Length: 6 hours (two half days)
Audience: All employees, specifically of interest to Program Planners/ Policy Practitioners/Analysts/ Evaluators
Facilitator: Shawn Martin
Location: Sage Room, 40C Burns Avenue, Charlottetown
Dates: Part 1: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 9:00am
Part 2: Wednesday, March 4th, 2026 at 9:00am
Public policy can seem obscure when, in fact, most of us do some policy work. Public policy is about choice – choice of action (or inaction) by a public authority to address an issue. The Introduction to Public Policy Course offers participants a base of knowledge and skills that they can apply to their work and build on in future learning. Day one focuses on defining public policy, where it comes from, the policy process, and policy tools. Day two focuses on frequently used policy products, and applying innovation to policy work. With PEI-specific case studies, and participation throughout, course content is relevant and applicable to a broad audience.
Objectives:
- Learn what policy is,and where it comes from.
- Learn the importance of problem definition, and applying it to public policy issues.
- Learn the policy cycle, in theory and in practice, and managing the policy cycle.
- Learn about policy tools and products, and when to use common GPEI policy products.
- Learn what policy innovation is, and policy innovation tools / approaches.
Applications in the workplace:
- Understanding what policy is, and how it applies to your work.
- Identifying and defining problems before proposing solutions.
- Understanding the policy cycle (in practice) in relation to your work.
- Choosing appropriate policy products to support your work.
- Identifying opportunities to apply policy innovations in your work.
Please note: This course is part of the broader Policy Learning Series, and is different from the course on Writing for Government: Executive Council Memos, Treasury Board Memos and Briefing Notes.
