Who are pracademics?

by Maria-David Evans

Three things everyone should know about pracademics…

      1.   Pracademics are folks who are committed to formally applying a duality to their profession complimentarily combining the best of both worlds: from academia and as a practicing public servant.

      2.   Pracademics are lifelong learners, continually enriching and improving their work, as public servants, through formal academic study and/or instruction. The corollary is also true: pracademics are academics continually improving their academic proficiency through engaging in actual public sector practice.

      3.    Pracademics excel as both public sector leaders, integrating theory into their practice and as academics enriching their academic knowledge through the application of practical experience.

Three myths about pracademics...

Myth #1:  Pracademics is the label given to former public sector leaders, who when they can’t do it any more…. teach it! 

The reality:  There is immeasurable value in formally undertaking knowledge transfer throughout the public service through this path. Decades of public sector leadership experiences being passed on to public service practitioners trying to improve their capacities and striving for excellence, should be celebrated.

Myth #2:  You can’t do both: work full time at a responsible public sector job and simultaneously  undertake lifelong learning through formal studies and/or instructing in an post-secondary setting. 

The reality:  Over 90% of my MBA students work full-time as did I throughout my career: 32 years of continuous university studies (with occasional lecturing and teaching). And with today’s institutional flexibility there are a huge range of options for incorporating lifelong learning.

Myth #3:  The term Pracademics is associated exclusively with Universities. 

The reality:  Many Pracademics either attend and/or teach at technical institutions or colleges, where instructors are specifically hired for their ability to provide practical experience combined with the theory, study and research about a specific public sector practice (eg. law, communications, human resources, etc.).   

Want to read more about pracademia?  Continue the conversation through Dr. Jared Wesley's post, "What is pracademia?" and Tracey O'Reilly's discussion of living the pracademic life.

Are you a pracademic?  IPAC Edmonton is building a stronger pracademic network and culture in Canada through initiatives like this blog.  Share your story by commenting below, and join in the discussion!

After 45 years of public service, Maria David-Evans retired from the Government of Alberta in November of 2011, where she had served as Deputy Minister since 1997 having held the DM posts in the departments of: Family and Social Services; Alberta Learning; Alberta Infrastructure; Children's Services; and Aboriginal Relations. Before joining the GoA, Ms. David-Evans built her public service career with the City of Edmonton having held senior positions in the departments of: Community and Family Services, the Planning Department and concluding her 31 year career as General Manager of Edmonton Parks and Recreation. As a lifelong learner and an obvious Pracademic, Maria attended university for 32 years and now teaches Public Sector Leadership at the University of Alberta's School of Business to MBA students. She is also an avid lifelong community volunteer and presently sits on 6 boards.

What is pracademia?

by Jared Wesley

Three things you need to know about pracademia...

1.    Pracademia is a culture – a network of people who appreciate the benefits of solving real-world challenges by combining practitioner and academic perspectives.  While often associated with governance (political science, public administration, and public service), pracademia is not confined to these fields.

 2.    A pracademic is someone whose work as a practitioner draws heavily on academia, or whose academic work is closely connected to the practitioner’s world. Pracademics may work within either community, move back and forth between them, or straddle the divide.    

3.    Pracademia allows practitioners to get off of the dancefloor and onto the balcony, while allowing academics to get out of the balcony and onto the dancefloor.  Both communities benefit from a more holistic perspective.

Three myths about pracademia...

Myth #1:  The gulf between academics and practitioners is too wide.  Critics argue that academics (and their research findings) are too esoteric and divorced from actual practice, while practitioners’ work is bereft of any connection to theory, evidence, or rigorous research. 

The reality:  Both sides have a long way to go to make their work relevant to the other, but the work starts at home.  Academics must acknowledge the benefits of grounding their research in real-world evidence, and practitioners must be more receptive to allowing academics direct access to their day-to-day environment.  By the same token, practitioners must recognize the value of taking an academic approach to evidence-based decision-making, while academics must make their research more accessible to people outside their discipline or subfield.  


Myth #2:  Neither side has anything meaningful to offer the other.  

The reality:  Pracademia makes academic work more relevant, anchoring applied research in real-world problems and grounding theory in real-world experiences and evidence.  Pracademia also provides academics with new avenues for research, new venues for knowledge dissemination, and new paths for career development.  For practitioners, pracademia supports the push for evidence-based practices and innovation, and the desire for career growth and learning.


Myth #3:  Building pracademic networks is too difficult.

The reality:  Pracademic networking has never been easier.  Technology allows pracademics to connect through blogs (like this one), Twitter (#pracademic), and Flipboard.  Organizations like IPAC host events to facilitate face-to-face connections.  Secondments, internships, funding programs, scholarships in residence, professional graduate degrees, university courses, post-graduate certificate programs, associations, symposiums and workshops, journals and presses, and other institutions also exist connect the academic and practitioners’  worlds. 

Want to continue the discussion on pracademia?  Join Maria-David Evans and Tracey O'Reilly.

Jared Wesley serves as Director of Federal-Provincial Relations for the Government of Alberta, adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, adjunct professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba, and Academic Chair of the Institute for Public Administration Canada (IPAC), Edmonton Regional Group. Find him on LinkedIn, Twitter (@ipracademic), and Flipboard.