Erik W. Johnston is an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and the director of the Center for Policy Informatics in the College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University. He is also a senior sustainability scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability.
Professor Johnston’s research focuses on policy informatics, the study of how computational and communication technology is leveraged to specifically understand and address complex public policy and administration problems and realize innovations in governance processes and institutions. His research explores how our governance systems can evolve to address increasingly complex challenges, and to meet the rising expectations of people to be full participants in their governance systems, what changes we need to make in technology, processes, institutional capacity and social norms to realize that future. For example, stakeholders are becoming more diverse, unequal, vocal and polarized, which will require the development of effective solutions, including creative approaches to collaborative governance, participatory decision-making and the ability to identify and mitigate the causes of social and environmental conflict. Urbanization and climate change are anticipated to increase societal challenges related to human-environment interactions, particularly with respect to environmental health and natural hazards. Reducing health and infrastructure vulnerability to current and future threats requires innovative, interdisciplinary approaches integrating basic and applied natural and social science in a framework that not only provides stakeholders with new evidence to support effective decision-making, but also accelerates the identification of the next series of important questions that research must address.
A dedicated action researcher, Professor Johnston leads the team at ASU that is studying how people come together to collaborate, using 10,000 Solutions, a university-wide challenge platform to propose answers to every problem from education to human rights. He is also the driving force behind the ASU Policy Challenge, an ideation contest for contributing policy suggestions to the White House.
1. Assessing how models and simulations can aid individuals and groups when making policy choices 2. Understanding the dynamics of policy decisions for building and sustaining collaborations in civic, business, and academic contexts 3. Analyzing the influence of central-remote office arrangements and communication delay on technology supported work groups 4. Applying complex systems methodology and theory using agent based modeling as a complement to traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods
Spring 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
HSD 590 | Reading and Conference |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
HSD 592 | Research |
HSD 598 | Special Topics |
HSD 692 | Research |
HSD 784 | Internship |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
HSD 790 | Reading and Conference |
AML 792 | Research |
HSD 792 | Research |
HSD 795 | Continuing Registration |
HSD 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 300 | Public Management and Admin |
FIS 351 | Public Management and Admin |
HSD 590 | Reading and Conference |
HSD 592 | Research |
SOS 592 | Research |
HSD 692 | Research |
HSD 784 | Internship |
HSD 790 | Reading and Conference |
HSD 792 | Research |
AML 792 | Research |
HSD 795 | Continuing Registration |
HSD 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
Spring 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
SER 580 | Practicum |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
SOS 592 | Research |
SOS 596 | Capstone: Scientific Paper |
HSD 598 | Special Topics |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
AML 792 | Research |
Fall 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 300 | Public Management and Admin |
SER 580 | Practicum |
SOS 592 | Research |
AML 792 | Research |
Spring 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
AML 792 | Research |
Fall 2016 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 300 | Public Management and Admin |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
AML 792 | Research |
Spring 2016 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
ASB 484 | Internship |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
AML 792 | Research |
Fall 2015 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 300 | Public Management and Admin |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
AML 792 | Research |
Spring 2015 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 591 | Seminar |
AML 790 | Reading and Conference |
Fall 2014 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PAF 300 | Public Management and Admin |
PAF 591 | Seminar |