Kenneth W. Foster is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at UBC. Last year he completed a doctoral dissertation (Cal Berkeley) that examined how business associations emerged in China between 1978 and 2001. He has published articles related to this in The China Journal, Studies in Comparative International Development, and Chinese Public Administration Review.

In his talk, Professor Foster will present the first results of his new research project on the politics and processes of governmental innovation in China. The paper on which the talk is based analyzes an innovative administrative reform experiment carried out in the city of Yantai. It also discusses several key processes and agents involved in governmental innovation in contemporary China.