After a year’s COVID hiatus, Canada’s premiere social policy conference — the International Institute on Social Policy — is back, in a new partnership!
This year the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto and the School of Policy Studies at the Queen’s University will host the 26th annual International Institute on Social Policy: Next Wave: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Policy in the Coming Decade.
For over two years, the COVID-19 pandemic high-jacked the policy agenda and necessarily focused attention on responses to the emergency. Meanwhile, new and enduring social, political, and economic challenges have been gathering force. The Munk School and Queen’s University are joining forces to bring together leading international and Canadian experts to consider whether and how we need to reform, or even transform, Canadian social policy for a more resilient and successful future.
- October 31, 2022 in-person: Launch conference at the Munk School on meta challenges and policy choices facing Canada and other OECD countries (registration fee applies). Register for the conference now.
- November 2 to 18, 2022 virtual webinars: Online policy seminars on major areas of social policy most in flux and ripe for rethinking (free registration). See the full list of seminars on the conference website.
The Queen’s International Institute on Social Policy (QIISP), which was established in 1995, brings together senior policy-makers and leading researchers to review recent research findings and to discuss major directions in social policy.
Features of QIISP that make distinctive contributions to the social policy community include:
- A focus on research, knowledge transfer and informed debate.
- Participation of senior policy-makers from all levels of government in Canada, as well as from the voluntary sector.
- An international perspective, with speakers coming from international organizations, universities and research organizations from around the world.
- Contributions from leading Canadian researchers from universities, think tanks and government agencies.
For 25 years, the QIISP probed the most pressing social policy issues facing Canada and other OECD countries. Its distinctive features – a focus on policy horizons, an international and comparative perspective, and the conjunction of research and policy – have made it Canada’s premiere annual social conference. The 2020 Institute continued to build on this tradition and the policy ideas presented in recent years such as “Inclusive Prosperity: Recoupling Growth, Equity and Social Integration” (2019) and “The Future of Work” (2018). As always, the Queen’s Institute engages senior policy-makers from all levels of government in Canada; Canadian and international researchers from universities, think tanks and international agencies; and community leaders and service providers.
Past QIISP
Agenda [PDF 185 KB]
“Building Back Better”, the Queen’s 2020 International Institute on Social Policy, was presented as a series of virtual discussions that drew in experts from across Canada and the OECD. The program included keynote speakers, panels, and arm-chair discussions with opportunities for interactivity with the audience. It was be organized in three clusters:
- Analysis of economic and social impacts, trends and policy responses across the OECD; Historical precedents and future pathways.
- Deep dives into public policy domains most ripe for debate and reinvention.
- Assessment of public attitudes and political trends that will condition societal responses.
Theme
By late summer 2020, although the pandemic will not be extinguished, attention will be shifting from response to recovery and renewal. To this end, the 2020 Queens’ International Institute on Social Policy will host a series of evidence-based online discussions starting in August 2020 on how Canada and other OECD countries can “build back better” and rethink critical building blocks of social policy. It will draw together leading researchers and thinkers from Canada and across the OECD to take stock of early lessons, harvest ideas from the many policy research efforts springing up in Canada and elsewhere in response to the crisis, and advance innovative policy ideas for how Western economies can lay the foundations for a sustainable and inclusive recovery and future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought death, suffering and dislocation on a scale not seen in Western societies since WW2. It has exposed stark inequalities, the precarious nature of work and social security for many, and the consequences of allowing economic growth to become decoupled from broad-based social benefit. In the words of the Financial Times, the pandemic has “laid bare the frailty of the social contract. Radical reforms are required to forge a society that will work for all”.
Earlier shocks to Western economies of this magnitude spawned fundamental rethinking of the social order and waves of policy innovation. One only needs to think of the response to historical pandemics or the many wartime initiatives such as Roosevelt’s New Deal, the UK’s Beveridge Report or the Marsh Report in Canada. The current crisis will create the opportunity, if not the imperative, for an equally ambitious reimagining and rebuilding of the social and economic order.
Now, in spring 2020, policy makers in Canada and other OECD countries must focus relentlessly on the urgent and unprecedented task of keeping millions of citizens safe and of safeguarding as many livelihoods and businesses as possible. Imminently, however, the focus will shift to recovery and renewal. Soon the question will be “what have we learned” and “how do we build back better”?
- Which countries, and which population groups, have best weathered the pandemic, in terms of health and economic impacts? Why, and what can we learn?
- How do we better protect citizens and society as a whole from extreme shocks and setbacks?
- How do we build greater social and economic resilience? How do we ensure no one is left behind?
- How do we remedy clear inadequacies in the current social safety net while anticipating new and emerging challenges, whether they are technological change, new post-pandemic ways of working and producing, or events yet unforeseen?
- Do the emergency response measures invoked by Canada and other countries point the way to systemic reform?
- What lasting changes are likely to emerge from the pandemic’s impact on peoples’ lives and livelihoods?
- Will there be significant shifts in what citizens’ value and what they expect from government, employers, and fellow citizens?
Presentations, Videos and Articles
Videos: Videos of the presentations are available on our YouTube channel
Articles: A series of articles based on this conference was published by PolicyOptions in a special feature called "Tackling Inequality as Part of Canada’s Post-Pandemic Recovery".
Presentations: Below is a list of the available slide decks from the 2020 Queen's International Institute on Social Policy. V
Session 1
- Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) - "From Response to Recovery to Reform - Toward a new Social Contract?" [PDF 815 KB]
Session 2
- Stefano Scarpetta, Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - "Social and economic impacts of the current crisis, governments’ policy responses and lessons for going forward" [PDF 733 KB]
- Kevin Milligan, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia - "COVID19 and the Canadian Labour Market: Lessons for Policy" [PDF 1 MB]
Session 3
- René Morissette, Statistics Canada - "Vulnerabilities in Canada Before, During, and After COVID-19" [PDF 4.1 MB]
- Carrie Bourassa, Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research - "Spotlight on those at risk of being left behind" [PDF 2.1MB]
- Laura Gardiner, Resolution Foundation - "The coronavirus crisis in the UK and those at risk of being left behind" [PDF 1.2 MB]
- Heather Boushey, Equitable Growth - "Unbound:How Inequality Constricts Our Economy" [PDF 3.2 MB]
Session 4
- Hilary Hoynes, University of California, Berkeley - "Income Support in the U.S. Existing Programs and COVID-19 Response" [PDF 1.8 MB]
- David Green, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia - "Taking Basic Income Seriously" [PDF 2.1MB]
- Miles Corak, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, City University of New York - "Social Policy, Now: Next Steps for income support and social insurance in Canada" [PDF 1.2 MB]
Session 5
- Andrea Doucet, Brock University - "Childcare and Parental Leave Policies in COVID-19 Canada: Towards New Social Imaginaries" [PDF 1.5 MB]
- Ito Peng, University of Toronto - "Rethinking Social Protection and The Care Economy" [PDF 867 KB]
- Samir Sinha, Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals - "Who Is Caring for Canada’s Caregivers?" [PDF 2.7 MB]
Session 6
- Janine Berg, International Labour Organisation (ILO) - "Rethinking Labour Protection" [PDF 1.4 MB]
- Kevin Banks, Queen's University - "Rethinking Workplace Protection" [PDF 656 KB]
Session 7
- Daniel Béland, McGill University - "The Politics of Fiscal Federalism in Canada" [PDF 902 KB]
- Robin Boadway, Queen's University - "Rethinking Fiscal Arrangements in Canada" [PDF 106 KB]
Session 8 - No slides were used in this session. Please see the video located in the playlist linked above.
Session 9
- Ben Page, IPSOS-Mori - "Beyond the Pandemic" [PDF 3.1 MB]
- David Coletto, Abacus Data - "A New Paradigm? Anticipating the Impact of the Pandemic on Public Opinion" [PDF 1.6 MB]
Agenda [PDF 185 KB]
Theme
For decades, the trend line of economic progress, as measured by aggregate indicators such as GDP growth, has been positive across OECD countries. Most economies have recovered from the global financial crisis of 2008. When you look beyond the aggregates, however, a different picture emerges; the benefits of economic prosperity have not been equally distributed: income levels and growth have become increasingly unequal; some sectors, occupations and regions have thrived while others have not; labour’s share of income has declined; and wealth has become highly concentrated at the top of the distribution.
If anything, these trends will be amplified in the years ahead as technological change risks further polarizing labour markets, more low and middle income families struggle to make ends meet, and work becomes increasingly precarious for many. In sum, economic growth has become decoupled from broad-based societal benefits. Some people are being left behind. Others feel they can’t get ahead. Many feel the ‘system’ is not fair.
Social integration is also at risk. Economic pressures threaten to deepen fissures in the fabric of Canadian life, dividing the highly skilled and the less skilled, the young and the elderly, the native born and newcomers, people in different regions, rural and urban communities. If trust in each other and in governments is weakened, if levels of conflict grow, our ability to handle the technological and demographic challenges before us will be compromised.
For the first time in decades, many are turning their attention to finding pathways for more inclusive growth. Economic dogma and fixed pro-market prescriptions are being assailed from the ‘right’ and the ‘left” and by professional economists. But if traditional liberal economic policy frameworks have failed, what policy approaches will be more effective at advancing economic inclusion, opportunity and prosperity?
The 2019 Queen’s International Institute on Social Policy (QIISP) will explore this policy frontier. For decades, policymakers, whether focused on trade or infrastructure or innovation or housing or social programs, have used standard policy frameworks premised on trade-offs between efficiency and equity. The rationale for public policy has typically been predicated on narrow view of market failures, surgical interventions and after-the-fact consideration of distributional and adjustment issues. Now is the time to turn conventional thinking on its head – to look at how the rules of the market and the design of public policies can work better for everyone.
Presentations, Videos and Articles
Presentations:
Videos:Videos of the presentations are available on our YouTube channel
Articles:
A series of articles based on this conference has been launched by PolicyOptions in a special feature called "Ensuring Inclusive Prosperity When All Boats Aren’t Being Lifted".
Agenda - NEED SPS TO PROVIDE
Theme
Are Canadians ready for the work of the future? Is Canadian social policy? New technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and nanotechnology are rapidly altering the skills composition of jobs, prospects for different occupations and the very nature of work itself. The contours of the future of work are beginning to emerge. The federal government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth estimates that by 2030 technological change will displace nearly a quarter of the tasks currently performed by Canadian workers, and that over 10% of workers will lose their jobs (Learning Nation, December 2017).
Knowledge workers and professionals will not be immune from the transformative impact of these technologies. But the occupations most at risk are likely those involving routine activities — jobs usually held by relatively low-skilled and low-paid workers. For many, the place and nature of work will also likely change, with the prospect of less job security, lower wages, and less predictable work. On the other hand, some occupations and industries are likely to grow – especially those that engage higher-order cognitive skills, interpersonal skills and comfort with technology. Across the board, one thing is certain -- change will be ubiquitous, putting a premium on all individuals’ adaptability, resilience and ability to reskill across the life course.
QIISP 2018 does not attempt to predict the precise future of the labour market; the direction of change is clear. Rather QIISP asks whether our social policies are nimble enough for an uncertain future, whether incremental change will suffice or whether radical rethinking is in order. QIISP will ask what Canadians need to do to get ready for the future of work.
In recent decades, social policy thinking has placed a lot of faith in learning systems – from early childhood development through postsecondary education and adult retraining. How do we prepare young people for a new world of work? How can we facilitate learning, reskilling and adaptability for working adults? Do our current approaches need to be rethought? The Advisory Council doubles down on this strategy, calling for a major investment in adult skills development.
How do we help those at risk of being left behind? The data on efforts to retrain older workers displaced in recent decades are not reassuring. We face the prospect that there will be casualties who cannot be easily retrained for the work of the future. Rapid technological change may also increase the ranks of precarious workers, raising questions about policies relating to the regulation of employment standards and business practices, minimum wages and benefits, and income support.
Finally, will the impact of technological change on jobs, wages, and the workplace deepen social faultlines? Which groups are likely to be most at risk and which ones more likely to thrive? What are the implications for women and men, racialized and immigrant Canadians, people with disabilities, and different age groups? Will new business practices and employment patterns – for example the ‘gig economy’ - reduce everyday social interaction and weaken the ties that bind us together? Will Canadian’s sense of social cohesion be challenged?
QIISP 2018 tackles these questions. The conference opens with the broad context, setting the Canadian pattern in an international context and examining what other countries are doing. The next three sessions examine the key policy tools: a) education; b) the postsecondary sector and worker reskilling; and c) mechanisms for social protection including employment policies and income support. The fifth session examines the implications for different social groups -- men and women, immigrants and racialized minorities, people with disabilities, and older workers. The sixth session features a roundtable with leaders from business, labour, education, and the community sectors addressing the question: who needs to do what? And the final sessions asks how politics will shape our collective response to these challenges?
Presentations, Videos and Articles
Presentations:
Videos:
Videos of the presentations are available on our YouTube channel
Articles:
A series of articles based on this conference has been launched by PolicyOptions in a special feature called "Preparing citizens for the future of work".
Theme
In recent years, Canada and other OECD countries have experienced multiple disruptions - shifting patterns of global commerce, demographic change, the digital revolution and new security risks. Many Western countries have also experienced rising income inequality and social polarization, as economic growth has increasingly become decoupled from social outcomes. The consequences are being felt across many OECD countries – social fracturing, political upheaval and a crisis of policy and institutional legitimacy.
Yet more disruption is on the horizon. Canada and other OECD countries are in the early stages of a new technological revolution driven by the application of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, nanotechnology and other innovations. This next technological revolution, like its predecessors, has the potential to increase prosperity and quality of life. On the other hand, it could compound the numbers of people feeling economically excluded and trapped in precarious employment. Economic polarization can also trigger cultural polarization, driving deeper wedges between majorities and minorities. Recent political events in other countries suggest this can be an explosive combination.
So far, Canada has avoided the powerful backlash reshaping politics and policy in many of its peer countries. But the factors that have contributed to upheaval elsewhere exist in Canada as well. It would be dangerous to reassure ourselves that Canada is somehow an exceptional place.
Looking ahead, preserving a confident, inclusive and prosperous Canada will require rethinking twentieth century policy orthodoxy that divorced growth from inclusion and took social cohesion and openness for granted. Inclusive growth is the new imperative, and to achieve inclusive growth, social and economic policies can no longer be conceived and developed in isolation.
QIISP 2017 will drill down into current discontents and future policy responses. It will explore the role of public policy in strengthening an open and inclusive economy and society. It will ask what role economic and social policy can play in advancing shared prosperity and ensuring the benefits of economic growth are widely shared. It will question whether current public policy constructs are adequate in the face of increasing inequality and escalating technological change. And it will probe the nexus between economic insecurity and cultural backlash.
The Queen’s Summer Institute will begin by exploring the contemporary socio-economic landscape in Canada and other OECD countries - the disruptors and the divides that are reshaping the policy and political context. The conference will pay special attention to the impact of the next wave of technological change – on jobs, skills and the nature of work itself.
The main focus of the 2017 Institute will be on the policy implications of these economic and social changes. QIISP will look first at the skills and competences that Canadians will need for the work and workplaces of the future and how these skills will be acquired and refreshed over peoples’ lives.
Second, the Institute will look at the differential impacts of these changes on different occupations, educational levels, and regions. It will probe how to bridge income gaps, support employment transitions and allow social benefits to be portable and equitable in this new world of work.
Third, QIISP will look at the impacts of these disruptive changes for different groups of Canadians: for different generations, for men and women, and for people of different ethnic backgrounds. For example, we know the changing world of work will require multiple transitions, ongoing learning and a new blending of work and living well into typical retirement years. Younger Canadians will be challenged to invest in their skills, secure income and juggle the demands of non-standard work with the demands of raising a family. Older Canadians are most at risk of losing their ‘standard’ jobs and experiencing a permanent decline in income. The Queen’s Institute will also explore distinctive implications for women and for ethnic minorities.
QIISP will also probe the cultural divides that have been exposed in many Western societies, and the intersection between economic insecurity and cultural insecurity. It will examine the role of social policies and programs in sustaining, or undermining, public support for immigration, diversity and inclusion. For example, is immigration policy being designed and managed in ways that reassure the public that the process is under control and being conducted in fair and effective ways? Is immigrant integration working and are newcomers able to contribute, and be seen to contribute, to the country economically and socially?
The final session at QIISP 2017 will draw the threads together and reflect on the attitudes, values and political forces that will shape the future of Canadian public policy responses. QIISP will look at what Canadians themselves think about the dramatic disruptions that are underway across the economy and society. Do they feel ready or apprehensive? Where do they look for solutions - government, the private sector, their communities, themselves? What is the link between economic insecurities and cultural insecurities in shaping popular responses to change? How do Canadian attitudes compare to those in other OECD countries? Is Canada in danger of the backlash politics we see elsewhere?
Presentations
Keynote Address
- Pippa Norris, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University - "The Enemy Within" [PDF 894 KB]
Session 1
- Herwig Immervoll, OECD - "Future of work and present-day social protection" [PDF 1.5 MB]
- Jed Kolko, Indeed.com; formerly with the Commission on Work, Workers and Technology, USA - "The future of work" [PDF 157 KB]
- René Morissette, Social Analysis and Modelling Division, Statistics Canada - "Past and future shocks" [PDF 494 KB]
Session 2
- Jonathan Ostry, International Monetary Fund - "Macro-distributional linkages" [PDF 695 KB]
- David Green, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia - "Aiming for inclusive societies and economics" [PDF 322 KB]
Session 3
- Alex Usher, Higher Education Strategy Associates - "PSE and 'the skills gap'" [PDF 493 KB]
- Henry Siu, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia - "Technological disruption and the labour market" [PDF 1.6 MB]
Session 4
- Lane Kenworthy, University of California, San Diego - "Social democratic capitalism" [PDF 839 KB]
- France St-Hilaire, Research, Institute for Research on Public Policy - "Inequality and Inclusive Growth" [PDF 830 KB]
Session 5
- Matthew Whittaker, Resolution Foundation (UK) - "Dis-united kingdom, inequality, growth, generations and the Brexit split" {PDF 2.3 MB]
- Sarah Doyle, Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship - "Innovation, technology and inclusive economic growth" [PDF 2.8 MB]
Session 6
- Christian Albrekt Larsen, Department of Political Science, Centre for Comparative Welfare Studies, Aalborg Universitet, Denmark - "Solidarity and perceptions of nationshood" [PDF 1.1 MB]
- Marc Helbling, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany - "How immigration and integration policies affect social cohesion" [PDF 365 KB]
- Keith Banting. School of Policy Studies and Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University - "Immigration, Culture and Populist Backlash" [PDF 284 KB]
Session 7
- Bruce Anderson, Abacus Data - "Politics in an age of disruption" [PDF 2.2 MB]