The Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-Net) is an international network of professionals concerned with the advancement of public administration theory. The Network publishes the quarterly journal Administrative Theory & Praxis (ATP). ATP evolved from the Network's original informal publication called Dialogue.

PAT-Net provides a unique forum to discuss ideas in public administration and policy. It is to some extent a counterbalance to mainstream theoretical approaches including the economistic view of administrative reform that is occurring throughout the world. The Network held its first conference in 1988 but has been in existence in one form or another for more than 30 years. It was started in 1978 by a group of scholars in U.S. public administration who were seeking an alternative venue to develop and talk about their ideas.

From its inception, members of the Network have been independent in their writing and have sought to maintain a critical distance from mainstream public administration. The Network does not have a collective identity, but members do share in common the idea that public administration is as much about the social construction of society as it is about the administration of public services.

Amongst the membership, there is not only great concern for the means of administration but also for the ends, i.e., the effect of public programs on people's lives. Those in the Network are also interested in how research is conducted in the discipline and what views of human nature and knowledge are embedded in a particular public administration theory.

Most affiliated with the Network are academicians although there are a fair number of active administrators. Over the past few years, the membership has become more international, with members representing Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America.

For more information, please read Michael Harmon's wonderful history of PAT-Net.