Public Policy and Governance Review

Call for Submissions – Volume 3, Issue 2

In Uncategorized on February 9, 2012 at 2:17 pm

The Public Policy and Governance Review is now accepting submissions for Volume 3, Issue 2. All papers, excluding Sylvia Ostry Prize submissions, must be submitted by February 24, 2012 for review. Submission details can be found at www.ppgreview.ca/submissions.

The PPGR is also accepted submissions for its annual essay competition, the Sylvia Ostry Prize in Public Policy. The author of the top paper shall be awarded $1000 CAD and publication in the next issue of the PPGR. Please see the poster below for details of this year’s Ostry Prize competition.

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Volume 3 Issue 1

In Announcements on January 10, 2012 at 10:00 am

The Public Policy and Governance Review is pleased to announce the release of its Winter 2012 Issue.

Click here for the new issue.

The articles in this issue reflect the themes of the past year, as well as other longstanding policy challenges. We lead off Volume 3, Issue 1 of the Review with a call to action from Senator Roméo Dallaire to policy leaders present and future. Other articles in this issue highlight current policy discourse on the topics of income inequality, the intervention in Libya, and the European debt crisis. Additionally, this collection features articles on Canadian national security, aboriginal education, tax policy, and foreign policy.

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Chevrolet Volt, Fitocracy, Games, Gamification, Public Policy

Gamification and Public Policy

In Brent Barron, Public Policy on February 8, 2012 at 10:00 am

Brent Barron

Policy professionals had better start getting used to playing games. Not because we’re dour individuals in need of some fun (although maybe we are a bit dour: federal layoff fears led to less Christmas spending spirit in Ottawa), but because games and friendly competition have the power to seriously change how people behave.

One of my favourite features about the Chevy Volt (I swear this isn’t a paid blogvertisement, even though it starts exactly like one) is the dashboard, specifically the green bubble on the right side. The car automatically calculates how efficiently you’re driving and gives you a visual representation of it: green is efficient, while yellow means aggressive and inefficient braking or acceleration.