The Accountablity in African Public Policy and Administration conference organizing committee is pleased to announce that the 2026 conference will tke place in Nairobi, Kenya, July 15-17, 2026, at the Nairobi Campus of the United States International University-Africa. This will be the fourth annual convening.  

James Madison University, United States International University-Africa and the University of Pretoria invite you to 

The 4th Accountability in African Public Policy and Administration Conference AAPPACon'26 

"Advancing Multi-Stakeholder Synergies for Public Accountability and Integrity in Africa."

Public accountability and integrity remain central pillars of demoractic governance and sustainable development in Africa. Although it is not a one-off event but an ongoing process, accountability is the means through which citizens (should) demand for responsible actions and delivery of satisfactory services from those in public and private offices. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 emphasises the role of strong institutions and citizen participation as critical to the continent’s transformation. Similarly, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has highlighted the importance of broad-based stakeholder engagement in strengthening governance norms. Yet, significant challenges persist in translating these normative commitments into concrete practices, with public accountability remaining a critical governance deficit in Africa. This is evident in the lack of public services to citizens. Where available, the quality of public services to citizens is poor, and inequality exists between the haves and have-nots. Engagements between multiple stakeholders—including government, civil society, the private sector, and international actors—are imperative and should take centre stage in demanding for transparency, accountability, and efficient service delivery in the public service in an era marked by complex  governance challenges and increasing.

Against this backdrop, the Department of Political Science at James Madison University in the US, the United States International University-Africa in Kenya, and the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria in South Africa will co-host the 4th Accountability in African Public Policy and Administration Conference under the theme 'Advancing Multi-Stakeholder Synergies for Public Accountability and Integrity in Africa', which will explore and engage with innovative approaches, theoretical frameworks, and empirical insights that strengthen public accountability, promote integrity, and foster collaborative governance across Africa. The conference, in its fourth year, is supported by JMU’s Research Economic Development and Innovation (REDI) and the African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Centre (AAAD). The conference will bring together actors from various sectors, including academia, government and the broader public sector, civil society and other actors and practitioners to exchange views and deliberate on these matters. We, therefore, invite proposals for papers and poster presentations that address but are not limited to the themes outlined in the following broad tracks.

Tracks

We invite submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Public sector accountability and anti-corruption strategies
• Institutional integrity and ethical governance
• Citizen engagement and participatory governance
• Multi-stakeholder partnerships in policy design, implementation, and monitoring
• Transparency in public finance and procurement
• Role of technology in enhancing accountability
• Regional and comparative perspectives on governance in Africa
• Case studies of successful integrity initiatives
• Challenges and opportunities in cross-sector collaboration
• Whistleblowers’ protection and public accountability
• Diaspora citizenship and public accountability in Africa
• Rise of Gen Z’s and its implications for governance and public accountability

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Abstracts should be no more than 300 words, clearly outlining the research question, methodology, and key findings or arguments.
• Submissions should clearly indicate the specific Track(s) of the proposed paper
• Full papers (optional at abstract submission stage) should be between 5,000–8,000 words, formatted according to APA style.
• Submissions must be original and not under review elsewhere.

Important Dates:
• Extended Abstract Submission: April 15, 2026
• Notification for extended submission: April 30, 2026
• Full Paper Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026 [for publication consideration]
• Conference Dates: July 15-17, 2026
• Location: United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

Target Audience:

Academics, researchers, policy makers, civil society leaders, and practitioners working in governance, public administration, development studies, law, and related fields.

Submission Portal:

Please submit your abstracts and papers via the Accountability conference email address at aappacon@jmu.edu

Contact Information:

For inquiries, please contact the conference organizing committee at: Email aappacon@jmu.edu

The Accountability in African Public Policy and Administration conference organizing committee is pleased to announce that the 2026 conference will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, March 16-18, 2026, at the Nairobi Campus of the United States International University-Africa. This will be the fourth annual convening.

In February 2025, the Department of Political Science, James Madison University (JMU), and the Center for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, successfully hosted the 3^rd Accountability in African Public Policy and Administration conference at the 15^th AAAD conference at JMU in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The conference saw participation from academics from across 15 African countries, Europe, Canada, and the United States presenting over 60 papers in plenaries, breakout sessions, and a special ethics workshop. The annual Ambassadors’ panel featured the Botswana, Kenya, and Zambian Ambassadors to the United States. The high-ranking diplomats contributed to the discussion on corruption with a focus on land as freedom, means of productivity and a challenge for governance in the respective countries and, by extension, the entire continent of Africa. The keynote speaker, Prof. Mwenda Ntarangwi, Vice Chancellor of the United States International University-Africa (USIU) in Nairobi, Kenya gave remarks on the importance of Africa’s academic institutions in the continent’s anti-corruption fight. Through autoethnography, Vice Chancellor Ntarangwi expounded the problem of corruption from micro to meso to macro levels and elaborated how higher education, policy makers and the public could make a difference. Through a strategic partnership with the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), a special panel of the Mandela Washington Fellowship program alumni from Botswana, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, and Uganda represented the more than 7,200 past program participants and discussed how the panelists are working to fight corruption in their respective countries. Though the JMU campus was closed due to inclement weather, some undergraduate students actively participated in the Government Accountability Panel that discussed the US Government’s accountability work in Africa.

The conference was sponsored by JMU’s Research Economic Development and Innovation Division (REDI), African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Center (AAAD), Department of Political Science, JMU. 

The call for papers for the 2026 annual conference is announced as follows: