Person
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Portrait of Yuan Cheng
Details
Yuan
Cheng
Associate Professor
243 Humphrey School
Currently reviewing Ph.D. applicants
Currently reviewing PhD applicants
Expertise
Department
Leadership and Management Area
Areas of Expertise
Public management; nonprofit and NGO management; civic engagement and public participation; collaborative governance; local government

    About

    Biography

    Yuan (Daniel) Cheng is an Associate Professor and McKnight Presidential Fellow at the University of Minnesota. Professor Cheng will take a sabbatical leave in Spring 2025 and serve as a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford Gradel Institute of Charity and a visiting professor at the School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University.

    Professor Cheng's research focuses on a range of theoretical and managerial questions at the nexus of governance, government-nonprofit relationships, co-production, and the distributional and performance implications of cross-sector collaboration. He is particularly interested in how government agencies, nonprofits, and citizens interact in joint public service provision, and the performance implications of alternative service provision mechanisms. In close collaboration with governmental and community organizations, Dr. Cheng is embarking on new research directions to examine the implementation of evidence-based practices in government, the policy impacts of academic research, and how to design more inclusive public sector grant-making programs.

    Professor Cheng has received many awards and recognitions for his work, including the ARNOVA Best Conference Paper Award, the Felice Davidson Perlmutter Best Paper Award, The ARNOVA Emerging Scholars Award, and the E-PARCC Best Collaborative Public Management Teaching Simulation Award. His Public Administration Review article on the changing role of nonprofits in public service provision is listed as the Highly Cited Public Administration Review Article and Web of Science Core Collection Highly Cited Paper. His work has been supported by the Ostrom Research Award, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Faculty Interactive Research Program, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Research Fund, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

    Education

    PhD in Public Affairs (Indiana University, 2017)

    MA in Philanthropic Studies (Indiana University, 2013)

    BS in Environmental Science (Zhejiang University, 2010)

    Cheng, Y., Deng, S., Li, H., Banamah, A., and Parra, M. “Towards a Better Use of the Voluntary Failure Theory: A Systematic Literature Review and a Future Research Agenda.” Accepted at Administration & Society.

    • Awarded the 2022 Felice Davidson Perlmutter Best Paper Award of the ARNOVA Theory, Issues, and Boundaries Section

    Xu, C., Cheng, Y., Wang, S., Merrick, W., & Carter, P. “Evaluating Use of Evidence in US State Governments: A Conjoint Analysis.” Online First at Public Administration Review.

    Cheng, Y., Thompson, L., Wang, S., Xu, C., Marzec, J., Merrick, W., & Carter, P. “Understanding the Use of Evidence-based Practices by Civil Servants in U.S. State Governments: Current State, Challenges and Pathways Forward.” Online First at Public Administration Review.

    Ma, J., and Cheng, Y. (2024). “Why do some academic articles receive more citations from policy communities?” Online first at Public Administration Review.

    Rigolon, A., Owusu, R. O., Becerra, M., Cheng, Y. D., Christensen, J., Connolly, J. J., ... & Espiricueta, A. (2024). “Advancing green space equity via policy change: A scoping review and research agenda.” Environmental Science & Policy157, 103765.

    Cheng, Y., and Hung, C. (2024). “Assessing the Societal Impact of the Nonprofit Sector: A Meta Analysis.VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 35, 397–410.

     

    Humphrey School News

    Exploring Government-Nonprofit Relationships Through Spending on Local Parks

    Read more Humphrey School News

    Research Updates

    Read about Cheng's latest research 

    In the Media

    Yukon's Nonprofit Sector is Booming. Is That a Good Thing?
    CBC News, Canada, 03-11-2020

    Read more In the Media

    Teaching Case and Simulations

    Dirtzu, B., and Cheng, Y. (2020). “Advancing Social Equity for the
    Minneapolis Parks Board: How Could Organizations with Divergent Goals Work
    Together?” - Winner of the E-PARCC Best Collaborative Public Management Teaching Simulation Competition.

    Headshot

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