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Introduction In Why Nations Fail, Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) explain that the Black Plague represented both a calamity for humanity and an opportunity to reinvent itself. Without the Black Plague, [...]

This article explores the area of research engagement between two very important communities in the Canadian public policy landscape: academics and senior public service executives. Using data from three surveys, we argue that while public sector executives may be more receptive to academic research than the literature suggests, academic advice and knowledge remain underutilized. While there does not seem to be a strong cleavage between the two groups, they also tend to come together mostly under very specific conditions. Oddly enough, academics do not seem to be troubled by the underutilization of their research. Cet article etudie le domaine de participation a la recherche entre deux communautes primordiales dans l'environnement des politiques publiques canadiennes : les universitaires et les cadres superieurs de la fonction publique. En s'appuyant sur les donnees obtenues par trois sondages, nous soutenons qu'en depit du fait que les cadres de la fonction publique semblent plus ouverts a la recherche universitaire que les ecrits ne le suggerent, les conseils et les connaissances academiques restent largement sous-utilises. Bien qu'il ne semble pas exister de grande fracture entre les deux groupes, ils semblent cependant s'accorder dans des conditions particulierement specifiques. Etrangement cependant, les universitaires ne semblent pas etre alarmes par la sous-utilisation de leur travail de recherche., Introduction Public policy and decision-making literatures have had a long engagement with the provision, distribution, and use of knowledge (Jennings and Hall 2012; Howlett and Newman 2010; Young 2013). Over [...]

Highlights David Kolb's experiential learning model and examines learning preferences within the context of the model. Discusses implications and provides illustrations for each of the model's four stages: (1) concrete experience; (2) reflective observation; (3) abstract conceptualization; and (4) active experimentation. Provides six sample teaching/learning sequences. (CMK)

This paper examines the failure and success of aboriginal self-government during the 1982-87 period by focusing on the constitutional talks, their impact on the federal and provincial governments, and the resultant activity of those governments. The paper begins with a brief account of the emergence of aboriginal self-government onto the constitutional table. The paper then analyses the consequences of the emphasis on constitutional change and the use of the first ministers' constitutional conferences for the development of aboriginal self-government. The paper reveals that this emphasis was bound to result in frustration and complication of the pursuit of aboriginal self-government in the constitutional arena. However, the paper concludes that the constitutional process wrought unintentional results that benefited aboriginal communities in Canada. The conferences served as a powerful inducement to the development of the issue in policy areas. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

This article begins with a short discussion of the three core principles of parliamentary government in order to establish a framework for evaluating the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI): representative government, responsible government and the tradition of dissent. The following sections briefly describe the VSI and assess it in relation to the three principles. The VSI proposes a fundamental change in the operation of government to meet the challenges of the new century and, while it is too soon to assess its prospects for achieving its objectives, some areas of potential promise and danger may be identified.