School of Public Policy (University of Calgary)

The School of Public Policy is a Canadian government-funded think tank based at the University of Calgary located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Founded in 2008, The school is devoted to public policy research and education, and is led by Martha Hall Findlay, who previously served as the president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation, another Calgary-based think tank. Located at the University of Calgary’s downtown campus, it is home to over 60 full-time or part-time faculty and fellows. The school is organized into four policy areas: Energy and Environmental Policy, Fiscal and Economic Policy, International Policy and Trade, and Social Policy and Health. The school offers two master's degrees, a Master of Public Policy (MPP) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Sustainable Energy Development. SPP also offers ongoing education to policy professionals and stakeholders through two Applied Policy Outreach Centres: the Extractive Resource Governance Program (ERGP) and the Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy.

History and Evolution
The School of Public Policy was founded in January 2008 as The School of Policy Studies when economist Jack Mintz left the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto to become Palmer Chair in Public Policy at the University of Calgary. The chair was established through a gift of $4 million from James S. Palmer and Barbara A. Palmer intended to create a school for policy studies at the University of Calgary.

From its inception, the School of Public Policy was designed as an interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach institute that would draw on expertise from academics across the University of Calgary and beyond. At the university this has included academic staff from the University of Calgary Faculty of Arts, Kinesiology, University of Calgary Faculty of Law and University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine as well as the Cumming School of Medicine.

Within these larger units, the SPP has partnered with and seconded faculty from the departments of Community Health Sciences, Economics, Political Science, and the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. With a strong focus on outreach the school has appointed Research and Executive Fellows from private, non-governmental, regulatory, and policy organizations across Canada. These affiliated individuals publish and speak on a broad range of academic and applied forums, including the School’s own publication series which aims to offer timely, relevant, pragmatic, and peer-reviewed contributions on topics that policy stakeholders and the public are most concerned with.

The school was formally launched on May 13, 2009, at an opening dinner during which former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivered a keynote address.

James S. Palmer Lecture Series
The James S. Palmer Lecture Series was established to pay tribute to Mr. James Palmer’s dedication and service to the University of Calgary during his term of office as Chancellor. It is one of the most significant public academic activities hosted by the School. The purpose of the Lecture Series is to expose students, faculty and members of the Calgary community to eminent scholars of international stature and to promote discussion of important public issues. It is open to the public and free of charge.

Previous speakers include: The Atlantic journalist Anne Applebaum, legal scholar Richard Pildes, Nobel Prize winner Esther Duflo, strategist David Frum, and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Research
The School’s research is organized into four policy areas: Energy and Environmental Policy, Fiscal and Economic Policy, International Policy and Trade, and Social Policy and Health. Each area consists of underlying programs devoted to more specific policy areas. Research projects are guided and approved by a Research Committee.

The School follows a strict model for academic objectivity. All research is requested by an independent research committee made up of academics at The School. Then, research is reviewed by two anonymous peer reviewers. Research is then edited and subjected to a final objectivity and quality review by an independent academic area director.

Research output
The school maintains its own peer-reviewed publication series. Papers focus on current public policy issues and are written by both internal and external authors. The publication series includes four different types of papers: Communiqués, Briefing Papers, Research Papers and Technical Papers. In the 2023 calendar year, the school produced 52 publications and since 2011, over 700 papers have been published.

Master of Public Policy
In September 2011, the school began offering its graduate degree program, the Master of Public Policy (MPP). The MPP is structured as a one-year program with three semesters. The first two semesters involve classroom study and in the final semester, students work on a capstone project for a sponsoring organization from the private or public sector. The school admits between 30 and 40 students to the program each year, including international students.

Core courses in the MPP are taught out of the school’s classroom space at the University of Calgary’s Downtown Campus with some elective courses taught at the university’s main campus.

As of 2023, roughly a third of graduates work in government; another third work in the private sector; and 20% in the non-profit sector. Their applied work has taken them to policy centres and challenges around the world.

Joint Degree Programs
The School offers a joint Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) program. This program is run by both the School and the Haskayne School of Business.

A joint Juris Doctor, Master of Public Policy program is also offered in partnership with the University of Calgary Faculty of Law.

Master of Science (MSc) in Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV)
In 2008, the SEDV program transitioned from a study abroad option to a Calgary based offering. The program provides an education focused on balancing energy and environmental issues through policy and practice at a time of global transition. Students benefit from the teaching and expertise of faculty members from the School of Public Policy, Haskayne School of Business, Schulich School of Engineering, School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape, and the University of Calgary Faculty of Law.

As of 2023, roughly three quarters of graduates work in the private sector, and a further 20% for the government or other public institutions in Canada and beyond. Graduates from the SEDV program understand the theory and have acquired skills in understanding the impacts of energy development on the environment, Indigenous Peoples, communities and the economy.

Rankings
In recent years, IDEAS/RePEc has consistently ranked the School in the top 25% of policy schools globally. Within these rankings, the School of Public Policy is the only Canadian institution to earn a place in the top 25%.

Conservatism
Some commentators have argued that the School functions as a publicly funded conservative lobby group.

As of 2023, the SPP’s complement of academic staff work on a broad range of policy issues offering non-partisan commentary and options in their published work and media commentary. This suggests any ideological reputation that may have been acquired in the past is no longer well founded.

Key people

 * Martha Hall Findlay, Director and James S. and Barbara A. Palmer Chair at the School of Public Policy (University of Calgary)
 * Siu Ming Kwok, Associate Director
 * Ronald Kneebone, Research Director
 * Former Directors: Jackie Sieppert (2022-2023); Peter MacKinnon (2021-2022); Pierre-Gerlier Forest (2016-2021); Jack Mintz (2009-2016)
 * Early contributors include: David Bercuson, Herb Emery, Bev Dahlby, Ronald Kneebone, Robert Mansell