Benjamin Brunjes

Benjamin M. Brunjes is an Associate Professor at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He is a public management scholar whose research is focused on how to design and implement complex forms of modern governance, including contracts, grants, and collaborative networks. Ben is currently working on research related to contract design, sustainable purchasing, small businesses, and contractor performance.

In the popular media, Dr. Brunjes has been featured on National Public Radio (Marketplace and All Things Considered), USA Today, National Geographic, the Seattle Times, The Conversation, Le Devoir, and CNBC, among others.

At the Evans School, Ben teaches Introduction to Public Policy and Governance for undergraduates; Managing Politics and the Policy Process and Managing Public Grants and Contracts for MPA students; Public Management and Organizations for Ph.D. students; and Policy Leadership in the Executive MPA.

His most recent research has been published in Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, Public Administration, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, International Public Management Journal, Journal of Emergency Management, and Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, among others.

From 2021-2023, he served as a policy fellow at the U.S. Small Business Administration, advising on ways to make federal contracts more accessible to small firms. Before pursuing a career in academia, Ben worked at the Homeland Security Institute (HSI) in Arlington, Virginia from 2007-2013 analyzing emergency management and national policy implementation. Prior to his time at HSI, Ben worked on the Technology Insights team at the Advisory Board Company in Washington, D.C., where he focused on Medicare reimbursement, profitability, efficacy, applicability, and marketability for implantable cardiac devices. He also has served as the Director of the Law Enforcement Development Center at the Performance Institute in Arlington.

Dr. Brunjes holds a B.A. in American Politics from the University of Virginia (2005), a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Information Systems and Informatics from the University of Maryland (2010), an MPA (public policy analysis and public finance concentrations) from the University of Georgia (2012), and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia (2016). Originally from Charlottesville, VA and Empire, MI, he currently resides in Lake Forest Park, WA.