Directed research course from the Center on Governance for 4th year social science students (FSS 4150)

To be eligible, a student must be enrolled in a Major, Honours, Joint Honours or Specialization in the Social Sciences. In addition, the student must have completed 81 credits. Finally, the student must have maintained a B+ (7/10) average or higher at the time of application to the program.

Students must commit to devoting approximately 100 hours of work to the project and agree to meet regularly with the professional designated by the host organization to supervise the student. Students must be committed to demonstrating a high level of professionalism throughout the project.

At the end of the project, students must prepare a brief report for the Centre on Governance. This report will form part of the evaluation for course grading and must include the following documents:

• A one-page description of the work performed;
• A copy of any research reports produced by the student as part of the internship;
• A one-page evaluation describing the quality of interaction with the professional supervising the practicum and a description of the competencies acquired;
• A two-page reflective text on the learning acquired and its relevance to the research conducted at the Centre on Governance: Public Management, Public Policy and Governance.

The grade for the course will be assigned by the Centre on Governance.

Applying and qualifying for the program does not guarantee participation. The number of research projects available will affect the number of students participating in a given semester. Other criteria also include the student’s grade point average.

The mechanism for allocating internships is explained below.

Host organizations eligible for this program provide applied research internships in areas related to the field of research of the Centre on Governance. All organizations external to the University of Ottawa are eligible. This does not exclude, on occasion, the possibility of producing research in collaboration with a professor who is a member of the Centre on Governance. However, supervision and coaching of the intern must be provided by a professional from the host organization, an affiliated researcher or a visiting scholar.

Host organizations, affiliated researchers and visiting scholars must provide a brief information document for each proposed research project as well as the name of the professional responsible for supervising the student. At a minimum, this person must have a master's or doctoral degree in the social sciences, management, or a relevant field. Multiple offers are accepted from the same host organization.

For each project, the information provided must include:

• The name and address of the organization;
• The name and title of the person who will supervise the student (must have a master's or doctoral degree in social sciences, management, or a relevant field);
• A brief description of the research project and its relevance to the Centre on Governance;
• Identification of any specific qualifications required from the student in order to carry out the research project.

Organizations, affiliated researchers and visiting scholars interested in submitting a proposal for a directed research project should submit a project.

Projects must be undertaken in English, French or in a bilingual environment.

The host organization, affiliated researchers and visiting scholars must agree to meet with the participating student at regular intervals, at least once a week, to assess progress and provide guidance.

At the end of the project, the host organisation, affiliated researchers and visiting scholars must prepare an evaluation of the student's performance, justifying in a few paragraphs and specifying the assessment according to the following scale:

• exceeded expectations (A/A+),
• met all expectations and, in some areas, exceeded expectations (A-),
• succeeded on all expectations (B+),
• was able to meet the most important expectations but failed to meet some secondary (C+/B) expectations,
• was able to meet some expectations, but failed to meet one or more of the most important expectations (D+/C/C+),
• met some secondary expectations but did not meet the most important (E/D) expectations, or
• did not meet any of the expectations (F).

The Centre on Governance will validate the final grade for each student in the course.

The program is not available during the summer term. In the fall and winter terms, the Centre on Governance will be calling for potential host organizations to develop and receive research projects for 4^th year social science students. A bank of projects will be compiled and made available to students in mid-August (fall term) or mid-December (winter term).

Interested and qualified students will submit a form including their eligibility criteria (latest course transcripts), and a letter of intent for available projects (200 words maximum). Each student may identify a maximum of 2 projects (identifying first and second choice). A bank of qualified students will be prepared by the Centre on Governance taking their preferences into account.

The Centre on Governance management will be in charge of pairing research projects and students during first round. The host organization will have to approve or disapprove the proposed match based on the student's file. Some interaction may be necessary to ensure that the interests of the students and the needs of the host organizations are best matched. Once the host organization has approved the match, the student will be offered a place in the Directed Research course.

The number of internships offered for a given duration may be less than the number of qualified and interested students. In such a case, the Centre on Governance will give priority based on the excellence of the student's academic record. Qualified students who are denied an internship in one term may apply for another term. Qualified students will be allowed to complete only one practicum in their fourth year. International students may also participate.

Some project opportunities may not be filled due to the limited number of students. The Centre on Governance will then inform the organizations concerned. In this case, the organization will be invited to submit its project(s) for the following semester.

The following projects have been confirmed by our partners participating in the Centre on Governance’s directed research course:

Winter 2024 semester:

• Forum of Federations. Project: Housing Policy and Multilevel Governance.   The affordable housing crisis is one of Canada’s most urgent governance challenges. With millions of Canadians, particularly those on lower incomes, facing rapidly rising housing costs and a chronic undersupply of suitable homes, alongside inflation and a high cost of living, an increasing number of people are finding themselves unable to put a roof over their heads. The cascading social and economic consequences of housing unaffordability put strain on other public services, have a deleterious effect on the quality of life of citizens, and contribute to generational inequality, particularly impacting young people with limited financial capital. The Canadian federal government and opposition parties have identified housing as one of the key policy areas to be addressed in the next decade, with the issue likely to be high on the agenda in the next federal election. Alongside Canada, other federations such as Germany, Australia and Switzerland are also facing housing challenges. But in Canada and other federal countries, housing policy is typically not the responsibility of a single order of government. Provincial/state and municipal governments often play key roles in regulating, supporting, and even building affordable housing stock in the areas under their jurisdiction. However, the relationship between housing policy, attempts to address housing unaffordability, and federal governance structures is not well understood, and to date has been underexplored in academic and policy spheres. This research project will aim to begin to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the dynamics of housing policy and federal and multilevel governance in federations around the world.
  The research will be done in English.
  The student who takes on this project should have an interest and enthusiasm for social issues as they relate to governance processes, as well as a foundational understanding of federalism and multilevel governance. This project will have a practical, policy-oriented focus, and so the student should have the capacity to engage with material of this type.
• University of Ottawa Professor (Janique Dubois). Project:  Governance and Child Care Policies in Indigenous Communities. Over the last year, the federal government has concluded Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care agreements with all provinces and territories. The intention of these agreements is to provide families with access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care opportunities for all Canadians. Research has clearly demonstrated that investments in child care produce significant societal returns. This project seeks to better understand the implications of childcare funding for Indigenous families, and, in particular, as a means to address Indigenous inequality. Specifically, the project examines the economic returns of Indigenous child care funding on equality by examining its impact on generational wealth.
  Required skills:
  - capacity for synthesis (synthesis of provincial policies)
  - analytical capacity (analysis of Child and Family Services programs in various Indigenous communities)
  - the methodology also includes econometrics, so related knowledge is welcome but not necessary
  - the research will be done in English
• University of Ottawa Researcher (Silvana Gomes). Project: Municipal Governance and Housing and Homelessness Policies. The project is embedded in a partnership between the supervisor and the City of Ottawa in the context of the PAP4315 Public Policy Analysis that she will teach at the School of Political Studies in Winter 2024. The city is getting ready to refresh its 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan in 2025 and is seeking comparative input showing how other comparable cities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are approaching their respective strategic plans in this area. I am looking for an undergraduate student to help me prepare a comparative policy brief for the City of Ottawa based on the individual city reports that students enrolled in the course will produce. 
  The project directly speaks to the Centre on Governance's (CoG) mandate to work with organizations to better understand governance mechanisms in order to analyze implementation problems and provide better services. The project deliverables will help inform a crucial strategic policy in Ottawa, amid a complex housing and homelessness crisis that is deeply affecting the community and challenging policymakers to come up with effective solutions.
  The student should not be enrolled in the PAP4315 course. To succeed in this role, the student should meet the qualifications below: 
  • Proficiency in English;
  • Excellent communication skills;
  • Ability to synthesize written documents (e.g., policy documents and reports);
  • Research skills: ability to search for official documents online and to use uOttawa's library system;
  • Attention to detail: experience with copyediting and proofreading would be an asset.
• University of Ottawa researchers (Anne Mévellec). Project. Territorial and Municipal Governance in Ontario. The research project focuses on territorial governance in Prescott and Russell. It is a continuation of the research conducted by Professor Anne Mévellec and Professor Linda Cardinal on the territorial governance structures in Eastern Ontario. The research project is part of a larger comparative Quebec-Ontario project that includes the regions of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Outaouais and Saguenay (1994-2024). The aim is to document the structures and practices of territorial governance in this region, with a particular interest in the municipal level, local elected officials and the forms of mobilization which take place in this area. The project will be in French.
  Required skills:
  Education in political science and/or public administration is an asset.
  Good knowledge of the Ontario political context will be considered an asset.
  Good writing skills in French are required.

Applying and qualifying for the program does not guarantee participation. The number of research projects available will affect the number of students participating in a given semester.