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PAM Articles 
Public Information in Government Organizations: A Review and Curriculum Outline of External Relations in Public Administration
MORDECAI LEE
PAM, Vol. 5 No. 4,
(2000)
External relations in public administration encompasses the use of information outside the boundaries of a government agency to accomplish administrative purposes. It is integral to the conduct of public administration, whether as a specialized activity or as an approach held by the agency’s leadership. However, the contemporary curriculum in public administration education pays little attention to external relations. With the rapid expansion of the digital age and the information explosion, the importance of managing informational relationships in the 21st century is certain to increase. Public administration practitioners and educators need to broaden their scope of attention to embrace external relations.
External relations can accomplish many different management goals and can be planned to reach specific audiences. Once a government manager has analyzed an external relations challenge and identified the purpose and audience involved, then the techniques for such an effort can be selected from standard menus available to the practitioner.
