John M. Bryson

Areas of Expertise

Public leadership; policy entrepreneurship; strategic management of public and nonprofit organizations; project management; collaboration; government and nonprofit organization innovation and reform; design and management of public participation processes

Biography

John M. Bryson is McKnight Presidential Professor of Planning and Public Affairs in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He works in the areas of leadership, strategic management, and the design of organizational and community change processes. He wrote the best-selling and award-winning, Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 3rd Edition (2004), and co-wrote with Barbara C. Crosby the award-winning Leadership for the Common Good, 2nd Edition (2005). He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Prof. Bryson has received many awards for his work, including four best book awards, three best article awards, the General Electric Award for Outstanding Research in Strategic Planning from the Academy of Management, and the Distinguished Research Award and the Charles H. Levine Memorial Award for Excellence in Public Administration given jointly by the American Society for Public Administration and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Management Review, International Public Management Journal, American Review of Public Administration, and Journal of Public Affairs Education.

From 2004 to 2008 he was associate dean for research at the Humphrey Institute. From 1998 to 2000 he was director of the Institute's Master of Public Affairs degree; from 1997 to 2000 he was collegiate program leader for the University of Minnesota Extension Service; from 1997 to 1999, he was director of the Institute's Reflective Leadership Center; and from 1983 to 1989, he was associate director of the University's Strategic Management Research Center. He has consulted with a wide variety of governing bodies, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit corporations in North America and Europe.

He holds a doctorate and master of science degree in urban and regional planning and a master of arts degree in public policy and administration, all from the University of Wisconsin.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Selected Writings

• What To Do When Stakeholders Matter: Stakeholder Identification and Analysis Techniques

• Applying Large-Group Interaction Methods in the Planning and Implementation of Major Change Efforts

• Putting the Resource-Based View of Strategy and Distinctive Competencies to Work in Public Organizations

• The Design and Implementation of Cross-Sector Collaborations: Propositions from the Literature