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Nebraska delegates participate in professional exchange with Norway

Participants of the exchange program.

Omaha – During the past eight years, local government administrators from Nebraska and Norway participated in a professional exchange. This program was inspired by the work of Robert Blair, Ph.D., UNO School of Public Administration and Dag Olaf Torjesen, Ph.D., Agder University in Norway. Blair worked with the Nebraska City/County Managers Association to enlist qualified local government administrators to participate in the program.

In August 2018, five representatives from Nebraska traveled to Norway representing the University of Nebraska at Omaha, NMCA and their respective communities. Four of these individuals are city administrators or managers in Nebraska, three of which have ties to the UNO School of Public Administration: Silas Clark, city administrator, City of Hickman, and Chris Anderson, city administrator, City of Central City, are graduates of the MPA program; Jeff Hofaker, city administrator, City of Sutton, is a graduate student in the MPA program.

They, along with Blair and the other delegate, participated in tours of several municipalities and discussions with mayors, council members, administrators, special advisers, department directors, and university personnel in the communities of Kristiansand, Arendal, Sogne, Songdalen, and Lyngdal.

In each Norwegian community the participants interacted with leadership and saw examples of projects involving higher education, performing arts, economic development, marketing, and the consolidation of municipalities. The key topic was the consolidation of multiple communities for better effectiveness, an activity instructed by the country’s parliament. This process is happening at the same time as the current system of government continues to operate. The deadline for these transitions is January 1, 2020. The Nebraska delegates were able to learn about the process and interact with leaders who are responsible for completing the process by the fast-approaching deadline.

This exchange of professional experience and academic knowledge between Nebraska and Norwegian leaders is a very important and vital program in order to provide the growth and betterment of creating effective, future leaders for our communities.”

 Robert Blair, professor, School of Public Administration

While technology has redefined the way business and government activities occur on a day-to-day basis, the best way to build relationships, understanding, and trust is still by face-to-face interaction. The exchange program was created to bring together leaders in the field of public administration and educational institutions to create a stronger understanding of how perceived differences can create similarities and even mutually beneficial improvements for government systems and educational processes. In the larger picture, an exchange creates a way to bring about discussion of differences and similarities, with an overall alliance toward the betterment of society in our communities.

“This exchange of professional experience and academic knowledge between Nebraska and Norwegian leaders is a very important and vital program in order to provide the growth and betterment of creating effective, future leaders for our communities,” said Blair.

The next visit to Norway will be in 2022. A delegation of Norway administrators will visit Nebraska in 2020.

The current participants are active working administrators because of their experience in the field, but the hope is to expand this hands-on, learning experience to students in both Norway and Nebraska who are pursuing public administration careers.

Adapted from Being Agents of Change for Nebraska and Norway, by Jeff Hofaker, ICMA News, Nov. 26, 2018.