Principal鈥檚 commission recommends ambitious approach to public policy at Queen鈥檚

Principal鈥檚 commission recommends ambitious approach to public policy at Queen鈥檚

By Communications Staff

February 6, 2018

Share

Principal Daniel Woolf has received the final report from the Principal鈥檚 Commission on the Future of Public Policy at Queen鈥檚 University.

The commission was created in September, 2016, to determine how Queen鈥檚 can modernize its approach to public policy to reflect changes in public policy-making and public service as well as new requirements for policy leaders.

The report, entitled , outlines the need for a 鈥榥ext generation鈥 of university-based public policy research and education, with a focus on education, inter-disciplinary collaboration, and incorporating public policy as a pan-university priority.

The report recommends changes in how public policy is taught and researched at Queen鈥檚.

"Elevating public policy as a strategic priority for the university as a whole will no doubt be challenging, but it has the potential to yield great dividends,鈥 said Michael Horgan, senior advisor with the law firm Bennett Jones LLP and chair of the commission. 鈥淚t will enrich the student learning experience, advance the university's research and innovation goals, increase Queen's policy influence, and enhance its national and international reputation."

The commission followed an extensive consultation process, which included speaking with people inside and outside of government, staff, students, faculty, and alumni. The report contains a number of key recommendations to position Queen鈥檚 for maximum impact on public policy.

鈥淨ueen鈥檚 is focused on having a greater impact on the practice and execution of public policy across Canada and globally,鈥 says Principal Woolf. 鈥淚 am grateful to the members of the commission, led by Michael Horgan and Margaret Biggs, and for the input received from current School of Policy Studies鈥 faculty, fellows, and students, School of Policy Studies alumni, Queen鈥檚 alumni more broadly, and people involved with public affairs, both within the public and private sectors.鈥

The Principal will review the report in full over the coming weeks, and establish a transition and implementation working group led by the Provost to review the recommendations put forward by the commission and propose a long-term plan.