Transfer between
Science and Practice
Barrier breakers are people in public administrations who, with their interdisciplinary skills, help to enrich the routines of public administration with new working methods. They do this despite the seemingly inconquerable administrative roadblocks, hierarchical and highly formalized organizational structures, and linear decision-making paths. On this page we present our research results about these barrier breakers for the scientific community as well as for the interested professional audience.
Professor Dr. Ines Mergel is full Professor of Public Administration - Digital Governance at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz and Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (Class of 2018).
After working at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Doctoral Fellow and Postdoctoral Fellow (2002-2008), Professor Mergel worked at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Syracuse University, NY) first as an Assistant Professor (2008-2014) and then as an Associate Professor with tenure (2014-2016).
Professor Mergel is a member of the editorial boards of Government Information Quarterly, Public Management Review, Information Polity, Australian Journal of Public Administration, and Digital Government: Research and Practice.
Professor Mergel is a founding member of the international initiative "Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age", which aims to integrate digital literacy into the teaching and training of administrative staff.