The Impending Grey Storm: Mobilizing to Address a Complex, Multi-Dimensional Policy Challenge
Sponsors: KPMG, Institute of Public Administration of Canada, Institute for Research on Public Policy, & CAPPA
The 2016 National Public Administration Case Competition was held at the University of Ottawa, on February 27, 2016. Pictures of the winning teams and presentations of most of the schools are available on this page. The sponsors were KPMG, IRPP, CAPPA, the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto and IPAC.The case was a complex one, focusing on the myriad issues of aging in our society and the policy challenges posed by the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Students were asked to provide a synopsis of the issues and make suggestions to create momentum in a policy field that to date has only attracted modest attention.
« What this wave means in terms of public policy choices is difficult to summarize, let alone synthesize. A simple look at the numbers is not enough, even if they do begin to tell an interesting story. The population cohort born during the two decades after the Second World are going to be making significant decisions about its accumulated wealth, and their life choices and needs that will have profound effects on how governments respond, and ultimately on how society organizes itself… At each stage of their individual journey, what people in this cohort do and what they expect will affect some aspect of public policy. »
The competition was judged by Mark MacDonald (Partner, KPMG), Anne Scotton (Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive, INAC), Suzanne Legault (Access to Information Commissioner of Canada), Wilma Vreeswijk (President, Canada School of Public Service), Roger Scott-Douglas (ADM Priorities and Planning, Treasury Board Secretariat). We owe each of the judges a debt of gratitude for their time, rigour, and experience.
The competition attracted twelve excellent teams representing universities from across the country. Each of the teams performed extremely well.
Top team presentations:
- Simon Fraser University (winner) (PDF, 335 kB)
- University of Toronto (2nd prize) (PDF, 450 kB)
- Queen’s University (3rd prize) (PDF, 1.1 MB)
Other team presentations:
- Carleton University (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Dalhousie University (PDF, 58 kB)
- Glendon College (PDF, 518 kB)
- Ryerson University (PDF, 300 kB)
- University of Ottawa (PDF, 135 kB)
- University of Calgary (PDF, 465 kB)
- York University (PDF, 545 kB)