Dr. Chul Hyun Park, Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, has focused much of his research on open and collaborative governance between government and non-state stakeholders, also known as e-governance.
Two of his recent research articles on the topic have been published in Public Performance & Management Review, while his previous work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed academic journals, including New Media and Society, Evaluation and Program Planning, International Review of Administrative Sciences, International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, and Disasters.
Park’s efforts in e-governance include research on emerging technologies that enable multiple actors across the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors to effectively communicate and collaborate with one another to collectively resolve complex social problems like disasters and crises.
“We live in the digital era,” Park said. “Thus, it is essential for the government and citizens to communicate and collaborate with each other through information technology for diverse public service purposes.”
Recently, Park served as a moderator at the American Society for Public Administration where he presented his research article on an assessment of emergency information sharing between the government and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article, “Assessing Emergency Information Sharing between the Government and the Public during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Open Government Perspective,” written with Dr. Robert C. Richards, Jr. of the Clinton School of Public Service and Dr. Justin Reedy from the University of Oklahoma, was published in a recent edition of Public Performance & Management Review, an academic journal that showcases research on the performance of public and nonprofit organizations, advancing theories on public governance, public management and public performance.
In the article, Park, Richards, and Reedy explore how governments provide emergency information on the pandemic to the public, how the public provides input to the government, and how the government and the public work together to respond to the pandemic. Their research showcases a study focused on the Oregon Citizen Assembly on COVID-19 Recovery and the Oregon State Government’s pandemic response activities. Utilizing a mixed-case study method, their research found that ordinary citizens were overall satisfied with pandemic information provided by the state government, but they reported that they did not have sufficient opportunities to share their input with the government, and that online mini-publics can serve as a meaningful and deliberative forum for civic participation during pandemics.
Another recent article by Park and Dr. Koomin Kim of Geumgang University, “Exploring the Effects of the Adoption of the Open Government Partnership: A Cross-Country Panel Data Analysis,” also published in Public Performance & Management Review, looks at the lack of empirical research that examines the effects of open government.
Park and Kim rigorously test the democratic and administrative effects of open government, focusing on a global initiative known as the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Using longitudinal data from the Center for Systemic Peace, the United Nations, and the World Bank, and employing a panel data analysis based on a fixed effects model, the study examines whether OGP adoption in national governments has reduced government corruption and improved government effectiveness across countries.
In addition to leading the development of the Clinton School’s online degree program, Park teaches Field Research Methods, Data Analysis, and Program Evaluation. Prior to joining the Clinton School, he worked for the School of Public Affairs and the Center for Policy Informatics, both at Arizona State University. Park received a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Arizona State University and a Master of Public Policy from Georgia State University.
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