On December 3rd, under the sponsorship of JDS, a Meiji-ICU Joint Seminar was held at Meiji University. Several professors participated in the seminar. Both 1st and 2nd year JDS fellows at ICU joined the seminar.

In the morning, there was a student session. Students were divided into four groups according to research topics, including 1) Public Policy and Public Administration; 2) Economics System and Corporate Governance; 3) Disaster and Environmental Management; and 4) Economics and Public Finance. Each group had two commentators, one from ICU and another from Meiji University. Five 2nd year fellows from ICU and six from Meiji gave presentations at the seminar. Other fellows joined groups according to their interest and positively engaged in the discussion. As one of the presenters, I not only got the chance to communicate with other students about my research, but received valuable comments from professors as well, which will be very important for my future research.

During the afternoon, we had an Open Seminar on "Co-production in Public Services". Professor Tony Bovaird from the University of Birmingham gave us a lecture on "User and Community Co-Production of Public Services – Going Beyond Consultation and Participation." Professor Elke Loeffler, Chief Executive of Governance International, used a great number of case studies to explain to us what public service co-production is, why we need to do it and how we could do it. After the lectures, we discussed with professors about the current situations in developing countries and thought about how we could make public services become co-productions in our own countries.

Through this seminar, I developed friendships with JDS fellows from Meiji University, exchanged ideas with other JDS fellows, and received comments from professors. Moreover, I came to a deep understanding of the new concept of co-production in public services. I believe we all benefited from this seminar and the knowledge we gained from this seminar will be very useful in our future careers.

WU Yin

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1st Joint JDS Meiji-ICU Seminar

Choosing a topic for a research paper is already a "hard nut to crack" undertaking. Thus, it is recommended that one look for a topic that interests and challenges you and decide on a subject that you can deal with. This means, as much as possible one has to avoid topics that have only a very constricted range of source materials. At the end of the day, your stance towards the topic may well ascertain the amount of exertion, sweat and enthusiasm you put into your research. Not only that, the role of the adviser is apparently noteworthy too. One has to acquire the support and approval of his adviser for the topic before going on to full-scale research. If you are vague and unsure as to what is expected of you in completing the job or project, re-read your project piece carefully or ask your adviser. These are all what I realized when I was starting to write my first research proposal for a master’s education.

Presenting the initial output of your research before a quality audience composed of scholars, experts and professors from various significant disciplines is even more challenging. You certainly can’t just take your preparations as a piece of cake if you want your research directions to be a sure-fire plan.

Last December 03, 2011 was a significant event in my academic career at International Christian University as a student for a master’s in education. I was invited to present the initial output and future directions of my thesis together with other JDS scholars from both Meiji University and ICU. That was the first joint conference initiated for JDS scholars in our course to finalize the focus and directions of our respective research papers. Five of us from ICU and seven from Meiji dared to rack our brains and rush to complete something for that presentation. Each was challenged to really put his/her best foot forward.

I can remember how I got cold feet before I started talking about my presentation but my confidence remains solid since I knew that at that time I brought the necessary tools to make my presentation worth being listened to. I knew I had chosen a topic that really interests and challenges me. I knew I had the support of my adviser. I knew I had some significant data gathered during my field research in the Philippines last summer. I knew I still had a lot to do to make the meat of my paper more up and running; this is why presenting the initial output of my paper before this crowd was an opportunity to solicit advice from scholars and experts in order to refine the directions of my thesis. I knew I would be able to get worthy advice from various disciplines to make the meat of my paper more focused and a more reliable source of additional reference on personnel motivation and management, not only for local government units but for all government workforces in general.

Another major part of the conference’s agenda was the introduction of the concept of "co-production". The ideas presented are theoretically awesome as "co-production" is believed to improve the quality of local services or improve the quality of life outcomes of service users and citizens. A number of interesting questions had been asked by the participants about the concept but the application aspect of the concept remains a little bit cloudy and scarce especially for developing countries. I think that would be the next challenge "co-production" needs to face. The old adage “If it works before, there’s a possibility that it might also work now” might still be true. But this doesn’t mean too that what best works in this community may also be effective and operational for another community, considering a clear constellation of diversity of experiences and colors of people.

To sum up, the event was successful. I for one can verbally argue and confirm that it indeed was a sure-fire endeavor. I highly recommend that this must be institutionalized as an annual event. I hope the next time this will be conducted, more scholars will be invited and challenged to make presentations as a required assignment for us to determine at the early stage of our research writing if we are really doing the right thing for our paper. This will prevent time and efforts being wasted. I salute the people behind this wonderful concept!

Elric M. Batilaran