- Phone:
- (812) 855-6509
- Email:
- dmalates@iu.edu
- Research areas:
- Public Management
- Areas of Interest:
- Cross-sector collaboration
- Relational Contracting
SPEA 227
Education
- Ph.D., Public Administration, University of Georgia, 2007
- M.P.A., Public Administration, Rutgers University, 2003
- B.A., Political Science, Rutgers University, 2003
Courses
- Public Management (V502, V263)
- Public Program Management and Contracting (V654)
- Research Methods and Statistical Modeling (V370)
- Public Policy Problems and Solutions (V185)
Biography
Dr. Deanna Malatesta joined the Public Affairs faculty at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 2007. She received her Master’s in Public Administration from Rutgers University-Camden and her doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Georgia. She has published numerous works on contracting, public management, and governance, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and professional reports. She is the recipient of the 2011 William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award for the best article by an academician in Public Administration Review, the field’s flagship journal.
Malatesta also has an extensive professional background in regulation and cable television franchising procedures. She has served as a telecommunications consultant for several municipalities in New Jersey and for the City of Philadelphia.
Highlights
- Quoted in Bondbuyer.com. May 20, 2026. Data Center Financing Assumptions Under Scrutiny. Story by J. Shea.
- Quoted in Chief Information Officer (CIO). May 11, 2026. Why Tech Needs Smarter Data Centers.
- Quoted in Forbes. April 24, 2026. Data Centers Are Booming; Their Contracts Could Bust Them.
- Member of The Research Forum on Outcomes in Cross-Sector Collaboration at Oxford University
- William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award for the Best Article by an Academician in Public Administration Review, awarded by the American Society for Public Administration, 2012
- Testified on Indiana House Bill 1245 regarding Occupational and Professional Licensing Reforms (2018)
- Served on Mayor Ballard’s High Performance Governance Team for the City of Indianapolis
Selected Works
- Heinrich, Carolyn, Deanna Malatesta, Eleanor Carter, Michael Gibson, Nigel Ball. (2026). Contracting for public value: New thinking for more effective, accountable and sustainable public service contracts. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780197763124
- Carter, E., Gibson, M., Heinrich, C. & Malatesta, D. (2026) A Tyranny of Metrics vs. a Tool for Learning. Exploring performance information use on the spectrum of formal to relational in outcomes-based contracts. Public Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2026.2630985
- Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. (2027). Relational contracting and the duty of good faith: Divergent judicial pathways. Public Money & Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2026.2661954
- Malatesta, Deanna and Cheema, F. (2026) Dual Anchors in the Shadow of the Future: How Renewal Expectations and Relational History Govern Behavior in Public Contracts. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 10.1093/jopart/muag010
- Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. (2026). The public sector holdup problem: How asymmetries can undermine relationship-based service delivery. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvag003
- Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. (2026). Strategic cooperation and contract design in collaborative Governance. Lessons from game theory. International Journal of Commerce and Contracting. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768829251415220
- Malatesta, D. & Siena, S. (2025). Applying Kingdon’s Streams Model to Changes in Gun Policy. Journal of Public Affairs Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/15236803251399522
- Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. (2025). Advancing resource dependence theory: Navigating power dynamics to improve public procurement. In B. Brunjes, A. M. Dimand, & A. Patrucco (Eds.), Teaching public procurement: Bridging theory and practice. Routledge (Forthcoming).
- Malatesta, D., & Siena, S. (2024). Observation and reporting: A teaching case on implicit bias and decision fallacies. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 30(4), 635-651. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2024.2389756
- Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. (2021). Novel and overlooked techniques for public management research questions. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 34(6). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-08-2021-348
- Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (6th edition), (with H.G. Rainery, S. Fernandez), Hoboken, NJ: Jossey Bass-Wiley Publishing, (2021)
- “Deciding who’s in charge: Factors driving the choice of decision rights in professional service contracts,” (with C.R. Smith), Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055563615569921 (2015)
- “Designing contracts for complex services,” (with C.R. Smith), Public Administration 92 (3) 531-548 https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12004 (2014)
- “Lessons from resource dependence theory for contemporary public and nonprofit management,” (with C.R. Smith), Public Administration Review, 74(1): 14-25. doi: 10.1111/puar.12181 (2014)
- “Race, gender, and government contracting: Different explanations or new prospects for theory,” (with S. Fernandez and C.R. Smith), Public Administration Review, 73(1): 109-120. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2012.02684.x (2013)
- “Human resources management and government contracting,” (with S. Fernandez and C.R. Smith), in Kearney, R. and Coggburn, J. D. (Eds.) Public Human Resource Management: Problems and Prospects, Sixth Edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson (2013)