Dear colleagues and friends,

As the year draws to a close, we would like to extend our warmest greetings to the EGPA community and express our sincere appreciation for your continued commitment, engagement, and support throughout an eventful year.

Your contributions - as scholars, practitioners, students and partners - are essential to EGPA’s vitality and to its role as a key platform for public administration scholarship and practice in Europe and beyond. It is through this shared dedication that EGPA continues to grow, renew itself, and strengthen its community.

Our strategy to strengthen and revitalise study groups is well underway. By 20 December 2025, we had received an impressive 38 proposals for new study groups and panels from 24 countries. This strong response highlights the vibrancy, vitality, and productivity of the EGPA community - bringing together new voices alongside highly motivated senior and early-career researchers.

Looking ahead to 2026, EGPA remains firmly committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for academic exchange. As part of this commitment, EGPA will make available €15,000 in Travel Grants to support PhD candidates and early-career researchers participating in the EGPA Annual Conference in Rome and related activities, including the PhD Symposium. In parallel, additional seed funding will be made available for PSGs to support mid-term projects and new initiatives, marking necessary steps in the ongoing institutional and financial reforms.

In 2026, EGPA will also deepen its international cooperation through the organisation of a Transatlantic Dialogue (TAD) in Rome, in partnership with ASPA, further reinforcing EGPA’s role in fostering global exchange in public administration. EGPA is also pleased to confirm that the President of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) will participate as a keynote speaker at the EGPA 2026 Conference in Rome.

Important organisational developments are underway, too. The recruitment of a new EGPA Executive Secretary is progressing, following a strong response with 39 promising applications from across the world, with the appointment expected in January. At the same time, EGPA is advancing a renewed communication strategy, aimed at strengthening visibility and engagement across platforms, alongside the launch of new initiatives within PSGs to further support scholarly collaboration.

As we prepare for EGPA 2026 Conference, these initiatives collectively reflect our shared ambition to strengthen EGPA’s organisational foundations, support its community, and expand opportunities for collaboration and participation.

We thank you once again for your trust, your engagement, and your valuable contributions. We look forward to continued collaboration and to welcoming many of you in Rome next year.

Wishing you a warm end of the year and a happy, healthy, and productive 2026.

Sincerely,

The EGPA Steering Committee

Sabine Kuhlmann

(President)