Portrait of Evan Micheal Foster
Evan Micheal Foster
Systems Builder for Organizations | Built from how things actually work, not how they’re supposed to

Research by Evan Foster

I write and conduct research on governance, financialization, public administration and organizational structure. My work focuses on what happens when institutions say certain things matter but never give them real authority, durable records or a place to stand inside the structure.

I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield. My doctoral research examines financialization and resource distribution in public institutions, especially the point where financial measures become the main authoritative ledger for organizational decision-making.

That problem reaches well beyond one sector. Public institutions, nonprofits and private organizations are often expected to protect multiple forms of value at the same time, including service quality, staffing capacity, long-term resilience, learning, equity and external impact. But when only one system has formal authority, those other forms of value are easier to delay, harder to defend and more likely to lose ground when pressure builds.

My research is interested in what that does to decision-making, overload, resource distribution and institutional behavior over time.

Current Research Focus

My current work examines how financialization shapes governance structure and resource allocation in public institutions. I am especially interested in the conditions that allow one system of value to dominate organizational decision-making even when institutions are being asked to produce much more than financial performance alone.

That includes work on:

This research also informs the development of Integrated Value Architecture, a five-ledger governance architecture built to address the structural failure that develops when one system becomes the default authority for every important decision.

Working Paper

Beyond Financial Dominance

Beyond Financial Dominance examines the consequences of financialization across sectors and the conditions that keep reinforcing it.

Available on SSRN

Research Profiles

ORCID
0009-0005-8361-2495

SSRN
Beyond Financial Dominance on SSRN

For broader background and personal context, visit the About page.

For articles, essays and public-facing writing, visit the Writing page.

For a clearer professional profile tied to my name and location, visit the Evan Foster Springfield, Illinois page.