everything.study
POL S 527

Power, Politics, and Policymaking in Canada

3 units

Fall 2025

Readings

Fall 2023

Topics

  • Understand the complexity of the policymaking process in Canada today
  • Understand the role of the policy analyst in the policymaking ecosystem
  • Apply the key principles of effective policy briefing
  • Understand the importance of problem definition to policy analysis
  • Understand the processes involved in agenda-setting
  • Apply the tool of logic modelling to scope a policy problem and solutions
  • Understand the importance of finding system “leverage points” to achieve change
  • Apply the concepts of systemic design to the study of public policy
  • Understand the main instruments of policy design
  • Understand the policy development process from a municipal perspective
  • Understand the main barriers to effective policy implementation
  • Understand ways of overcoming those barriers

Readings

  • Leslie Pal, Graeme Auld & Alexandra Mallett. Beyond Policy Analysis, 6th Edition (Nelson, 2021)
    required
  • Skogstad (2023)
    required
  • Newman (2014);
    required
  • McDavid (2018)
    required
  • Howlett et al. (2017)
    required
Sources