The National Annual Public Administration Case Competition is a joint project of CAPPA and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). Canadian universities that have programs in public administration may compete. It is designed to highlight the excellence of Canadian public administration programs and students, and to provide a valuable learning experience for students.
Participants are organized into teams and presented with a "real world" public administration case, with accompanying background material. They work together to develop the best solution over a day. Teams then deliver presentations for judges. Two rounds may be required, and universities with more than one team may have their own internal competitions to determine who will represent the university.
- Some rules will vary from year to year, but typically the case presented one day before presentations to judges who represent key players in the context of the case (e.g. a cabinet committee). Teams will then go through the stages of case study review:
- Problem identification
- Research/Analysis of issues
- Identification of risks, opportunities and complexities
- Desired outcome and policy approach Issues of implementation and suggested course of action (including financial implications)
- Issues of communication, collaboration and stakeholders and suggested courses of action
Teams then develop 30-minute presentations that are made to a panel of judges. An assessment rubric will be provided before work begins, and time limits are strictly enforced.
Quality of the presentations is always high. A list of winners is available on our Honour Roll page.