SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 438-4(undergrads) / CMNS 851-5(for grad students)
(438)Communication Policy Project Group/(851)Directed Study:
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANADIAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (S&T) POLICY AND CANADIANS’ AWARENESS OF S&T ISSUES

Prerequisites:

At least 75 credit hours including two upper division CMNS courses or equivalent; AND instructor’s permission. Students must have access to SFU e-mail and access to Microsoft PowerPoint software.

First class:

Monday 25 June 2001, at 10:30 in room HC2235, Harbour Centre campus. Subsequent classes will be scheduled to fit participants’ timetables.

Overview:

Over the past decade there has been a drastic downsizing of the science and technology (S&T) policy making apparatus at both the federal and provincial levels of government. This has occurred at a time when other OECD nations have reorganized and strengthened their ability to develop and analyze S&T and innovation policy and programs. This course will review the overall policy making process and Canada and then focus on the evolution (or otherwise) of Canadian S&T policy since the Second World War.

This course is designed to provide both an introduction to the theory and practice of policy analysis, with an emphasis on S&T and innovation, for senior undergraduate students, and a forum for the review and critical analysis of S&T policies and programs for graduate students. The Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST), at Harbour Centre, is currently hosting a senior federal civil servant on secondment from the Policy Research Secretariat of the Privy Council Office of Canada, Mr. Chris Taylor. This course will make use of both Prof. Holbrook’s and Mr. Taylor’s extensive experience in the federal government.

The course will start with a review of the theory surrounding technological innovation and the literature that has reported on the links between investments in S&T and innovation on the one hand and economic and social development on the other. The course will then cover aspects of the policy processes within government (particularly the federal government) that bear on the introduction of science, technology and innovation programs. There will be segment comparing Canadian S&T policymaking to that in other countries. Finally the course will look at Canadians’ awareness of S&T issues

There will be an assignment to research and prepare suitable postings for the new S&T section of the <<Policy.ca>> website. A second assignment will be to research S&T policy development and analysis in other OECD nations. The final assignment will be to prepare an analysis of a specific Canadian S&T or technological innovation policy issue and Canadian public participation in it. Students will make a presentation to a TV documentary producer who is interested in making a series on Canadian S&T issues (Mr. Deepak Sahasrabudhhe of SomaTV).

Readings:

Students will be given an extensive reading list, together with photocopies of relevant materials from the grey literature. Students will need a broad, but not necessarily deep, understanding of economics, social theory, political science, Canadian politics and statistics.

Evaluation:

Participation 20%
First two Assignments 20% each
Final Presentation 40%

Final presentations will be oral supported by a ten-slide PowerPoint presentation, to give students an introduction to the type of environment that government policy analysts face when making presentations to senior officials.

A list-serve specific to the class will be set up to facilitate exchanges of information.

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to "Intellectual Honesty," and "Academic Discipline" (see the current Calendar, General Regulations Section).