Week 3 of UCalgary MPP 2023-2024 Class

Sept. 11 – 15 2023; this was the first full week as it included the first Monday of the semester. PPOL 699: Competitive Policy (elective) and PPOL 602: Markets and Public Policy first lectures were delivered by Dr. Kent Fellows and Dr. Ron Kneebone, respectively.

I've come across various aspects of the supply and demand curve, but only now have I delved into its fundamentals. The concepts resonate logically, given its relatively straightforward mathematics. Currently, we're exploring how economists utilize models to understand and address public policy issues.

During our PPOL 619: Governance, Institutions, and Public Policy lecture, we were graced with insights from two guest speakers, one of whom is a partner in a public affairs firm. The discussion with him centered around the influence of government relations firms on public policy. What struck me most was the vast spectrum of opportunities within public policy, catering to clients across various industries. These consultants typically adopt a generalist approach, though some hone in on industry-specific expertise. This framework bears a resemblance to the structure of management consulting firms.

Our second speaker, a librarian from UCalgary, offered a foundational guide on sourcing Canadian legislative information for public policy. The insights provided were invaluable, and I intend to detail these sources and references in an upcoming blog post.

First assignment of the semester was due on Friday and it was a fictional policy brief based on a fictional problem statement from the film Wall-E. Tackling this imaginative prompt was both intriguing and demanding. I foudn the the absence of genuine data collection and analysis to be challening as I've always leaned on data to shape the narrative. Instead, this exercise pivoted our focus towards Bardach’s Eightfold Path framework, compelling us to invent fictional data that aligned with our policy narrative.

*Photo: Downtown Edmonton, AB taken Mar. 28/21.

Summit photo