University, has been presented with the Routledge Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM). The award recognizes his sustained dedication and significant contributions to the field, marking him as the first scholar from Hong Kong to receive this distinction.
Lingnan University President Professor S. Joe Qin congratulated Professor Walker on the accolade, highlighting his integration of computational social science with public management research. Qin also noted Professor Walker's establishment of the Governance and Bureaucracy Lab (GOVBUR Lab) at Lingnan, which explores emerging challenges such as the effectiveness and governance of artificial intelligence in the digital age.
Professor Walker expressed his honor at the international recognition. He believes that a key factor contributing to the award was a replication project he led, which examined the applicability of Western public administration theories in Asia. The project was funded by several research grants and aimed to develop updated theoretical frameworks grounded in empirical findings from Asian contexts.
Beyond refining traditional theories, Professor Walker has also utilized big data to analyze extensive literature, identifying Management Innovation (MI) in public service as an independent field of study. He is currently co-authoring a book on this topic with a professor from Rutgers University, slated for publication by Oxford University Press.
To enhance Lingnan University's international influence, Professor Walker founded the GOVBUR Lab. This initiative focuses on dynamic issues including citizen-government relations, AI, and governance efficacy, and seeks to establish partnerships and academic exchanges with leading global universities.