BC Priorities Projects
The BC Priorities Project is a research and educational collaboration between SFU’s School of Public Policy and provincial government and agency partners, which began in 2010. The goals of the project are to enhance the learning outcomes of our students by giving them the opportunity to work on issues of concern to government ministries and agencies.
Each year, the first-year cohort receive topics from different provincial agencies and organizations that are of medium to long-term interest to them. Students, in teams of four to six members, investigate the problems over the two semesters of their Introduction to Policy Issues I and II courses (MPP 800 and 807). The program is structured to match students’ interests with organizational needs in evidence-based research and policy analysis. In sessions held in Victoria and Vancouver at the end of the second semester, each student team delivers a written report and presentation regarding their findings and recommendations to members of the partner organizations.
Partner Organizations and Projects - 2019/20
BC Housing | Fighting for a Place to Call Home: Addressing Homeless Encampments in B.C.
BC Chamber of Commerce | Addressing Industrial Land Shortage in Metro Vancouver
Board Voice | There is a Better Way: a B.C. Framework for Wellbeing
Canadian Dam Association – Dam Safety Committee | Open the Dam Window: An Analysis of Current Dam Safety & Societal Risk Assessment Methods in Canada
West Coast LEAF | It’s Payback Time: a Legislative Approach to Ending Pay Discrimination in B.C.
Provincial Health Services Authority | PHSA policy management evaluation: across all provincial health services authority programs and services
City of Vancouver – City Studio | Poverty Reduction in the City of Vancouver: A Framework for Addressing Deep Poverty Through an Equitable and Anti-Colonial Lens
Partner Organizations and Projects - 2020/21
City of Vancouver | Reimagining Roadways: Promising Practices for Open Street Events
BC Ministry of Housing | a Window for Change: Alternatives to Emergency Shelters in B.C.
Genome Canada/BC Project | Implementing On-Campus Covid-19 Rapid Testing
Provincial Health Services Authority | Engaging Patients & Families in Policy Development
YMCA | Managing Child Care at the YMCA of Greater Vancouver: Improving Waitlist Efficiency & Equity
Western Economic Diversification Canada | Prevalence of rural internet connectivity issues within B.C. communities that have been most economically impacted by COVID-19
Vancouver Economic Commission | Best practices research for local economic developers to advance the circular economy in Metro Vancouver