SPPGA faculty members’ 150+ publications covered pressing issues in a variety of fields including international trade, global challenges to democracy, social protection systems, health and care workforce policy, and climate change.
- Prof. Kristen Hopewell’s article on the return of development policy space in the multilateral trading system published in the Review of International Political Economy received international attention and became one of Taylor & Francis’ top 10 most read articles, which led the journal’s editors to make it available on an open-access basis.
Prof. Sheryl Lightfoot co-edited the Handbook of Indigenous Public Policy, a groundbreaking handbook that explores the key legal, political and policy questions concerning the implementation of Indigenous rights across the world.- Prof. Tara Cookson authored a foundational review of the evidence on social norms, gender and development to the UN Women’s Discussion Paper Series, the premier outlet for policy relevant research on gender and development.
- Prof. Kai Ostwald co-edited a special issue of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal examining Canada and Southeast Asia Relations, which has been distributed widely within the Canadian government. He also served as a witness on a key Parliamentary Special Committee, providing testimony on the role of Southeast Asia in the Canada-China relationship.
- Prof. Veena Sriram published multiple articles in the highly regarded BMJ Global Health focusing on the role of health worker organizations in policy as well as that of private health sector actors in low- and middle-income countries.
- Prof. Philippe LeBillon co-authored Planet on the Move, a publication from the IUCN CEESP Task Force on Migration, Environmental Change and Conflict following his fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
Prof. Sheryl Lightfoot co-edited the
Through 200+ invited presentations, our faculty members shaped international policy conversations through presentations to various government and international organization officials and committees as well as advancing public dialogue on various issues through participation in public facing events.
- Prof. David Boyd concluded his six-year term as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment. In this role he has worked with policymakers, UN missions, and civil society, filing amicus briefs, and testifying before governmental bodies. The highlights of his final year included the incorporation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the Bonn Declaration, General Comment 26 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Global Stocktake document from the climate COP 28 in Dubai, and environmental legislation in Canada and Australia. In one of the most powerful environment law decision ever produced, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights relied heavily on Dr. Boyd’s amicus brief in holding Peru responsible for pollution in La Oroya. His UN reports have inspired national reforms, such as marine protections in Portugal and enhanced standards in Chile.
- Briefing the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Agriculture, Prof. Matias Margulis presented on negotiating history, implementation challenges and future prospects of the WTO’s Marrakech Decision. He also briefed the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the relationship between food security, international trade and human rights.
- Continuing his work on democracy in the Americas, Prof. Max Cameron addressed a special meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States on the implementation of all aspects of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and its challenges. He also led a workshop for 40 academic experts, policymakers and former politicians from the Andes on the state of democracy in the region. This research was sponsored by International IDEA and led to the policy paper “Crisis políticas en los países andinos.”
- Prof. Milind Kandlikar played a key role in the development of the Climate Adaptation, Resilience and Empowerment (CARE) Program, a multi-university partnership launched in Spring 2024 between SPPGA, Sciences Po, the University of Toronto, and the University of Guelph. The program will train over 2,000 students in Canada and France to address the global climate crisis through interdisciplinary education, research, and cultural exchange. Prof. Kandlikar serves as UBC’s scientific lead for the program and in November 2023 he joined expert panels at a 2-day ‘Climate Transitions’ conference in Paris.
