The article examines Herbert Simon's notion of a "design" science and discusses its applicability to the field of public administration. Public administration, as a design science, exists at the nexus between the inner and outer environments of public organizations. As such, it integrates and synthesizes theories and propositions from other disciplines including the behavioral sciences, the system sciences, and the natural sciences. In addition to being concerned with descriptive aspects of the field, public administration scholars must be willing to prescribe, to design, and to redesign public sector systems. A framework for assessing design opportunities is developed, and questions raised by this approach are addressed.
Public Administration Review has been the premier journal in the field of public administration research and theory for more than 75 years, and is the only journal in public administration that serves academics, practitioners, and students interested in the public sector and public sector management. Articles identify and analyze current trends, provide a factual basis for decision making, stimulate discussion, and make the leading literature in the field available in an easily accessible format.
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Public Administration Review
© 1989 American Society for Public Administration