School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation (SPPDI)
As part of our broader mandate to heighten democratic engagement and promote a truly inclusive democracy, we recognize that people need to have a fuller understanding of public policy and its relationship to democracy and governance. The School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation is true to the university’s identity as a metropolitan school with a commitment to practical and current experiential education, equity and social justice. The School brings academic rigour to the analysis of public policy with a focus on the impacts on racialized, low-income, sexual minority groups, Indigenous communities, women and other intersectional identities.
Our goal is to strengthen democratic processes, and engage different groups of people more fully and equitably.
Objectives:
- Critically assesses the relationship between power, politics and policy
- Through open and rigorous data, evaluation metrics, co-create knowledge to shape evidence-based policy change that puts public good at the centre
- Bridges academic policy research with community-based work with a focus on building, nurturing and sustaining a robust democracy
- Enhances accountability and advocates for government attention to issues of social equity and inclusion in policy-making
- Fosters interdisciplinary research in areas, such as, health, food security, technology, the environment, cybersecurity, Indigenous governance, employment, immigration and more
Leadership
Dr. Pamela Sugiman is Dean of the Faculty of Arts (currently on leave) at Toronto Metropolitan University (since July 2016). Prior to this, Dean Sugiman was Chair of the Department of Sociology at TMU (since 2012).
Enhancing undergraduate and graduate education, teaching and student life within the Faculty of Arts are among Dr. Sugiman’s priorities as dean. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto and specializes in oral history, memory studies, women’s history in Canada, racism and racialization, work and labour, and working-class history.
Over the course of her career, Dean Sugiman has built a reputation for collegiality, transparency, creativity and vision. She is committed to issues of social justice, equality and inclusion as an academic leader and researcher. As Dean of Arts, she has promoted the recruitment of Indigenous faculty, development of Indigenous education, democratic engagement, migration and immigration and student engagement and student-worker experience.
In recognition of her excellence in research, teaching and service, Pam is a recipient of the Errol Aspevig Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership (TMU), Outstanding Contribution Award (Canadian Sociological Association), Marion Dewar Prize in Canadian Women’s History and has been named the Lansdowne Lecturer and Distinguished Women Scholar, University of Victoria, as well as the W.L. Morton Lecturer, Trent University.
She is a board member of the National Association of Japanese Canadians (external link) , Pathways to Education Canada (external link) , the Atkinson Foundation (external link) , and the National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (external link) .