2011 Leonard D. White Award

The Leonard D. White Award is given for the best doctoral dissertation completed and accepted during the past two calendar years in the field of public administration. Supported by University of Chicago.

Award Committee: Mary E. Guy, Chair, University of Colorado, Denver; Carl W. Stenberg, III, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Neal Woods, University of South Carolina

Recipient: Amanda M. Girth, Ohio State University

Dissertation Title: “Accountability and Discretion in the Age of Contracting: When and Why Do Public Managers Implement Sanctions for Unsatisfactory Contract Performance?”

Citation: This research is extraordinarily germane to the theory and practice of public management. Girth tackles the subject of accountability in contracting relationships with a focused, well-designed study. Her results illuminate managers’ decisions surrounding if, when, and why contractors are sanctioned for noncompliance. These decisions have a profound impact on the quality of services delivered to citizens and on the accountability of contractors to the public interest. The dissertation contributes to our understanding of how managerial discretion, burdensome sanctioning processes, and dependence on poor performing contractors combine to create complexities in accountability in third party governance.