SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

?

S.02-62

. ?

Senate Committee on University Priorities

Memorandum

TO: Senate

?

FROM:

John

Wate

?,cademic

Chair, SCU

Vice Presid

RE: Master's of Public Policy

?

DATE: ?

August 22,

Program Proposal

At its July 17, 2002 meeting SCUP recommended the following motion:

Motion

That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the proposal for a

Master's of Public Policy program in the Faculty of Arts as outlined in S

.Ôà.4.

Attached is the proposal from the Faculty of Arts for the establishment of a Master's of

Public Policy program. In April 2001, the Senate Committee on University Priorities

(SCUP) approved in principle the Master's of Public Policy program and development of

. ?

the program proposal commenced. Subsequently, the proposal has been reviewed by

a number of constituencies/groups including the Faculty of Arts, the Assessment

Committee for New Graduate Programs, five external reviewers and finally, the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee.

SCUP reviewed the final program proposal and relevant documentation at its July 17,

2002 meeting. The following documentation is provided here to Senate in support of

the proposal:

• Memorandum from the Dean of Graduate Studies

• Memorandum from N. Olewiler

• Timeline summary of the development of the proposal

• Program proposal document

• Library review of the resources for the program

• Reports of the five external reviewers

While the framework of the program appears to be well advanced in its development,

SCUP raised some concerns in relation to the fiscal, human and physical resources

required for this program. Specifically, these concerns included the tuition fees for the

program, the recruitment of faculty as well as program space at the Harbour Centre

campus. SCUP expects that these concerns will be addressed by the program

developers without delay and prior to the implementation of the program itself in Fall,

• ?

2003. A memorandum from N. Olewiler, providing updated information in relation to the

concerns of SCUP is provided with the materials.

---

Irrespective of these concerns, SCUP unanimously approved the Master's of Public

Policy program proposal.

In addition, there has been further support dedicated to this program from my office.

This includes $40,000 of base funding committed as of April 1, 2002 for general

administration and base funding effective March 28, 2002 for an aP4 position.

Anyone who wishes to access the course proposals for the program, which have

previously been approved by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, should contact

Bobbie Grant (3168), the Senate Assistant.

end.

c: R. Blackman, Acting Dean of Arts

J. Driver, Dean of Graduate Studies

N. Olewiler, Department of Economics

.

S

2

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SCUP 02-100

O

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

MEMORANDUM

TO: ?

Senate Committee on University Priorities

FROM: ?

Jonathan Driver, Dean of Graduate Studies

SUBJECT: Master's of Public Policy

DATE:

?

71h June 2002

Cc: ?

Dr. J. Pierce, Dean of Arts, Dr. N. Oleweiler, Economics

On the recommendation of the Assessment Committee for New Graduate Programs,

Senate Graduate Studies Committee has approved a proposal for the establishment of a

Master's of Public Policy program in the Faculty of Arts. The enclosed documentation

includes a complete program description, course outlines, library report, copies of

relevant correspondence, and external reviews.

I believe that this program provides an excellent model for the future development of

professional graduate programs at SFU. It is interdisciplinary, but has a strong set of core

courses; it fulfils a need for professional education in the community; most importantly, it

builds on the research strengths of our faculty members.

Please Note: Additional correspondence regarding the revisions that led to

the-production of the final proposal as well as the initial proposal can be

obtained from the Dean of Graduate Studies Office.

.

3

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PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM

?

AT?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

TO:

?

JOHN WATERHOUSE, VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC

FROM:

?

NANCY OLEWILER, ACTING DIRECTOR, PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM

SUBJECT: RESPONSE

TO MEMO FROM SCUP RE: PROPOSAL FOR MASTER'S IN PUBLIC POLICY

DATE:

?

9/3/02

CC:

?

ROGER BLACKMAN, ACTING DEAN OF ARTS; JON DRIVER, DEAN OF GRADUATE

STUDIES

We appreciate SCUP's unanimous endorsement of the proposal for the Master's in Public Policy

graduate program and would like to comment and provide further information on the concerns

raised by SCUP:

1.

The determination of tuition fees for the degree program;

2.

Recruitment of faculty; and

. ?

3. Program space at Harbour Centre.

Tuition Fees:

The MPP program is designed to be a partial cost recovery program. The initial

tuition fees will be proposed to the Board of Governors as $3,000 for each of the four semesters.

Fees may change over time to be competitive with Canadian programs and if the MPP program's

share of the differential fee changes. This fee was established by working backwards from a budget

that made the following assumptions:

In accordance with university policy, a portion of the tuition fees will be directed

towards coveting the program costs and a portion will be retained by the House to

cover the common costs.

• The rationale for setting fees above the standard graduate fee is as explained in the

proposal. The MPP is a professional program that will significantly enhance its

graduates' earning potential and will be competitive with similar programs across the

country. The additional revenue is required to secure teaching resources for the

program from other departments and faculties at SFU, and for operating expenses. The

fee must also be set high enough to provide a fund to cover tuition support for students

with proven financial need. The fund set aside at this fee would provide $2000 support

per semester for approximately 25 percent of the students. A detailed proposed budget

is available upon request.

0

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Faculty Recruitment:

There are 3.5 faculty positions associated with MPP: a Director (.5, funded by

the Faculty of Arts), an aP4 allocated by the Vice-President Academic, a CRC - Tier 1 to be allocated

by the Faculty of Arts, and a Senior Policy Fellow (funded by Arts, the V-P Academic, and the IvIPP).

0

• Recruitment of the aP4 position is well underway. Ads have been placed to appear in the

September 2002 issues of University Affairs, CAUT Bulletin, and a number of web job sites (e.g.,

Jobs for Economists, Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management). Letters will be

sent in early September to chairs of social science departments in Canada and MPP programs

that have Ph.D. program. The start date for this position will be September 2003.

• It is expected that there will be some CRC - Tier I allocations to the Faculty of Arts and if so,

the plan is to allocate one to the MPP Program. The Faculty of Arts is waiting for confirmation

from SSI{RCC that it will have its anticipated total number of CRCs. This seems highly likely

due to the success rate of SSHRCC researchers this past year in obtaining research grants.

• The Director's position is currently filled by an Acting Director. A Director will be appointed

once the program is approved. An internal SFU person is expected to fill the position.

• A very strong candidate has been identified for the position of Senior Policy Fellow and is very

keen to join the new program. Details on salary, terms, and a full review by the MPP

Appointments Committee of the candidate will occur shortly if the position is approved in

principle by the Dean of Arts and V-P Academic. With this core faculty allocated to the MPP,

approximately eight courses could be offered per year for the program; leaving a maximum of six

courses to secure SFU faculty to teach on a buyout.

Space at Harbour Centre:

The Dean of Arts office is working with the V-P for Harbour Centre

to secure space for the MPP at Harbour Centre. Warren Gill has indicated that MPP is on

his priority list for incremental space that will become available at Harbour Centre with the

relocations to the Segal Centre. The Faculty of Arts is planning to house its professional graduate

programs at Harbour Centre as a group, with the Master's in Publishing and Gerontology already

located there. It would also be advantageous for students and for recruiting faculty to the Program.

---

o

?

PROPOSAL FOR MASTER OF

PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM

11April

?

2001

?

Approved "in-principle" by Senate Committee on

University Priorities

08 March

?

2001

?

Approved by Faculty of Arts

06 April

?

2001

?

Received by Dean of Graduate Studies

28 June

?

2001 ?

Reviewed by Assessment Committee for New

Graduate Programs

17 July

?

2001 ?

Received revised version by Dean of Graduate

Studies

?

07 August 2001

?

Reviewed by Assessment Committee for New

Graduate Programs

?

30 October 2001

?

Sent revised version to five External Reviewers by

?

Dean of Graduate Studies

?

29 November 2001

?

Received External Reviewers' reports

(5)

by Dean

of Graduate Studies

30 November 2001

?

Sent External Reviewers' reports to Political

Science by Dean of Graduate Studies

?

09 January 2002

?

Reviewed by Assessment Committee for New

Graduate Programs

19 March

?

2002

?

Received revised version by Dean of Graduate

Studies

09 April

?

2002

?

Reviewed and approved by Assessment Committee

for New Graduate Programs

.

Assessment Conmün

g

c for New Graduate Programmes

?

2.

SIMON

FRASER UNIVERSITY

?

COV-MPPM.dac 05/07/02

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Program in Public Policy at SFU?

MPP Degree & Centre for Public Policy Research?

Proposal

Table of Contents

Tableof Contents .............................................................................................................................. 1

I. Background and General Information......................................................................................2

1.

General Information................................................................................................................2

2.

Relationship to University Research Priorities......................................................................2

3.

Governance..............................................................................................................................4

H. Academic Merit and Structural Integrity of the Program.....................................................4

1.

Relationship to Similar Existing Canadian Programs.............................................................4

2.

Admissions..............................................................................................................................6

3.

Curriculum ..............................................................................................................................7

•

?

Ill.

Adequacy of Faculty and Other Resources

..........................................................................11

1.

Faculty....................................................................................................................................11

2.

Administrative, Faculty, Library and Budgetary Needs.........................................................12

IV.

Demand for the Program from Prospective Students

.........................................................14

V.

Demand for Graduates From Prospective Employers.........................................................14

APPENDIX I -

Proposed Calendar Language

.............................................................................16

APPENDIX II-

Resumes and CVs of Contributing SFU Faculty

.............................................

20

1-.

August 1, 2002 ?

1 ?

MPP Proposal

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I. Background and General Information

1.

General Information

This proposal provides for the establishment of a new program at Simon Fraser

University - the Program in Public Policy. The Program will be housed in a proposed new

Division of Professional Programs of the Faculty of Arts.' The Program in Public Policy

(PPP) will consist of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), a Schedule A research

centre and the graduate degree of Master's of Public Policy (MPP). The PPP will bring

together existing faculty expertise from across Simon Fraser University to create a new and

innovative graduate teaching program and research centre.

The MPP is a four-semester program to be taken over two years.

2

The MPP will

emphasize the development of techniques to undertake and manage public policy analysis

and planning in public, private, and non-governmental organizations. The goal is to

produce public policy analysts and managers who can scrutinize a problem, interpret and

analyze relevant data, then evaluate alternative paths of action. This will be a professional

degree program that emphases practical application of principles and analysis from the

social science disciplines. Students will be expected to master a set of core skills in policy

analysis, politics, economics, research methods, and quantitative methods. The MPP is a

relatively unique degree in Canada.

3

Graduates will find employment in provincial and

federal governments, NGOs, crown corporations, and the private sector. As indicated by

the external reviewers, there is considerable demand in Canada for graduates with MPP and

MPA (Master's of Public Administration) training.

Subject to approval, the MPP will begin in Fall 2003. The Centre for Public Policy

Research will commence in the Fall of 2002. Expected enrollment for each cohort in the

MPP program will be approximately 20 students. Total enrollment (first and second year)

is thus expected to be approximately 40 students.

2.

Relationship to University Research Priorities

The 2000 SFU Strategic Research Plan

4

establishes ten research priority areas.

These areas were singled out due to their actual record of, or potential for, research

The Division of Professional Studies in the Faculty of Arts may also include the Master's in Publishing and

Gerontology Program. New programs may be added as they are developed.

2 The program will be discontinuous with the summer semester between the first and second year used for

employment or an internship.

The MPP has been a degree program in the United States for many years. The SFU program will have a

number of common elements with these programs. The Master's of Public Administration is the predominant

program in Canada. While the MPA has common elements with the MPP, they may differ in emphasis with

the MPP focusing more on policy analysis and the MPA on managing the policy process.

excellence, their ability to foster innovative research, their ability to promote intra-and

extra-university collaboration, their ability to create research niches within British

Columbia, and their overall ability to meet the criteria set out in the overall university

research plan. Plans for creating an MPP credential accord with the priorities established by

the SFU University Research Plan which establishes "Policy, Management and Leadership"

as one often priority areas for University advancement.

Creation of an MPP program would:

• "build upon our existing strengths and research excellence and maintain our

reputation as the best comprehensive university in Canada";

by creating a nodal

point for already existing but scattered SFU faculty expertise in areas such as

labour-markets, trade, environment, health, education, economics, housing,

immigration, land use, technology, foreign policy, national and international

security policy, international development policy, Canadian and international

political economy and other policy areas.. The creation of the Centre for Public

Policy Research would also increase the visibility of SFU faculty and research

through a research paper series, seminars, public lectures, workshops, speaker's

series, regular conference activity, and enhanced publication of policy-relevant

research.

• "support and create opportunities for the pursuit of new knowledge, discovery and

innovation";

by bringing together existing SFU expertise in policy analysis, policy

implementation and evaluation in a number of University units in several faculties,

including Criminology, Economics, Geography, Philosophy, Political Science, and

Sociology within the Faculty of Arts, Communications and Resources Management

within the Faculty of Applied Science, and the Faculties of Business and Education.

"promote strategic alliances and cross-disciplinary research within the University

and seek new collaborations with all our communities to foster intellectual, social,

cultural, and economic development in the province of BC";

by developing a

graduate level professional credential for the public and private sectors;

• "recruit and retain outstanding faculty to enhance research capacity and provide

leadership for new initiatives and key research programs";

by recruiting faculty for

an aP4 position and CRC, and providing a collegial atmosphere for research and

teaching in public policy for faculty in many SFU departments; and

• "enrich the learning experience of our students through participation in, and

exposure to, the ground-breaking research and new knowledge being generated by

our outstanding researchers so they can fully participate in the knowledge society

of the 21st Century";

through the creation of the new teaching and research

opportunities listed above.5

. ?

5

.

3. Governance

The Program in Public Policy will be a unit within the Faculty of Arts and managed by a

Director. The Director will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the

Dean of Arts and the Advisory Board of the Public Policy Program. The Director will

report to the Dean of Arts and the Advisory Board of the PPP and is responsible for the on-

going administration of the program. The Advisory Board will consist of up to 20

members. These will be drawn primarily from the Programs, Schools, Departments and

Faculties participating in the MPP program, and also include at least two students from the

MPP program (one from each year of the program), one staff member, and at least three

external members drawn from the public policy community. The Advisory Board will be

appointed by the Dean of Arts for a period of three years and will oversee the general

directions of program, including both the MPP and the CPPR. It is expected that the

Advisory Board would meet once or twice a year. A Steering Committee will be

responsible for the on-going governance of the PPP, including the MPP and CPPR. The

Steering Committee will consist of the Director, 6 faculty members from departments and

faculties that actively participate in the PPP, and 1 student. The Director, or his/her

designate will serve as the Chair of the Steering Committee. The Dean of Arts in

consultation with the Director will appoint the faculty and student to the Steering

Committee for a one-year renewable term. The Steering Committee will serve as the

Appointments Committee for the PPP. A Graduate Program Committee, overseeing the

MPP, will consist of 3 faculty members from the Steering Committee plus one student

representative from each year of the program. The Director plus the faculty members of the

Graduate Program Committee will serve as the Admissions Committee for the MPP

program. This is the committee structure that is envisioned at this time. If the PPP grows,

modifications may be made to the program's governance.

H. Academic Merit and Structural Integrity of the Program

Proposed Calendar language is set out in Appendix I. The following provides

background information and additional explanatory material.

1. Relationship to Similar Existing Canadian Programs

There are currently ten graduate level professional programs in public

administration in English in Canada, with their key characteristics indicated in Table 1

Two programs exist in Western Canada; the only current program in British Columbia is

located at the University of Victoria. SFU's MPP will share common elements with MPA

programs, but have a greater emphasis on policy analysis and relatively less on public

6 The largest French language program is located at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration Publique. It offers

an MPA and Ph.D. degree with approximately 40 faculty and over 100 students.

10,

August 1, 2002 ?

4 ?

MPP Proposal

---

policy management than the MPA programs in Canada. However, SFU MPP students will

be able to opt for public policy management courses as part of their electives.

Table I: Canadian MPA Program Data - 2001-2002

.

University!

Fit

Program

#

Institutional

Project

# of

URI.

Facult

Type/Fees

Courses

Location

students

y

Program

(total

Length

enroll-

__________________

ment)

Carleton

20

MPA/PHD

16

School of Public

No

55

under-grad

Manitoba!

5

MPA

16

Joint

?

Program

Option-

10-15

Winnipeg

through

?

Depts. ?

of

arrangement provides for continuity in the program while allowing students to maximize

their options in designing their program of courses and pursuing specific subjects of

interest. It allows a flexible, yet rigorous, program to be created at relatively little cost.

2. Admissions

The program is intended for students desiring a professional career.

Students are normally admitted to the MPP program with a four-year Bachelor's

degree. Depending upon the nature of the degree, the successful completion of qualifying

courses may be required prior to admittance to the program. While work experience will

not replace academic qualifications, admission decisions, which will be taken by the MPP

program Director and the Admissions Committee, will take into consideration both

academic and experiential qualifications.

3. Curriculum

Graduate courses will be offered in the fall and spring semesters of each year. All

students will enter the program in the fall semester and will complete seven core courses in

the first two semesters of study. In the fall and spring semesters of their second year of the

program, students will complete seven additional courses that include five electives in their

• fields of concentration and the two-semester advanced policy analysis project core course.

This course will build on the introduction to policy analysis and require the student to

produce a project that addresses a current public policy issue.

It is expected that students will be full-time due to the sequencing of courses,

particularly in the first year of the program.

8

An internship to be completed during the

summer semester between the first and second year of the program will be required. The

internship will appear as a course on student's transcript without credit hours attached to it.

A work report will be required and assessed by the Director. No project is required for the

Internship as the project component of the degree is handled in the Advanced Policy

Analysis two-course sequence. Students who have had work experience in a public policy

setting may receive advanced standing for the internship. The Steering and Advisory

Committees will help identify internship opportunities and the Director will ensure that

appropriate placements are made. The Admissions Committee, will assess an applicant's

work experience upon acceptance to the program and notify each student at this time as to

whether an internship is required or not

The core courses for the program are intended to cover the basic foundations of

policy analysis and ensure students have the requisite background in the politics and

economics of public policy making and analysis, as well as the necessary quantitative and

qualitative research skills required to undertake analyses in specialized policy fields. Once

these core courses are completed, students will choose program specializations from those

offered by faculty members seconded to the program or already offered in existing courses

•At SFU,

a

student is part-time

if

he/she takes one course or less per semester. We do not expect to admit

students who wish to take one course or less per semester.

(3.

August 1, 2002

?

7 ?

MPP Proposal

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at SFU. There will be considerable flexibility in designing one's second year of the

program. The Director and faculty associated with the PPP will assist students in accessing

electives available each year (depending on the availability of courses) commensurate with

their backgrounds and interests. Upon the approval of the Director, students may also

include advanced language training opportunities, particularly French, available at SFU as

part of their program.

Students may be granted advance credits towards their degree, following the criteria

established in the general regulations for all graduate programs.

9

The Admissions

Committee will assess each applicant's record to determine if advanced credit will be

awarded and students will be notified accordingly in their acceptance letter. In no case,

however, shall the degree be awarded with students taking fewer than 7 courses at SFU.

Nine new three-credit core courses will be created for the MPP program:

1.

Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis I and H:

A two-semester sequence that

examines the basic operation of a market economy and introduces students to key

economic concepts and techniques and how to apply them to public policy issues.

2.

Political Foundations of Policy Analysis I and

II: A two-semester sequence that

examines the structure of government in Canada and its context in the evolving

Canadian political economy, as well as the nature of the political process at the federal,

provincial and local levels. Students are introduced to the nature of the Canadian policy

process with specific attention paid to the behaviour and activities of key actors in it;

including state structures and agencies, societal actors such as pressure groups, social

movements, think tanks and other associations. Aspects of the organizational

behaviour of these actors are examined as are the formal and informal institutions and

rules which affect them in their deliberations and decisions.

3.

Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods I and II:

A two-semester sequence

that covers research techniques to include survey design, implementation and analysis,

qualitative approaches, and statistical quantitative methods for policy analysis,

including analysis of variance, and regression techniques.

4.

Introduction to Policy Analysis:

An introduction to techniques of public policy

analysis, evaluation, and simulation techniques. Group projects on current public

policy issues will constitute a major portion of this course.

5.

Advanced Policy Analysis I and

II: Advanced techniques for public policy analysis

are covered and applied to individual projects on current public policy issues. Each

student's research project is presented and critiqued by the students and course

instructors. This course will constitute the project component of the program. The

faculty teaching this course will be responsible for the supervision of the students'

Elective courses in year two will be chosen from a large list of courses offered by MPP and

other graduate programs at SFU. MPP electives will be added to the program as resources

for teaching permit. As noted above, MPP teaching will be done by faculty hired for the

program (the CRC, Policy Associate, and aP4 positions) and by purchasing teaching

services from departments and Faculties at SFU. Students will be expected to choose

electives that fit together into one or two areas of specialization. The groupings below are

illustrative of the types of specialization possible, given existing courses at SFU; other

specializations have been proposed and may be developed over time as interest and

resources dictate.'° All departments or faculties offering these courses has been consulted

and have agreed in principle to allow MPP students to take these courses if the MPP

student has sufficient prerequisites (if these exist) and there is space in the course." The

Director and faculty associated with the PPP will work with the MPP student and graduate

chairs of other programs to ensure MPP students select courses appropriate with their

backgrounds and interests. Availability of specific elective courses will differ each

semester.

1.

Governance and Public Management:

Includes courses on subjects such as

institutional and policy design; organizational behaviour; public finance, and public

administration.

BUS 831-4

BUS 836-4

.

?

BUS 8374

BUS 839-4

BUS 872-4

EDUC 8

17-5

REM

625-5

REM

644-5

REM

651-5

ECON 890-4

Industrial Relations

Human Resource Practices for Managers

Effective Leadership & Management in Organizations

Organizational Assessment and Planned Change

Seminar in Managerial Accounting

Policy Processes

Risk Assessment and Decision Analysis for Management of

Natural Resources

Public Policy Analysis and Administration

Project Evaluation and Non-Market Valuation Methods

Public Finance

2.

Local, Urban and Regional Government:

Includes courses on subjects such as city

management; regional and urban planning; and urban politics.

REM

642-5

Regional Planning I

REM 643-5 Environmental Conflict & Dispute Resolution

10 These may include such areas as

Democratic Administration -

which would includes courses on subjects

such as public participation, freedom of information and privacy, and alternative dispute resolution processes;

Administrative Ethics -

including material on the politics and philosophy of the public sphere, as well as the

moral and ethical aspects of public sector behaviour and conduct;

Political Communications - including

courses on subjects such as public relations; media relations; and surveys and polling; and

First Nations

Public Policy issues.

•

11

Discussions are ongoing with the Faculty of Business about the specific courses that might be appropriate

for MPP students.

August 1, 2002

?

9

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MPP Proposal

K.

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REM

645-5

Resource Development Communities

REM

652-5

Community Tourism Planning and Development

ECON

865-4

Regional Economic Theory

GEOG 626-4

Multinational Corporations and Regional Development

GEOG 6404

Selected Topics: Social and Urban Geography

GEOG 644-4

Regional Development and Planning

GERO 8104

Community Based Housing

for

Older People

GERO 8114

Institutional Living Arrangements

URB 630-4

Urban Development, Planning & Policy

URB 640-4

Urban Regions & Urban Change

URB

650-4

Urban Governance

URB 660-4

Economy, Land Use, and Transportation in Cities

3.

Social Policy and the Political Economy of Public Policy:

Includes courses on social

policy subjects such as the family, health, and labour markets as well as subjects such as

political economy and the state.

ECON 8814 Labor Economics

GERO 8014 Health Policy & Applied Issues in Gerontology

GERO 802-4 Development & Evaluation o f Health Promotion Policies for

The Elderly

POL

825-5

Canadian Political Economy

POL

827-5

Issues in Canadian Government and Politics

POL

856-5

Issues in Social and Economic Policy

POL

861-5

Issues in Political Development

?

WS 800-5 ?

Methodology in Women's Studies Research

?

SA

886-5 ?

Selected Problems in Social Analysis

4.

Contemporary Policy Issues:

Includes courses on a number of possible policy issues.

Two examples are shown below: environmental and resources policy and an international

policy focus. Other policy areas may include science and technology, immigration,

education and others taught by associated faculty (see Figure II above).

Environmental

&

Resources Policy

REM

613-5

Current Topics in Fisheries Management

REM 621-5 Ecological Economics

REM

647-5

Parks & Outdoor Recreation Planning

REM

649-5

Tourism Planning & Policy

REM

650-5

Energy Management and Policy

REM

652-5

Community Tourism Planning & Development

REM 65

5-5

Water Planning & Management

ECON 860-4 Environmental Economics

ECON 861-4 Natural Resource Economics

GEOG 620-4 Selected Topics: Economic and Environmental Geography

GEOG 645-4 Resource Management

GEOG 685-4 Resources, Environment and Food Production

(4,.

August 1, 2002 ?

10

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MPP Proposal

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International Policy Focus

ECON

855-4

Theories of Economic Development

ECON

857-4

Studies in Economic Development

GEOG 622-4

Theories and Practices of Development

GEOG 666-4

Geography, Development Theory, and Latin America

LAS

815-5

Latin American Economics & Society

LAS

835-5

Latin American Politics and the State

POL

843-5

Canadian Foreign Policy

POL

844-5

International Political Economy

POL

845-5

Foreign Policy Analysis

POL 846-5

International Security Studies

5.

Law and Society:

Includes discussion of the administration of justice, legal issues

surrounding regulatory processes, and state-society relations.

CRIM 810-3

CRIM 820-3

CRIM83O-3

CR1IvI 870-3

. ECON 888-4

ECON 889-4

GEOG681-4

PSYC

790-5

PSYC 815-3

REM 641-5

The Phenomena of Crime I

Criminal Justice Policy Analysis I

Law and Social Control I

Directed Readings (topics vary by semester)

The Economics of Legal Relationships

Seminar in Law and Economics

Law and the Geographies of Power

Proseminar in Law and Psychology

Mental Health Law and Policy

Law and Resources

Ill. Adequacy of Faculty and Other Resources

1. Faculty

Simon Fraser University is currently home to several of Canada's outstanding

experts in fields such as labour-markets, environment, trade, social policy, immigration,

Canadian and international political economy, policy analysis, international development

policy, First Nations, housing, land use, gerontology, communication, demographics,

foreign policy, national and international security policy, among others. SFU faculty have

authored widely used texts in public policy processes and analysis as well as within specific

policy fields. At present, this expertise is fragmented. Although many faculty members at

Simon Fraser currently teach in the areas of public policy, public administration and public

management, no specific research centre or professional degree in public policy analysis or

management is currently awarded.

1.

August 1, 2002 ?

11 ?

WP Proposal

---

Teaching resources for the program will be based in core courses offered by a

relatively small continuing faculty and the utilization of many specialized courses already

existing throughout the university. Over time, if demand for the program and its graduates

warrants, additional faculty for the PPP may be sought. Faculty areas of teaching and

research among interim Steering Committee members are set out in Figure

II below for

illustrative purposes. Brief resumes and full CVs of contributing faculty are set out in

Appendix H.

Figure II - Teaching Specializations and Research Interests

of SFU Faculty

Department or Unit Name

Faculty

Research and Teaching Interests

Economics

Arts

Microeconomic

?

and macroeconomic policy,

labour ?

economics ?

policy, ?

public

?

sector

economics, ?

resource

?

and ?

environmental

policies, education, immigration (RuM), urban

and

?

regional ?

economic

?

policy, ?

quantitative

methods for policy analysis

Political Science

Arts

Public sector management, provincial politics,

policy ?

process, ?

resource ?

and

?

environmental

policy, national and international security

policy, foreign policy, labour market policy,

Canadian and international political economy,

international development policy, comparative

public policy, urban and regional policy, and

governance

Criminology

Arts

Law and society, crime, forensics

Geography

Arts

Land use, resource policy, tourism

Gerontology

Arts

Health, aging, demography

Philosophy

Arts

Ethics, philosophy of the public sphere

Psychology

Arts

Law and society

Sociology

Arts

Demography, immigration, family and gender

policy, aboriginal policy, social policy

Resource and Environmental Management

Applied Science

Resource and environmental policy, alternate

dispute resolution, conflict management

Communications

Applied Science

Science ?

and ?

technology, ?

communications

policy, ?

industrial policy,

?

agricultural policy,

comparative ?

administration,

?

political

communications, management, media studies

Professional Programs

Business

Social policy, Canadian

?

political economy,

policy ?

evaluation, ?

microeconomics, ?

policy

process, management, human resource policy

Graduate Programs

Education

Policy ?

evaluation, ?

education ?

policy, ?

policy

analysis, policy cultures

This faculty complement is consistent with similar programs found in other

Canadian provinces (See Figure I above). With the faculty expertise currently at SFU, it is

possible to offer an exceptional program at relatively low cost and to assist in coordinating

and showcasing public policy research at SFU through the CPPR.

.

August 1, 2002 ?

12 ?

MPP Proposal

---

'

?

2. Administrative, Faculty, Library and Budgetary Needs

Library and other start-up costs for the new program will be minimal as instruction

in most of the areas covered in the program already exist in the University.

12

Allowance in

the budget for the MPP has been made for future library needs. These are expected to be

modest as much public policy material is web-based and/or already part of the acquisitions

for individual departments.

Initial faculty staffing for the program consists of a CRC-1, aP4, Senior Policy

Fellow, and course buyouts for SFU faculty from their home departments. A senior

academic position has been authorized from the University allocation of Canada Research

Chairs (Tier I renewable indefinitely). Confirmation from SSHRCC and SFU's

administration of the total number of CRCs available to Arts is required before the position

will be officially authorized. Authorization is expected in the Fall 2002. Recruiting for this

position has been on an informal basis to date, searching for potential expressions of

interest. The VP Academic has authorized aP4 position for the PPP and a support staff

position.

13

Recruiting for the aP4 commences in Fall 2002. Advertisements and a list of

venues for them have been prepared and approved by the Dean of Arts office.

Advertisements will begin to appear in September 2002. The Faculty of Arts is providing

funding for administrative release and course time for an Internal Program Director, and

funding for the Senior Policy Fellow position which will include at least a one-course

teaching load. If the Policy Fellow has a higher teaching load, additional funding will be

sought. The Policy Fellow will be an experienced public policy practitioner who will be in

. residence, teach, and be an active member of the CPPR. This will be a contract position for

a variable number of years; not to exceed five. Combined, these positions will provide a

permanent base for approximately 8 semester courses, including most of the program core

courses. The fees for the program are intended to cover course equivalent buy-outs for

existing faculty in order to cover costs associated with teaching needs for the core program

and electives that cannot be provided by other departments/faculties.

Infrastructure costs will be covered at least in part from CFI New Opportunities

grants associated with the CRC position. To help cover the costs of operating the program,

fees in excess of the regular graduate fees per semester must be charged. As noted above,

both the Dean of Arts and Vice-President Academic have provided support in the form of

faculty and staff positions, however, these are not sufficient to cover the operating expenses

of the program, nor the buyouts of additional faculty needed. This fee is required to offset

the additional costs associated with mounting a multi-faculty, multi-disciplinary program

without a large enough core faculty or base budget for salaries and reflects the additional

earning capacity graduates will attain as a result of their specialized, professional training.

A portion of the fees collected from the program will be allocated to financial assistance for

12

Approval from the Library has been received and is attached to the proposal.

•

?

13 It is expected that there may be sharing of support staff with the other programs in the proposed Division of

Professional Studies.

August 1, 2002 ?

13 ?

MPP Proposal

1'!.

---

students with demonstrated need.

14

Research assistantships with faculty associated with the

program may also be possible. The precise fee will be set as soon as final approval is

received from the Administration about the share of the fees in excess of regular graduate

fees the MPP will be able to use to run the program. It is anticipated that the fee for the

two-year (four-semester) MPP program will be approximately $12,000 or $3000 per

semester for each of the first four semesters.

V.

Demand for the Program from Prospective Students

Creation of a graduate-level professional program in public policy directly benefits

the external community. This includes local, regional, provincial and federal agencies and

Crown Corporations, as well as NGOs, think tanks, community associations, and other non-

government actors, and furthers University priorities in these areas such as those set out by

the President's Committee on University Planning and others.

15

The program will enhance

the learning experience of students through participation in, and exposure to,

groundbreaking research, and provide increased student understanding and practice of

diverse research approaches, paradigms, and perspectives.

It is expected that the majority of admitted students will be relatively recent

university social science graduates with some policy-related job experience who are

seeking to acquire specific additional skills and knowledge in order to enhance their

employment and career prospects. However, it is also expected that mid-career entrants

who are willing and able to pursue full-time study for at least one consecutive two-semester

period will also enroll in the program in order to further their training and career

possibilities.

V. Demand for Graduates from Prospective Employers

Graduates of the MPP program can expect to find employment in a variety of

public, private and not-for-profit enterprises and organizations who partake in public

policy-making in the local community, the province and the country as a whole. The

establishment of such a program will improve the capacity of SFU to train future

participants in public policy-making and management in British Columbia, Canada, and

abroad and provides obvious benefits to the University and University community in so

doing.

It is expected that there will be significant growth in the demand for public policy

analysts and managers over the coming years. The public sector (and economy as a whole)

There are no teaching assistantships available for the MPP students because the PPP does not have any

undergraduate teaching. The PPP could not impose on other departments/faculties/programs to employ its

MPP students as teaching assistants in their undergraduate courses.

15 President's Committee on University Planning, Graduate Studies and Research Discussion Paier. Burnaby:

Supplement to Simon Fraser News, October 19,

1995

August 1, 2002 ?

14 ?

MPP Proposal

---

' faces labour shortages in many areas due to demographic factors and economic growth. For

example, the

Ottawa Citizen

reported that the civil service is to hire 12,000 new employees

per year over the decade to replace retiring baby boomers.

16

The Canadian Occupational

Projection System (COPS) projects employment in senior management occupations to grow

at an annual rate of 2.2%, faster than the average for all occupations. According to this

projection, 7,770 positions will become available from 1998 to 2008. Slightly more than

half these openings will result from growth in the number of new positions, and the rest

will result from retirements.

17

The external reviewers of the MPP all noted that there

should be high demand for the MPP graduates in a variety of occupations and sectors of the

economy for most of Canada, but also in the U.S. and abroad.'8

The academic credentials for employment and promotion in the analyst and

managerial ranks continue to increase. Employment opportunities in the non-profit sector

are also significant and are expected to increase over the next decade. There are an

increasing number of opportunities in private sector organizations with an interest in public

policy issues and business-government relations.

S

16

Ottawa Citizen,

August 13, 2000, "Decade-long hiring sprees to replace retiring baby boomers".

•

18

17

Electronic

While the

data

current

available

climate

at

for

URL:

APPENDIX I - Proposed Calendar Language

MPP Program

Program Director

TBA

Faculty

TBA

This program offers the skills, insights and frameworks that public sector and non-profit

policy analysts and managers need to prepare for their careers. The program focuses on the

political and economic contexts of public policy analysis and offers opportunities for

specialized study in a number of policy areas. The program is designed to develop the

strategic and global perspective required of tomorrow's senior policy analysts and

managers. The program uses a cohort model where students take courses in the same

sequence, and encourages student interaction and co-operation. An individual research

project undertaken in the Advanced Policy Analysis course sequence is an integral part of

the program of study.

The MPP program consists of fourteen courses plus an Internship to be taken as follows:

Year 1:

Seven core courses:

Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis I and

II

Political Foundations of Policy Analysis I and

II

Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods I and H

Introduction to Policy Analysis

Summer Internship

Year

2:

Two core courses:

Advanced Policy Analysis I and

II

Five elective courses.

Admission

For admission, a student must have a bachelor's degree from a recognized university,

normally in an Arts or Social Sciences discipline. Students admitted with other credentials

August 1, 2002 ?

16 ?

MPP Proposal

---

or those with Arts degrees who in the judgement of the Program Director are without

adequate foundation in the social sciences, may be required to make up any deficiency

without graduate credit.

Students are normally admitted in September. It is expected that approximately 20 students

will be directly admitted in any one year to the program. The normal minimum

undergraduate grade point average required for admission is 3.0 (or equivalent), although

the Admissions Committee and Program Director may take relevant work experience into

account in determining eligibility for admission to the program. Criteria for admission, in

addition to undergraduate grades, include strong letters of reference, an essay, and for

students whose native language is not English, acceptable TOEFL scores

(570

minimum)

and a score of

5

or above on the Test of Written English.

Courses are sequenced through the fall and spring semesters. The maximum course load is

four courses per semester. The full-time student is expected to complete the degree

program within two years.

Application

Students must submit the following documentation when applying.

• Simon Fraser University graduate application form.

• Official transcript of undergraduate grades (mailed directly from the granting

institution).

• Three confidential letters of reference (mailed directly by the referees), at least two of

which come from faculty members at universities. This requirement may be waived for

mid-career applicants with professional experience. In this case, letters from employers

may be substituted for references from university faculty. (Forms are supplied for

references.)

• A one-page essay that explains why the applicant wishes to pursue the MPP degree.

• A student whose first language is not English and whose undergraduate degrees have

not been obtained at an institution where English is the language of instruction, require

scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Written

English.

Degree Requirements

To qualify for the MPP degree, the candidate must complete nine core MPP courses, a

summer internship, plus five additional elective courses approved by the MPP Program

Director.

Core Courses

. ?

MPP 801 - Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis I

MPP 802 - Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis II

Z.

August 1, 2002 ?

17 ?

MPP Proposal

---

MPP 803 - Political Foundations of Policy Analysis I

MPP 804 - Political Foundations of Policy Analysis II

MPP 805 - Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods I

MPP 806 - Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods II

MPP 807 - Introduction to Policy Analysis

MPP 808 - Advanced Policy Analysis I

MPP 809 - Advanced Policy Analysis II

MPP 850-0 Internship

Elective Courses

The MPP Program Director, in consultation with the student, selects supporting courses,

from graduate courses offered in units affiliated with the program. MPP 810, MPP 811,

MPP 812, MPP 813, MPP 825 and MPP 826 may be used when appropriate to satisfy

elective requirements.

MPP 810-3 Issues in Public Policy I

MPP 811-3 Issues in Public Policy II

MPP 812-3 Selected Topics in Public Policy I

MPP 813-3 Selected Topics in Public Policy II

MPP 825-3 MPP Directed Readings I

MPP 826-3 MPP Directed Readings II

MPP Core Course Descriptions

MPP 801-3 Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis I:

An examination of the basic

operation of a market economy and introduction to key economic concepts and techniques.

MPP 802-3 Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis II:

Application of economic

concepts and techniques to a variety of public policy issues.

MPP 803-3 Political Foundations of Policy Analysis I:

The first of a two-semester

sequence that examines the basic structures and processes of government policy-making in

Canada. This first course outlines the basic institutions of government in Canada and their

context in the evolving Canadian political economy. It also introduces students to key

actors in the policy process and examines their structure and behaviour. Examples of

relevant actors include federal, provincial and local state structures and agencies, and a

August 1, 2002 ?

18 ?

MPP Proposal

---

variety of societal actors such as pressure groups, social movements, think tanks and other

associations.

MPP 804-3 Political Foundations of Policy Analysis II:

Building upon MPP 803, this

course provides a detailed examination' of the policy process - the stages through which

public policies are developed. The course outlines the nature of the policy cycle and

examines the formal and informal institutions and rules that affect policy actors in their

deliberations and decisions. Specific attention is paid to the nature of policy communities

and policy networks in Canada and their impact upon policy content and policy change.

MPP 805-3 Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods I:

An introduction to

research techniques to include survey design, implementation and analysis, statistical

inference, and qualitative methods of analysis.

MPP 806-3 Research Techniques and Quantitative Methods II:

Application of

statistical quantitative methods for policy analysis, including analysis of variance, and

regression techniques.

MPP 807-3 Introduction to Policy Analysis:

An introduction to techniques of public

policy analysis, evaluation, and simulation techniques. Group projects on current public

policy issues will constitute a major portion of this course.

.

MPP 808-3 Advanced Policy Analysis I:

Advanced policy analysis techniques, public

affairs, communication, and client interaction are covered and applied by students to

individual projects on current public policy issues. This course will constitute the project

component of the program.

MPP 809-3 Advanced Policy Analysis II:

Advanced policy analysis techniques are

covered and applied by students to individual projects on current public policy issues. This

course will constitute the project component of the program. Students are required to

present and defend their projects in this course.

August 1, 2002 ?

19

?

- ?

MPP Proposal

---

*

APPENDIX II -

Resumes and CVs of SFU Faculty who may be members of the Steering

Committee

?

0

Iris Geva-May

Michael Howlett

Catherine Murray

Nancy Olewiler

John Richards

Aidan Vining

Other faculty members have expressed interest in teaching in the program and being

affiliated with the Centre for Public Policy Research. Their CVs are available upon

request.

* NOT INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION

S

S

August 1, 2002 ?

20

?

MPP Proposal

---

W.A.C. Bennett Library?

Simon Fraser University ?

Memorandum

To: Jon Driver, Dean, Graduate Studies

?

From:

Todd M. Mundle

Associate University Librarian

Subject:

Library Review for MPP changes

?

tmundle@sfu.ca

Cc: Gwen Bird, Head, Collections Management

?

Date: June 4,

2002

Nancy Olewiler, Acting Director, Public

Policy Program

Jack Corse, Liaison Librarian

I have reviewed the changes to the numbering and credits of the Masters in Public Policy program as

outlined in the memo from Nancy Olewiler, dated June 3, 2002. These changes do not change my

original course assessments and therefore do not have any library costs at this point. The addition of

MPP 850 (Internship) will also have no affect on available library resources to support this program.

Costs:

.

THERE ARE NO COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE CHANGES

If you have any questions regarding these assessments, please don't hesitate to contact me by phone

(3266) or by email, tmundle@sfu.ca

.

'7.

---

I

U

V

[iES)$iItI1IiU1

?

o

To:

?

Todd M Mundle, Head, Collections Management, Library

CC: Jon Driver, Dean of Graduate STudies

From:

Nancy Olewiler, Acting Director Public Policy Program (and Economics)

Date:

03/06/2002

Re: ?

Revised course numbering and outlines for proposed Master's in Public Policy

I attach the revised course outlines for the MPP program and ask if you could please pi epar

a memo that says that your initial assessment of the Library's costs for each course (no

costs) still applies. Below is a table explaining the changes that indicates that they are

basically dividing what was 5-credit single courses into two 3-credit courses. In one case..

we have added an additional course, but this is a project/seminar course (MPP 809) thai

does not have library resource implications.

If you could send this memo to Jon Driver before June

12th,

I'd greatly appreciate it. I

would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I attach the revised course outlines.

Changes from original proposal to revised proposal:

Oriainal ?

Revised

MPP

801-5 ?

MPP 80 1-3 and MPP 802-3

MPP 802-5 ?

MPP 803-3 ?

-

MPP

804-5 ?

MPP 804-3

MPP

805-5 ?

MPP 805-3

and MPP

806-3 ?

-

MN)

803-5 ?

MPP 806,807,808 - courses revised with fewer library resources

needed than in original 803.

MPP 810, 811,812, 813, 825, 826: no change in course outline/content. Only change is

switch from

5

to

3

credits.

MPP 820,821 ?

deleted as no coop option in program

nothing ?

IvIPP

850

(internship) - no library resources as this is a work

placement without a research paper requirement

V.

---

W.A.C. Bennett Library

?

Simon Fraser University

?

Memorandum

To: Ro

g

er Blackman, Associate Dean

?

From:

Todd M. Mundle

Faculty of Arts

?

Head, Collections Management

tmundle@sfu.ca

Subject:

Program Assessment for MPPM

Date: March 1, 2001

Cc:

Jack Corse, Liaison Librarian for Political

Science

Attached you ii find the entire course assessments associated with the courses in the proposed Masters

in Public Policy and Management program. Given that we have all the courses rather than just the idea

concerning the new program we were able to do a more thorough examination of library resources for

the program as a whole.

It seems as though the librarians for Political Science, Economics and Business Administration have

been doing a masterful job of collecting books and journals in the area of public administration, public

policy and management. There appear to be no glaring gaps in the collection and I am very confident

. ?

that when this program is up and running we should be able to meet most of the information needs of

the students with our existing resources.

There will likely be hiring of new faculty as this program develops. When hiring such individuals it

would do well to compare the compatibility of their research interests with existing Library resources.

If a mismatch is determined and new resources are required, payment for new books, journals or

databases would have to come out of the existing library materials budgets assigned to Political

Science.

Costs:

THERE ARE NO EXTRA LIBRARY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROGRAM.

If you have any questions regarding this assessment, please don't hesitate to contact me by phone

(3263)

or by email, tmund1e@sfuc.

ZEN

---

EXTERNAL REVIEW FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY &?

MANAGEMENT

Dr. Michael Hibbard?

Planning, Public Policy & Management

?

School of Architecture & Allied Arts

?

1209 University of Oregon?

Eugene, OR 97403-1209 U. S. A.

S

r

---EXTCOV2 11121/01

?

30.

---

OR

UNIVERSITY OF

?

.r

CL

October 19, 2001

?

2 2O1

C.,..

p ';;

3RADUIk

TOF1LCE

Jonathan C. Driver

Dean of Graduate Studies

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6

CANADA

Dear Dean Driver,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Simon Fraser University's proposed new

Master of Public Policy & Management program.

Based on our own experience and on my knowledge of similar programs, I think your

proposed program is generally sound. I have organized my comments in response to the

questions you raise in your letter of August 24.

Demand for the program among prospective students and demand for graduates

of the proposed program

The target audience for this program is in-career students in the Vancouver metropolitan

area - people already in the local professional community seeking to upgrade their

knowledge and skills. I don't have specific knowledge about Vancouver; however, the

absence of a program in public policy/administration would seem to be an obvious

problem for a major metropolitan area, and an opportunity for SFU. And the travel time

between Vancouver and Victoria suggests that it is doubtful the program at the University

of Victoria could meet the need.

The academic merit and structural integrity of the proposed program

Regarding academic merit, the proposed curriculum appears to be solid, though I have a

concern and a caution. The five new core courses provide a sturdy foundation in policy

analysis, and the areas of program specialization should appeal to a broad range of

students. I am also pleased to see that you plan to require each student to complete a

research project.

31.

f

-

School of-Architecture and Allied Arts

.

1209 University of Oregon

.

Eugene OR 97403-1209 Telephone (541) 346-3635 . FAX (541) 346-2040

An iqualo rtitsty affii

.

mantn'

action institution committed to cultural dIYrs:ty

?

and

compliance with the Americans with Onabilita,

Act

L]

My caution is this. I note that an internship is optional. I suspect that very few in-career

students will elect to do an internship. They are working, so time is an issue for them;

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, PUBLIC POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

---

S

•

?

?

and

experience.

they believe

In my

they

view

don't

the

need

opportunity

an internship

to work

because

in a different

they already

organization,

have professional

on new

tasks, under different supervision is an important part of graduate professional

education. Therefore I encourage you to consider making the internship a requirement

of all students.

My concern about the curriculum is more basic. The rationale for this new program as

discussed on

pp.

2-3 of the proposal focuses on the changing organizational structure of

public organizations and the consequent need for new management skills. However, the

proposed curriculum focuses on policy analysis. At various points the proposal

mentions the links between policy analysis and administration, but the core courses

don't seem to make that link - either individually or collectively.

I am not suggesting that the curriculum needs a re-think. To the contrary, a program

emphasizing policy analysis makes sense, especially given the administrative focus of

the UVic program. However, I think it would be worthwhile to more closely specify the

aims of the SFU WPM program.

Regarding structural integrity, the strength of the program is its connection with the new

Centre of Public Policy Education and Research. (By the way, I again note the

emphasis on public policy.) If there are potential concerns they are in the dual reporting

of the program director to the Centre and to the Political Science Department, and in

S ?

the dual loyalties of many of the faculty to their home department as well as the WPM

program. Although they make for complex organizational charts, such arrangements are

not unusual in universities. Success in this case would seem to depend on the degree of

administrative support for the Centre and the WPM program - and moral support will

be at least as important as more tangible resources.

The adequacy of the faculty and other resources

The quality and number of faculty dedicated to this enterprise are impressive. The

approach of adding only a few new courses and drawing largely on existing courses

should enrich the educational experience for the MPPM students; they will benefit from

being in courses in which they are exposed to the thinking of the general student

population.

The risk of this approach - part-time, in-career students being taught largely by

"contributing" faculty from across campus - is that there will be inadequate

opportunities for informal learning. Faculty-to-faculty, student-to-student, and faculty-

to-student hallway encounters are a key element of graduate education. It will be

important for the Centre and hill-time faculty to facilitate such encounters.

With respect to concrete resources, I am not familiar enough with Canadian academic

programming to comment on the discussion on

p.

12 of the proposal.

0

---

I

hesitate

hope you

to contact

find these

me.

comments

Again, thank

helpful.

you for

If you

the

have

opportunity

any further

to review

questions

this very

don't

?

Or

interesting proposal. Good luck in your next steps.

Very truly yours,

/'L

Michael

)Laj.'

Hibbard, PhD

Professor and Department Head

t

3.

---

EXTERNAL REVIEW FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY &

0

?

MANAGEMENT

Dr. Luc Bernier ?

Ecole nationale d'administration publique

?

Université du Québec

?

4750, avenue Henri-Julien, Se étage

?

Montréal, Québec H2T 3E5

I]

.

EXT-COV2 11121/01

---

École nationale d'admjnjstrat,on pubhque

4750. avenue

Hifl

f

l

.

Julj.n.

5

,

ritalis

Montreal (Ou*b.c) H2T 3E5

CANADA

TCI*phan.: (514)549-3950

TClScop)ur: (514)549-3399

Direction di rsns.ign.ment it di In 'icherehe

November 14, 2001

'1.

NOV

DO

1 9 2001

"D

I DE..;

STUDIES

?

G.IDUATE

OFFICE

-J

I

Sr

Mr. Jonathan C. Driver

Dean of Graduate Studies

Professor of Archaeology

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, British Columbia

Canada V5A 1 S6

Mr. Driver:

I join my comments on the new program your school will launch next year. Thank you

for giving me the opportunity to review this excellent initiative. I would like to know how

things develop.

Truly yours,

Luc Bernier

Directeur de l'enseignement et de la recherche

p.

j.

Ii

S

3c

---

.

Evaluation of the

Master

of

Public Policy and Management Program

This report will be short for two reasons. First, writing in a second language makes the flow of

words shorter but more importantly, this is an excellent program that should be launched. This is

a very interesting program that will be taught by one of the best group if not the best group of

professors of public policy in Canada. By creating this program, SFU makes good use of its

competitive advantage.

1. Academic merit and structural integrity of the program.

The important thing in creating a new program is to make sure that policy analysis is not done

from only a critical perspective but that people are trained to develop public policies. Another

essential key is to make sure that graduates have some managerial knowledge so that they can

handle their first promotion.

The five core courses are classical. I presume that the different approaches to policy analysis are

covered. In the first specialization, I hope that the EDUC 8

17-5

Policy processes does not overlap

with the new core course? I would suggest that a management course should be added to the

is

?

second, third and fifth ones. Another possibility would be to have a core course on public

administration that would cover the new public management material. This is not to say that the

new public management is such a great idea but it has the advantage of challenging the

traditional doctrine in public administration and to create interesting debates. What should be

done to manage policies is at the core of the current management debates in several governments.

Such a course could help to fill the academic trenches between economics and political science

(see further).

The flexibility of the program is exactly what students at I'ENAP would love to have.

I have one apprehension about the program form the days I reviewed the Master program at

Laval in public policy. Relations between economics departments and political science have a

tendency to be difficult. Economics professors consider that the students in joint programs are

unable to understand what they would teach normally at the undergraduate level. Moreover, there

are at Laval and in my school important ideological differences, or more politely theoretical

perspectives, between economists and political scientists that make difficult to maintain the unity

of the program. To take an example at random, is government intervention required because of

market failures or is there a single positive reason in an economic perspective for public policies?

So, why locate the program in the political science department? For professors coming from other

departments, will it be a drawback or a plus to be associated with this department? I know

nothing of the internal politics at SF0 so it is your call. I would suggest that you reinforce the

links between the departments through and for the program so that chairs around the university

do not develop resentment when the time arrives that their best professors look like they are

3(0.

---

teaching in another department. Is it possible to have joint appointments to departments or the

tradition at SFU is flexible enough for what you have in mind?

2.

Faculty

of

The

the

faculty

most dynamic

assembled

group

to take

of scholars

care of the

in the

program

country

is

in

excellent.

public policy.

To my

They

knowledare

active

g

e, SFU

in Various

has one

associations. They have written very interesting articles and books over the years. My

understanding that the ones I know form a very cohesive group that, moreover, is still relatively

young for people who have produced so much. They should be around to take care of the

program for a number of years. This is certainly an elite group of scholars.

3. The demand among prospective students

My sense is that political science students and people from various fields in applied sociology

such as communication, etc. are often looking for a graduate degree with a professional flavour.

MPA programs attract students who have already made the choice that an MBA program is not

for them. You should have no problem attracting students. The co-op internship option is always

a good idea in this regard but attracts students that are less interested by theoretical debates and

research. It forces a more applied material in class.

The experience at Concordia University in Montreal has been that if you limit the enrollment,

you create pressure for more applications. Programs too easy to get in have a tendency to have a

bad reputation. By the way, why isn't Concordia on your list of programs? Exclusive selection

builds a program reputation and makes possible to take care of the admitted students.

Following closely the first cohorts is essential to make sure that incremental improvements are

made to the program and its processes. Our experience is that qualifying courses we initially

imposed on students were not such a good idea. You have enough core courses that good students

coming from disciplines further away should not have problems adapting. Making the course

work too long with qualifying courses deters interesting people from applying. Such courses also

make the core courses boring for students who have covered some of the material in the

qualifying ones.

4. The demand for graduates

Our experience with graduates in public policy and program evaluation is that there is a shortage

of people well trained in program evaluation, strategic management and policy analysis. Such

demand is fuelled by the current popularity among governments of managing by results and thus

an urgent need with people trained to measure such results, to do some strategic or business

planning, etc. Moreover, the federal government is looking for graduates with the training you

propose.

•ç

IR

I

31-.

---

- - Everywhere in Canada, there is an apprehended shortage of qualified civil servants for the years

to come. This program is timely.

I believe that the University of Victoria, although making efforts to improve the teaching of

public policy, cannot offer what SFU wants to do.

There is also a huge market for people in what Americans would call government-oriented

companies that could gain from your program. Public utilities such as phone companies have

strategic planning departments that do hire MPAs.

So in conclusion, this is a very interesting program that will fill a gap in graduate training in

Canada.

I will be glad to answer any question about this report.

Luc Bernier

Directeur de l'enseignement et de la recherche

École nationale d'adniinistration publique

L

---

EXTERNAL REVIEW FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY &

MANAGEMENT

?

.

Dr. Evert Lindquist

?

School of Public Administration

?

University of Victoria

?

P.O. Box 1700, STN CSC

?

Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2

S

3.

EXT . COV2 11121/01

---

challenge

change

min,dTC-.

.watHI.s.';

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AAT

University of Victoria

P0 Box 1700 Stn CSC

Victoria British Columbia

Canada V8W2Y2

2

The proposed model is certainly viable, with Queen's University demonstrating its effectiveness

over many years with one director (then Richard Simeon) and a budget for "purchasing" teaching

from other units and from practicing professionals. However, in recent years Queen's has greatly

expanded its core resources, the amount of administrative support, and located the program with

its School of Policy Studies along with several policy-related organized research centers. A great

deal will rest on the person chosen to lead the program; they need to have boundless energy and

vision - they will be the glue of the program. The commitment of the University to supply the

program with Tier 1 and Tier 2 CRC chairs, as well as course release for the Internal Program

Director and funding for a Senior Research Fellow, is an excellent way to begin the program!

A key issue does not appear to be addressed in the proposal: what sort of administrative support

will there be for either the internship or co-operative education programs? More generally, very

little is said in the proposal about the amount of administrative support that should be in the base

budget. Given the amount of boundary-spanning that is inherent in leading and managing such

programs, this will be a critical matter to address and clarify.

The proposed administrative arrangements seem sensible as long as there continues to be clarity

about the modalities for academic and administrative reporting. The proposal to create a Board of

Directors to which the Director of the Centre of Public Policy and Education Research will report

should deal with an obvious potential problem: so much core teaching will be done by political

scientists (either from the Department or elsewhere at SFU) that the MPPM may quickly become

perceived as a Political Science enterprise.

The proposal allows for the possibility of expanding resources for administering the Centre and

the MPPM should the program steadily grow, and this seems prudent.

Demandfor Program Among Prospective Students

You should have no difficulty attracting students to the MPPM program. It will certainly have

SFU undergraduate programs as a natural feeder into the program, and will attract students from

other programs seeking to either live in Vancouver or specialize in a policy studies approach to

public policy and management. Faculty and students from other universities across Canada and

internationally will be familiar with the flagship books of Weimer and Vining, and of Howlett

and Ramesh, in addition to the published research of faculty associated with the MPPM, so there

promises to be a good flow of non-SFU and non-BC applicants to the program.

The strategy of ensuring scholarships and financial support from the differential fees should

induce students from other parts of Canada, although these will need to be significant given the

cost of living in the greater Vancouver area. You may want to consider "growing" the program

so that you begin with smaller cohorts by design (say,

15-20

students) and expand from there.

Demands for Graduates

Let me assert that the impending demographic roll-over at

all

levels of the public sector portends

a strong demand for graduate students with public policy and management backgrounds. On the

other hand, the MPPM program will be introduced just as the BC public sector goes through

tremendous upheaval and considerable uncertainty about public service careers in the province.

Some students who would prefer to come to BC may choose programs in other provinces because

the job prospects (internships, co-op placements, and more permanent appointments) seem more

promising or certain. The bottom-line: even if the short-term prospects may be bumpy, there will

be a great need for graduates from this program, and this should be anticipated in your planning.

41

---

Other Matters. Depiction of UVic 's MPA Program and Potential Collaboration

I continue to be concerned about how the rolling proposals for this program continue to depict the

School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. I first expressed this concern when

I visited SFU last Spring and subsequently in my 1 June 2001 e-mail note which, I believe, was

forwarded as part of the provincial review process (I have attached a copy for your review). My

concern stems from an inaccurate and unfair depiction of the focus of our program and the kind

of students we attract. The current version of the proposal states that the MPPM program will

• . .focus on issues of public policy management rather than traditional public administration and

will draw from a much larger pool of students in the private and non-governmental sectors as well

as the federal, provincial, local and regional public sectors of whom the overwhelming proportion

in British Columbia are located in the Vancouver-Lower Mainland area. It will offer training

related to the understanding of the workings of policy processes in government as well as the

social, economic, cultural and organizational contexts in which these processes occur.. .(p. 13)

This description describes well the current complement of students that we attract and a good

portion of the courses that we regularly teach, which include core courses on Public Sector

Governance, The Policy Process, and the Advanced Policy Seminar, as well as courses on

Managing from the Middle and on Organizational Effectiveness, and courses that focus on

Research Design, The Economics of Information, etc. In fact, what is striking is the extent to

which many of the courses proposed for the MPPM are similar to the MPA program, and, of

course, most programs that try to teach policy analysis and public management skills. The

proposed focus of the MPPM on policy analysis per se is clear and laudable, but I do not think

that it is appropriate for the SFU materials to inaccurately depict what we do.

I

have already

received unsolicited comments from colleagues back East about this depiction, which has raised

several eyebrows because others in the country understand the broader focus of our program.

Why not simply focus on the very good ideas, focus, and approach that underpin the MPPM, and

leave out the characterizations of our program?

I must confess that I find it awkward making the above comments because my colleagues are

very prepared to work on a collaborative basis with the MPPM program. We can envision, for

example, ensuring that students could take courses in our respective programs when on co-op

placements in either Vancouver or Victoria, undertaking research projects of scale, collaborating

on executive development, co-hosting conferences, and perhaps designing a joint PhD program.

These initiatives would tap into the location and considerable expertise of each institution.

Final Remarks

In conclusion, the MPPM proposal is well-conceived and builds on the great deal of expertise

already in place at Simon Fraser University. I have no doubt that the program will be successful.

As I have noted above, we at the School of Public Administration are very keen to collaborate

with you in a variety of ways, and we look forward to discussing this with you in the future.

Sincerely,

tv

Evert A. Lindquist

?

attachment

Director

.

42.

---

Evert Lindauist

p rom: ?

Evert Lindquist [evert@uvic.ca

]

ent:

?

Friday, June 01, 2001 3:41 PM

Valerie Kuehne

Cc: ?

Evert Lindquist; glaundy©uwm .uvic.ca

Subject: ?

Degree Program Review

Importance: ?

High

Dear Dr. Kuehne,

I am writing with regard to your memorandum of May 10th requesting the School's comments on the letter of intent from

Simon Fraser University to initiate a Masters in Public Policy and Management Program.

I have been in touch with Dr. John Pierce, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at SFU, as well as Dr. Michael Howlett, Professor of

Political Science, who has taken the lead responsibility for preparing the proposal. I have conveyed the message that my

colleagues at the School of Public Administration have high regard for the many SFU scholars associated with this

proposal who have teaching and research interests in public policy, public management, and public administration. We

believe that this proposal will serve to showcase a pool of strong talent that is currently distributed across departments and

faculties at SFU. It is also dear that the Vancouver region would be well served by such a program.

Moreover, I have conveyed our School's interest in collaborating with SFU colleagues with regard to launching the

proposed MPPM program, given our respective locations in the South Island and Lower Mainland, and with regard to

developing a collaborative PhD program and executive development activities. My views on this have developed in my

capacity as President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration, partly as a result of conducting a

survey on the state of programs across the country, which probed the challenges and opportunities confronting public

policy, management, and adminstration programs. A key conclusion from the survey (and the resulting discussion at a

recent meeting at the Annual University Seminar hosted by the Canadian Centre for Management Development) is that

meeting the recruitment and research challenges associated with modem public sector governance outstrip the capa s

relatively small programs. My view is that a SFU-UVic collaboration could lead to creating a capacity of considers____

scale that would immediately make a mark on the national, North American, and international stages. My hope is tha1J

will develop its programs in such a way as to maximize the potential for such collaboration, and we would be pleased to

enter into ongoing discussions on these matters.

I have also indicated to Dr. Pierce and Dr. Howlett that the proposal's characterization of our MPA program as having a

focus on "administrative subjects such as personnel management and budgeting within an administrative setting" and on

"traditional administrative concerns" is misleading. Our program has long been recognized across the country as one of

the few programs that has always strived to balance the training of "policy analysts" and "public sector managers." One of

our promotional documents begins by stating that "The School of Public Administration is widely known as one of

Canada's leading graduate programs in public policy analysis and public management In addition to offering the MPA

degree program (with its Co-operative Education stream) and a Ph.D. program, the School offers high quality Diplomas in

Public Sector Management and in Local Government Management." We are currently hosting a Summer Institute for

Social Policy Analysis, and we have recently hired colleagues with strong interests in child policy and energy policy.

Several colleagues closely monitor and conduct research on the policy-making process as well as governance issues.

Regardless of the titles of our MPA courses, their content has been changing steadily as part of our ongoing Curriculum

Renewal and do address many of the topics that are to constitute the core MPPM program. Likewise, to characterize our

program as only drawing on "the middle ranks of the Victoria-area provincial civil service and emphasizes training to meet

the meet the traditional concerns of middle-managers with subjects such as personnel relations and financial

management" is also misleading. We attract a diverse, increasingly younger group of students from Victoria and across

Canada, with a great amount of social movement and non-governmental experience. They are attracted to the program

precisely because of our broader and balanced perspectives on policy analysis and public management.

So, the name of our School should not be taken at face value! However, that the School of Public Administration has long

been recognized elsewhere in Canada as taking seriously research and teaching in policy analysis and public

management, and caters to a diverse range of students, in no way detracts from our support of the SFU MPPM proposal.

Indeed, it suggests that there are greater opportunities for collaboration between our respective institutions than the MPPM

iroposal

Let me close

might

by

otherwise

wishing our

suggest.

colleagues

?

at Simon Fraser University every success in launching their program, and

0

reiterating our interest in exploring different modalities and levels of co-operation between our respective universities.

---

Sincerely.

Evert Lindquist, Director

School of Public Administration

Faculty of Human and Social Development

Human & Social Development Building, 3rd Floor

University of Victoria

P0 Box 1700 STN CSC

Victoria; BC V8W 2Y2 CANADA

Telephone: (250) 721-8084

Fax:

?

(250)721-8849

EXTERNAL REVIEW FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY &

MANAGEMENT

?

.

Dr. Michael Prince

?

Dean, Faculty of Human & Social Development

?

University of Victoria

?

Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2

[1

S

17I

EXT. OV2 11/21/01

---

,

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

P0 BOX 1700 SIN CSC VICTORIA BC VSW 2Y2 CANADA

faculties. The MPPM program is to be fashioned after the Queen's model (and a few

others in Canada), with a small core of faculty attached to the Program with the bulk of

teaching resources acquired from various units through buy-outs and other arrangements.

Having experienced the Queen's model firsthand, I know it is a workable approach and

quite effective for graduate student learners.

In reading through the proposal, I detected some ambiguity as to what will be the

Program's emphasis. Early on in the document (pp. 2-3), the stress seems to be on

management and the learning of administrative skills, practices and implementation.

Later (pp.

5

and 8), the emphasis is on policy analysis. Is the WPM planned to be one or

the other or a balance of the management and policy focuses? The proposed core courses

suggest to me a leaning toward the policy emphasis. An accent on training and educating

policy analysts would help to distinguish the MPPM from the University of Victoria's

WA which strives to balance the training of public policy analysts and public managers.

With respect to the governance arrangements described in the proposal, I wonder

whether the roles and structures proposed are too complex and elaborate in terms of the

number of meetings and actors involved. Perhaps this is inevitable and necessary in the

early years of the program, in particular to ensure buy-in from various faculty members

and faculties. Yet, it is an issue worth closely watching.

At

achieving

The

first

adecivacy

blush,

its goals:the

of the

commitment

?

facult

y

and

of

other

3.5

FTEs

resources

of continuing

available

faculty

to the

p

for

roDosed

the new

p

rogram

program

for

0

may seem modest, though this complement is similar to three or four other MPA

programs across the country.

In fact, in the current and foreseeable funding environment, Simon Fraser University's

commitment of faculty resources is laudatory and impressive - with Tier I and Tier II

Canada Research Chairs , a program director, a senior research fellow, and at least 10

course equivalent buy-outs for existing faculty. Moreover, this level of new resources is

appropriate and workable following the model at Queen's, as mentioned above.

The curriculum vitae included for nine faculty members are established and senior

scholars from five different fields and disciplines. This is an impressive collection of

faculty. In five of the vitae, however, no information is provided on graduate student

supervisions. This may, in part, be a function of how different disciplines present their

resumes. In any case, this would be useful information to have to assess the experience

and capacity of faculty to contribute to this vital part of the graduate program. In

addition, it is not indicated or evident which courses certain faculty (Dobuzinskis, Gee,

Harris, Richards or Smith) will be teaching. This may not be essential information to

have at this stage but it is, I think, worth noting its absence.

2

---

• ?

Clerical, secretarial and other administrative resources are to be provided by the

administrative

Department of

resources

Political Science.

in the Department

No information

nor on

was

whether

provided

any additional

on the existingresources

?

(

would be allocated.

The demand for the

p rop osed

p

rogram among

pros

p

ective students:

The proposed MPPM anticipates an annual admission of 15 students with a steady state

enrolment of between 20 to

25

students. This moderate intake seems to be far exceeded

by the demand and need for such a professional graduate program in Greater Vancouver

region and lower mainland. The School of Public Administration at Victoria is currently

the only graduate MPA in the province and one of a few in western Canada, and the

student demand at our university, as measured by applications, is strong in sheer numbers

and academic quality.

I believe the co-op internship option planned for the MPPM will also be an attractive

feature of the program for many if not most prospective students; so too will be the

ability to take the program on a full or part time basis and to combine the core courses

with an equal number of specializations. With a mix of full and part time students, a co-

op option and a Research Project, I wonder if the program's annual steady state will be

closer to 30 students. This too is worth monitoring closely.

It is unknown, and unexplored in the proposal, what the effect of a differential fee of 50

to 100% of the regular Arts graduate tuition to be charged for the MPPM might have on

student demand. It is encouraging to read, on the other hand, that a scholarship fund will

be established to help offset the differential fee for students in financial need.

The demand for

g raduates of the

p ro p osed program:

Public sectors at all levels in Canada will soon face a crisis of staffing shortages and

management succession. This is as pertinent to universities and non-profits as it is

municipalities and provincial ministries. The renewal and strengthening of policy

capacity within provincial, territorial, urban and First Nation governments is a related

challenge facing the public service and thus a real opportunity for professional

development programs such as the MPPM proposal. The Government of Canada, in

particular, is taking steps to strengthen its ability to discern trends, develop long term

scenarios and policy options, and identify innovative approaches and solutions to public

issues.

Even with the downsizing scenarios of the Campbell government, there will be a critical

need, in part because of the forthcoming retrenchments, for trained policy analysts and

public managers equipped with the information and skills required for our changing

. ?

political economy and society. This need includes finding new approaches to public and

(

3

---

private partnerships, mutually respectful relations with Aboriginal communities and First

Nations, and fuller engagement with citizens and the voluntary sector.

The planned Research Project, as part of the MPPM curriculum, will no doubt enable

students to connect with and impress prospective employers, by completing a piece of

applied work useful to an organization and manager.

Summary Remarks

The proposed MPPM is well thought out, appropriate and a strongly supported academic

program for Simon Fraser University, especially given the range of established faculty

with relevant teaching and research expertise. An interdisciplinary focus on public policy

analysis is timely and is likely to be attractive to many students. There is, I believe, more

than enough demand and requirement for two graduate programs in the province.

I wish your colleagues success in obtaining approval and funding of their proposal, and I

know that my colleagues in the School of Public Administration at University of Victoria

would be pleased to explore ways of cooperating and collaborating on executive

development activities and possibly a doctoral program at a future date.

Yours sincerely,

1

-1^6zxtl

?

--

Michael J. Prince

67

Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy

Acting Dean, Faculty of Human and Social Development

r

r

41T.

4

---

EXTERNAL REVIEW FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY &

?

MANAGEMENT

Dr. Robert Wolfe

?

School of Policy Studies

?

Queen's University

?

Policy Studies Building, Union Street

?

Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6

.

L-Ij

ECr.COV2 12110/01

?

5-0-

---

I#

Q^

j

u.XIVERSXTY

e ens ?

(

Thursday, 29 November 2001

?

TEACHING PROGRAMS

SCHOOL OF POLICY STUDIES

Policy Studies Building, Union Street

Queen's University

Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

Tel 613 533-2035

Fax

613

533-6652

Www.queensu.ca

Jonathan C.

Driver

Dean of Graduate Studies

Professor of Archaeology

Simon Fraser University

8888 University Drive

Burnaby, British Columbia

V5A 1S6

Thank

Dear Professor

you for asking

Driverme

?

to review the thorough proposal developed by the Department of

•

Political Science for an interdisciplinary Master's programme in Public Policy Management

(MPPM).

I have no hesitation in recommending that the programme go ahead, based on my

review of the proposal in light of my experience in the similar program here at Queen's. My

detailed comments

are

attached.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Wolfe

Associate Professor

SI.

PREPARING LEADERS AND CITIZENS FOR A GLOBAL SOCIETY

---

.

Simon Fraser University

Proposal for a Master's programme in Public Policy Management (MPPM)

a) academic merit and structural integrity of the programme

The central claim of this proposal is that public policy and management is a distinct field of

research able to support graduate level instruction. The proposal makes the further claim that

SFU faculty are engaged in a sufficiently wide range of substantive domains and analytic

approaches to sustain a high quality programme. I agree with both claims. I do have some

concerns, however.

Length of Time: I did not see much justification for why a professional programme must run

over two years, and therefore why students are limited to taking five courses each year. If the

core courses were intensive research seminars in a field of interest to the students, the limit

might be reasonable, but if the courses are in fact foundational, then student time might be

under-employed. I do see, however, that it might be impossible for students to take more than

three specialized courses at a time because of the demands normally placed on graduate

students.

Core courses: In our experience, students are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds in the

humanities and natural sciences as well as the social sciences. The role of the core courses,

therefore, is in part foundational and in part integrative. Given the nature of the proposed core

courses, it is hard to imagine why students with no social science background would be required

to undertake qualifying courses. Also in our experience, students with a degree in economics are

under-represented in the program. (MPP programmes in the USA attract economics students in

part because the MA in Economics is not a major option there for professionally inclined

students—it is really just a stepping stone to the PhD at major universities.) It follows,

therefore, that of the core courses, #1 should focus on microeconomic concepts relevant to

public policy, which will be new and challenging for most students, leaving any discussion of

analytic methods to #3, which is perhaps too narrowly focused on evaluation. Courses #2 and

#4 reflect the different approaches to the topic of potential instructors rather than an analytic

distinction that will be obvious to students. Course

#5

is essential, although students with no

interest in research might better understand the rationale if it were called Quantitative Methods

for Policy Analysis. In my view, which is informed obviously by my understanding of what

works in our own curriculum, the proposed structure lacks a course aimed at integrating diverse

approaches to policy analysis. Finally, although the proposal recognizes the importance of

changing ideas about public management, there is no core management course.

Research project: The proposal does not explain why a research project is included in the

curriculum. Such a justification might be useful, since Figure 1 shows that SFU would be in the

•

?

minority of public policy programmes that require a research project. In our experience, few

students interested in research enter professional programs. Public sector employers are critical

---

of-

page two

of such projects because no public servant is expected to write at such length or so

independently. Team projects of some sort are much more relevant.

b) the resources (people, space, library etc.) assigned to the programme

The proposed faculty are outstanding, and the concept of having a core faculty able to draw on

other teaching resources in the university is sensible, especially if all the faculty included in the

proposal have a sufficient commitment to the programme that they are able to develop a

common culture—students are typically critical of wide divergences in expectations among

faculty within a programme. It is not clear if more than two faculty would see themselves as

owing primary loyalty to the programme, which might prove a source of weakness over time.

In Figure 1, the size of the programme is given as 20; on page 17 it is suggested that no more

than 15 students would be admitted in any year, which would imply a programme size of3O.In

either case

3.5

FTEs would be sufficient, on the assumption that many courses would be taken

in other units, although managing a research project for each student might prove to be a strain.

See comment below on fees and student funding.

?

4.

c) the

likely demand for the programme

The proposal presents the demand conservatively, with two caveats: students might be resistant

to a two-year program, especially if they are first required to take qualifying courses, and they

might balk at paying the fees. I am dubious both about the proposition (page 12) that public

sector earning capacity is all that great, or that MPPM students would understand why their

programme cost so much more than comparable Arts programmes. Some differential might

signal that the programme is higher quality than other SFU programmes, I suppose. The

proposal devotes insufficient attention to student funding—will there be opportunities for

Teaching Assistantships, for example?

d)

the prospects for employment of its graduates.

We think the demand for graduates of such programs will continue to be strong for many years

as public sector agencies recruit new professional staff to replace the large age cohort now

approaching retirement

63.

4^