PWFC - Backgrounder

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The Population, Work and Family Policy Research Collaboration (PWFC)

Backgrounder

The Population, Work and Family Policy Research Collaboration (PWFC) is a partnership of federal departments and SSHRC-funded research clusters. The PWFC is exploring issues and potential policy interventions related to the aging of the population, the evolution of the Canadian labour market, and changing family trends and pressures. Chaired by the Government of Canada's Policy Research Initiative, the PWFC will coordinate consultation and advice between the research community and the federal government policy research process.

Rationale

Over the long-run, the PWFC is expected to lead to a better exchange of knowledge and information between the academic community and the policy community. The Clusters will benefit from the capacity of federal departments, including PRI, to identify research themes of policy relevance and from the logistical support and know-how the PRI can provide in organizing venues that bring the two communities together. The Clusters will provide their federal partners access to substantive analysis that can be used for the identification of problems and the design of appropriate policies.

Activities

The Collaboration includes the following planned activities:

An annual symposium will gather Cluster members, the federal government policy community, international scholars and government officials, provincial government officials and other stakeholders. The symposium will showcase the work done by the clusters, international experts, and the federal research community that falls within the broad themes covered by the various Clusters. The first annual symposium was held in Ottawa on March 23-24, 2006.
A series (possibly 3 or 4) of PRI-SSHRC roundtables on specific issues, determined in advance by the PRI, in consultation with SSHRC and the Cluster leads. These roundtables will gather selected Clusters members (according to topics), PRI staff, and senior federal government officials.
A series of emerging issues workshops, with a view to exploring emerging policy themes that could inspire future policy research work. These workshops will be organized by the PRI and will provide an opportunity to interested Clusters members, PRI and senior federal officials to meet and interact. These will be small informal events with a maximum of 20 people and might take place once or twice a year.

Summaries of the work of Cluster members published in Horizons, a PRI publication.

The collaborative development of research tools (such as LifePaths model, new surveys or experimental techniques).

The development of opportunities for Cluster members to spend sabbaticals with PRI or other participating federal governments; graduate and postgraduate students could also spend the summer or a few months in a federal government setting. One area of interest would be for graduate students to spend a few months conducting projects requiring the use of the Lifepaths model.

PWFC Current Participants

Federal Departments

Policy Research Initiative
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
Statistics Canada

SSHRC Clusters

The Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network
Coordinator: Craig Riddell, University of British Columbia

" Population change and lifecourse" Strategic Knowledge Cluster
Coordinator: Roderic Beaujot, University of Western Ontario