自1949年成立以來，公共行政和發展(民發組織)一直在審查和評價地方、區域、國家和國際各級的公共行政實踐，其目的是管理中低收入國家的發展進程。它特別注意調查公共政策制訂和執行的所有階段的管理情況，這些階段的利益和重要性超越了一個特定的政府和國家。PAD對公共行政實踐和管理研究之間的聯系特別感興趣，并為報告新經驗和實驗提供了一個專業和學術論壇。PAD還出版關于非政府組織部門發展管理研究的文章。它被包括顧問、捐助者和政策顧問在內的學術界和實務界廣泛閱讀。由于其案例研究方法，它也經常用于教學和培訓目的。

Since its founding in 1949, Public Administration and Development (PAD) has been reviewing and assessing the practice of public administration at the local, regional, national and international levels where it is directed to managing development processes in low and medium income countries. It gives special attention to investigations of the management of all phases of public policy formulation and implementation which have an interest and importance beyond a particular government and state. PAD has a particular interest in the link between public administration practice and management research and provides a professional and academic forum for reporting on new experiences and experiments. PAD also publishes articles on development management research in the NGO sector. It is widely read by academics and practitioners alike, including consultants, donors and policy advisers. With its case study approach, it is also frequently used for teaching and training purposes.