University of Massachusetts President Robert L. Caret has appointed Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) a distinguished professor.
Fountain is a world-renowned expert on using technology to improve government services and accountability: She founded the National Center for Digital Government and has served as chair and vice chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government. Fountain is also highly regarded in the United States for her research on innovative and effective governance structures.
“We are honored to have Jane as a faculty member at the Center for Public Policy and Administration,” said Kathryn McDermott, CPPA’s acting director. “Jane is a world-class researcher, but also makes a point to convey that research to people in the trenches. She is committed to using her findings to ensure that governments around the world make information more openly accessible to their citizens.”
Long before Fountain had a leadership position at the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Government, she was considered a global expert on the subject. Her 2001 book, Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change, was translated into Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. She has worked with governments and research institutions at the World Bank, United Nations and European Commission, as well as in Japan, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile, Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
More recently, Fountain’s expertise has been employed closer to home. In 2012 Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed her to his Council for Innovation, which advises the governor on opportunities to use technology to streamline delivery of services to people, businesses and local governments. Fountain is also an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent body that helps government leaders build more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent public sector organizations.
At UMass, Fountain directs the National Center for Digital Government and heads the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, both of which are based at CPPA. The National Center was created with support from the National Science Foundation to develop research and infrastructure for the emerging field of information technology and governance. The Science, Technology and Society Initiative conducts multidisciplinary research on the intersection of science and technology with today’s social, political and economic issues.
Before coming to UMass in 2006, Fountain was a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She earned her Ph.D. in political science and organizational behavior from Yale University; a master of education in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University; and a bachelor’s degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music.