The common purpose of policy practitioners in Canada’s public service is to be modern, relevant and responsive in how we work to address the needs of Canadians.

What does that mean? For the Policy Community, it means we need to be networked across departments and agencies and beyond, with awareness and skill with emerging approaches for doing our work. It also means that our policy advice-shaping efforts must keep sight of being timely, having impact and be attuned to our complex and diverse evolving context. 

For policy excellence, we need to convene, enable, and share knowledge between policy shapers and influencers. That is why we are formalizing support for the Policy Community to make it easier to find support, share experiences, collaborate, build skills, bridge the gap between policy and delivery, and improve outcomes for Canadians.

Our approach to community is all inclusive: If you are working to improve the way we tackle the challenges and issues that affect Canadians, you are part of shaping policy. (This includes Federal, Provincial/Territorial and Municipal Public Service, international governments, innovation hubs and labs, academics, and think tanks).

In 2017, the Clerk of the Privy Council, named two champions to support the Community and staff a small Policy Community Partnership Office to help deliver supports for the Community.

If you have questions on how to get involved, or would like more information, please email us: policommpoli@canada.ca

Making excellent policy requires bringing together the right people and the right tools.

The Annual Policy Community Conference is about just that. It’s a place for policy makers and shapers from across the federal public service and beyond to connect, learn, and explore topics around modern policy making, together.

Information on the February 20-21, 2019 Policy Community Conference

The 2018 Conference was a 2-day immersive conference, full of fascinating conversations, engagement with bright thought leaders, compelling talks, and opportunities to practice learning, grow a toolkit, and a network. 

Here is the full conference report and videos of our 2018 plenary speakers. 

In addition to the in-person conference, the Policy Community has developed the Conference-in-a-Box, which you can access to facilitate a mini-conference of your own.