Dear friends and colleagues all over the world,
Are we entering a new era post COVID-19? The reality of the workplace has drastically changed with an accentuated digital transformation. So did our mindsets and behaviors, ever more focused on the management of crises, decision making in uncertain times, reprioritization of people’s issues, economy, environment, etc. However, COVID-19 was only one element of influence during 2022. Droughts, floods, snowstorms, wars, other pandemics, elevated voices of political advocates, especially the populist type, were some of the other influencers, to name a few.
We now live in a world that is a far cry from the way our ancestors lived and behaved. It goes to confirm Heraclius famous adage that "the only constant in life is change." And indeed, constant change has been the lot of how IIAS has progressed since inception in 1930. We have been evolving with the changes within ourselves and all around us. We have progressed from our starting point as an organization composed from European countries to an internationally inclusive multi-organization with a diverse membership. We have contributed to the practitioners and academic arenas and impacted the lives of so many people around the world with the thought leadership brought forward. In constantly changing, we were driven by one thing that kept unchanged, namely academic freedom and the unfettered pursuit of truth. We will always keep to that in the future.
Over the years, we have built on our strengths and developed our means to better serve by developing strong evidence-based discourses around public interest and equity throughout the world. The aim is to influence administrative practices through value-based practices of rule of law, good governance, transparency, etc. Being a professional organization entails that we stay committed to inclusiveness and leaving no one behind. We are professional academics and practitioners within the overall realm of administrative sciences.
Despite facing huge logistical and financial challenges like many other international organizations, we find ourselves at the end of 2022 ever stronger with a robust financial situation and renewed dynamism across the network. Indeed, while others were struggling to cut losses during the pandemic, we managed to generate a surplus during the two Covid years (2020 and 2021) and almost back to a normal level of activity for 2022. This was possible thanks to the strong leadership of the Council of Administration and the industrious planning and diligent implementation of the small but strong secretariat. Administrative agility backed by strong financial accountability were key to enable us to cruise through the crisis.
Moving forward, we are revisiting our regulations, governance structures and our services to be more client oriented. Our 5-year strategy, currently in preparation, will take us to the 100th year anniversary which we will celebrate in 2023. We value our past, but we have to plan for a different future. We have an ongoing dialogue within our large community to spur diverse thinking and manage our vulnerabilities innovatively. The aim is to develop new ideas, innovations, better services, and a new future.
Dr. Ra’ed Ben Shams
IIAS President
