Program Components

Courses

Public Health Policy: This course focuses on social, political, legal, and institutional dimensions of public health policymaking and on the theory and application of policy change frameworks. This course is offered through the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Tools and Approaches for Policy Analysis and Evaluation: This course will provides skills and training in policy analysis and evaluation, including economic analysis. This course is taught collaboratively with faculty from the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the School of Public Policy and Governance. This course is offered through the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

In addition to these required courses, students will be able to take additional electives relevant to public health policy through various University of Toronto units, including the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, the School of Public Policy and Governance, the Faculty of Law, the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and the Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Training and Research Pods

To foster new cross-disciplinary team research, mentors and trainees will join one or more research and training pods.  Pods will include academic mentors from at least two disciplines, representatives from the public health policymaking community, and post-doc, PhD and Masters trainees, providing ample opportunity for trainees to acquire knowledge and technical skills from a range of disciplines.  Each research and training pod will develop a cross-disciplinary collaborative research agenda based on current and emerging interests and issues in public health policy.

Monthly Public Health Policy Rounds

The monthly rounds provide an opportunity for mentors and trainees to meet on a regular basis, share and receive feedback on their work, and hear talks on public health policy issues.  Monthly rounds will be offered by the various academic units and partnering agencies, addressing a wide array of relevant topics.

Annual Summer Institute

This is a key forum for learning about the latest evidence and state-of-the art approaches to public health policy research and practice, constructively debating topical issues, and engaging collaboratively with stakeholders and decision makers around pressing policy case studies. The Summer Institute is an opportunity for Fellows to enhance knowledge and professional competencies.

Executive Exchanges and Interchanges

Expected beginning Fall 2011.

The exchanges and interchanges provide an opportunity for Fellows to apply their formal training in a real-world public health policy work setting. The length will be flexible depending on interests and needs (minimum of 50% time for at least four months), with options for international placements.

Public Health Policy Action Teams

Expected beginning Fall 2011.

Teams of about four students plus faculty mentors will work together to support a broad range of organizational needs including work related to public health policy change, policy analysis, policy research and evaluation, and policy planning, providing additional, real-world training for trainees. This service will be offered to governments, public health agencies, and other relevant organizations requiring expert assistance in addressing a public health policy problem

Public forums and/or other knowledge exchange activities within the community

Expected beginning Fall 2011.

The purposes of these activities are both to practice and to model knowledge translation and exchange activities. These semi-annual public forums will target the users of research information and the lay community through public lectures and the engagement of local TV networks.  

Program components are still undergoing development and are subject to change