Course subject: Public Serivce (PS)

This course introduces students to the policy challenges facing governments in a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse Canada. A principal focus of the course is Canada's Aboriginal peoples, exploring topics such as aboriginal title and treaty rights, land claim settlements, poverty and powerlessness in cities and on reserve, debates over self-governance, and other matters that directly implicate federal, provincial and municipal governments. The course also examines how the management of race and ethnicity is integrated into public policy and applied to the public service. Topics may include the development and implementation of Canada's Multiculturalism program, immigration policy and politics, the principles and practices of institutional inclusion and reasonable accommodation, Employment Equity, and the dynamics of race, racism and anti-racism in Canada. This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Master of Public Service program.

Effective problem-solving requires a systematic approach, which involves critical analysis to identify problem causes and consequences, creativity and resourcefulness in developing potential solutions, sound judgement in selecting an optimal course of action, and thorough planning to implement and evaluate the selected approach. In this course, students work through decision-making scenarios drawn from government to analyze problems, identify causes, assess options and develop solutions. This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Master of Public Service program.

Exemplary public service is founded on a commitment to values and ethics. Using the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service as a guidebook, this course will first provide a broad overview of issues related to values and ethics, followed by a more specific examination of how values and ethics inform government policy planning, decision making, and service delivery. Case studies drawn from government will be examined and discussed, and issues such as workplace diversity, confidentiality, and conflict of interest will be addressed. This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Master of Public Service program.

This course focuses on developing skills and hands-on familiarity with a range of government financial practices and procedures. Topics covered may include audit management (audit reports; audit planning in municipal, provincial, and federal settings; risk assessment and management, and so on), work planning and budgeting (performing planning, analysis and control tasks; coordinating the work plan and budget process; and drafting effective guidelines and directives), and Request for Proposal (RFP) management, (developing requirements; evaluating proposals; writing contracts). This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Master of Public Service program.

Project management - the coordination of people, processes, and information to achieve desired goals - is a core competency required of public servants. This course provides students with training in the key elements of effective project management, including team building, priority setting, scheduling, resource management, communication, and project implementation and completion. Examples of projects taken from government are used both as case studies for analysis and for hands-on project management exercises aimed at honing skills. Because information management is a fundamental part of most government projects, the course explores tools, methodologies, and guidelines surrounding the access, evaluation, and use of government information. This course is restricted to students enrolled in the Master of Public Service program.

Public service work frequently involves ineractions wtih various levels of government, business, and civil society. This course aims to help students develop critical analysis skils to assess the resources and interests of stakeholders and to understand tensions among them. Drawing on political economy and social movement theory, the course examines several major current debates. Topics may include healthcare and social policy, inequality and poverty, environmental issues, and economic development.

This course teaches students fundamental principles of microeconomics with an emphasis on cost-benefit analysis. Topics covered may include demand and supply, pareto-efficiency, surplus and deadweight loss, discounting, time-stream evaluation and investment criteria, the measurement of welfare change, shadow prices, and the valuation of intangibles. In order to ensure policy relevance, Treasury Board of Canada guidelines are used as a template for cost-benefit analysis techniques.