https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399720911467 Administration & Society 2020, Vol. 52(10) 1516–1537 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0095399720911467 journals.sagepub.com/home/aas Article Phenomenology in Public Administration: Bridging the Theory– Practice Gap María Verónica Elías 1 Abstract Phenomenology is the study of things as they “appear” (phenomena) to us in their own terms, prior to formal conceptualization. This article traces the development of phenomenology in public administration within the larger realm of interpretive approaches. It describes applied phenomenology as developed by Ralph Hummel and discusses its usefulness in the study of public organizations and administrative practice. As a way of studying process, phenomenology allows administrators to bridge the theory– practice gap. Since understanding a situation depends on different kinds of knowledge, phenomenological epistemology fosters a more democratic public administration. Keywords applied phenomenology, experiential knowledge, situational thinking, process, theory–practice gap, public administration epistemology The work that I do, which follows along the lines of the work Ralph [Hummel] did, requires that you go out and immerse yourself in an organization and study that organization, much like a psychological anthropologist would. And that’s timely, that’s costly, it’s emotionally challenging, it requires that you are rather 1 The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA Corresponding Author: María Verónica Elías, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 W. César E. Chávez Blvd., Durango Bldg, Rm. 4.236, San Antonio, TX 78207, USA. Email: Mariaveronica.elias@utsa.edu 911467AAS XX X 10.1177/0095399720911467Administration & SocietyElías research-article 2020