Ian Roberge (York University, Canada)

Ian Roberge is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at York University, Toronto, Canada. Professor Roberge’s research spans the fields of public administration and public policy, including financial services sector policy and digital public administration. In 2025, he co-edited, with Sarah Giest, the Routledge International Handbook of Public Administration and Digital Governance, and Ineffective Policies: Causes and Consequences of Bad Policy Decisions (Bristol University Press), with Malcolm-Campbell Verduyn and Heather McKeen-Edwards. He is the current Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration and the co-organizer of the national public administration case study competition for graduate students.

Course: Policymaking in Practice: Developing Solutions for Real-World Problems

Public policy is about problem-solving under real-world constraints. The objective of this experiential education course is for students to acquire the practical knowledge, competencies and skills required for policymaking. Using a workshop format, this course requires students, working in teams, to develop a policy proposal that responds to a pressing public policy problem. The proposal students develop serves as the foundation for addressing the complexities of policymaking under conditions of uncertainty, limited resources, competing interests, and political pressures. In preparing their proposal, students will apply a general policy development template that includes problem definition and framing; stakeholder analysis; policy option development and assessment; writing a policy recommendation; implementation planning; budgeting and resource allocation; risk analysis; and communication and political strategy. In the last session, students will present a draft of their proposal to their peers. In doing so, they will also develop their presentation and public speaking skills, focusing on how to communicate policy advice persuasively. This course will appeal to practitioners and new scholars interested in better connecting public policy theory with the practice of policymaking.