Research-Policy-Practice Interface

Fixing things in Canada has never been more difficult. Smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, washing machines, smart speakers, virtual assistants, cars, bicycles, wheelchairs, pacemakers, ventilators, tractors, tanks, fighter jets, and almost every other device or piece of equipment in our homes and workplaces is more costly, more inconvenient, and more difficult, if not impossible, to repair. Barriers to repair impact all industries, sectors, and regions. No one is spared from the Great Canadian Breakdown. As breakdown becomes more pervasive, the need for a comprehensive Canadian “right to repair” becomes more critical.

April 29, 2025 Rachael Cadman

Building Capacity for Decision Making Where Information Matters

As educators, we believe we have a responsibility to equip students entering professional careers with the knowledge and skills to consider evidence critically, to understand the roles of various actors who could and should be included in decision processes, and how to arrive at solutions to societal problems effectively. Accordingly, for over a decade we have offered a graduate course, Information in Public Policy and Decision Making, in the Dalhousie University Master of Information program. Unique among the Canadian Information Studies programs, this course is designed to introduce students to the many facets of evidence-based (or evidence-informed) policy and decision-making with the expectation that as the next generation professionals they will understand when and how to facilitate policy development at organizational and local, national, and international levels.