Our research program
The research conducted in the doctoral program aims to clarify two questions that form the core of our research program:
- What constitutes good administration?
This section examines the dimensions of good administration and how they can be measured. - What promotes good administration?
Here, we are interested in which factors can facilitate or hinder good administration and how significant their respective influence is.
The eight topics of the research program are derived from these two questions.
Topic 1: Conceptualization of good administration
Assessing the quality of administrative action necessitates a precise conceptualization of good administration and the identification of appropriate evaluative benchmarks. Multiple theoretical frameworks within administrative sciences offer relevant perspectives, notably public management theory, street-level bureaucracy research and principal-agent theory. Additional analytical foundations emerge from jurisprudence, economics, social science and psychological research on behavioral patterns. The present research examines, refines, and applies these diverse approaches to establish an interdisciplinary synthesis that advances both national and international scholarship on Good Administration across disciplinary boundaries.
Topic 2: Good governance for greater sustainability
Doctoral projects in the field of sustainability should examine how sustainability strategies can be developed with the participation of citizens and public authorities. They should also aim to identify suitable indicators for measuring the success of these sustainability strategies.
Topic 3: Good administration and subordinate legislation
The concept of „good administration“ also evaluates the connection between lawmaking and the enforcement of said laws. Hence the role of “sub-legal rules” like regulations (Rechtsverordnungen), statutes (Satzungen) and nonlegislative rules (Verwaltungsvorschriften), their creation, use and effects come into focus here. Firstly, in the context of the making and application of law the vital role of interagency nonlegislative rules for the implementation of laws in federal multilevel governance is scrutinized. Secondly, we will evaluate the quality of sub-legal rules as an expression of delegated rulemaking, especially of regulations, under the lens of the new institutional economics and by way of the principal-agent-theory.
Topic 4: Administrative culture in transition
Administrative culture shapes administrative action. How does administrative culture affect employees' personal preferences, their perception of good administration, and processes and leadership?
Topic 5: Digital interfaces in financial management
The interfaces between the tax administration and taxpayers in Germany have only been partially digitized to date. What concepts exist for digital interfaces between taxpayers and tax authorities? What is their constitutionality and compliance with EU law? What requirements arise from data protection?
Topic 6: Artificial intelligence in administrative work
Digital transformation is currently one of the key issues in public administration. AI tools for automated processing and decision preparation play an important role in this context. How does the implementation of artificial intelligence affect the well-being of employees? What impact does AI have on the work of employees?