Foundations in International Public Policy (FIPP)

The FIPP takes place in August, just before the start of the MIPP degree in September.  It is offered in-person, at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. As such, it is also a good introduction to and rehearsal with ideas and tools that students will encounter in MIPP courses. Many students will take the FIPP as an introduction to their degree, whether it is required or not.

The FIPP content reflects the multidisciplinary demands of most policy problems. The case studies highlight the contributions of economics, political science, theoretical and empirical analysis to the formulation, implementation, and assessment of public policy.

Beginning with Political Science, suppose that your career goal involves a role in what we will come to call a policy sub-system, loosely for now, the people who do something that contributes to policy change. You’ll be better at your work from knowing the process, how policy change comes about. Who else is in the policy sub-system? How do they interact? How is competition over the outcome of policy making resolved?

Economic globalization makes the international public domain, a space where transnational policy sub-systems reckon with collective action problems more consequential. A policy advisor is better equipped to work on any policy problem if they understand the economic context in which it is embedded. Practically, this understanding entails knowledge of trends and patterns in both economic and non-economic characteristics of the policy context.

A background knowledge of statistics is required because policy making relies on quantitative evidence in two stages. Policy formulation is the art of designing a plan to achieve a desirable outcome.

It is not enough to anticipate the direction of a policy impact. The policy advisor must be able to evaluate its material importance. Public policy changes presuppose features a desirable outcome.