Founded in 2005 as a joint venture between the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, “PolicyNet is a network of prominent public policy schools around the world, which brings together people who study, research, and teach public policy, and creates opportunities for interaction and collaboration on issues of common interest, curricular programs, joint research projects and other activities.” While Public Policy schools comprise the main component of PolicyNet’s membership, PolicyNet is also home to over 1370 individual members from around the world.
Through online communities hosted on the IGLOO Network, PolicyNet has sought to foster a strong sense of interconnectedness amongst its members including the following:
- Crawford School of Economics and Government (Australian National University)
- Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID based in Geneva, Switzerland)
- Hertie School of Governance (Berlin, Germany)
- Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore)
- Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Carleton University)
- Peking University School of Government (Peking University)
- Tsinghua University School of Public Affairs (Tsinghua University) (in Beijing, China)
- The Balsillie School of International Affairs (based on a collaborative partnership between the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario)
- The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton University)
More than simply a networking site, PolicyNet promotes engagement among its users by providing access to an online library that houses a large collection of policy related literature; by compiling information on public policy related news, employment opportunities and online media; and by releasing monthly newsletters that apprise members of new developments on PolicyNet, important issues in public policy, and on the activities of its partners.
Two of the more successful and interactive features of PolicyNet have been Blogging Program and Virtual Seminar Series. The PolicyNet Blogger Program invites members to create an online blog and make postings on public policy related issues that can be viewed and responded to by other users. As part of this program, PolicyNet also employs a select number of Featured Bloggers on short-term contracts who are paid for their participation.
In 2008, PolicyNet launched a Virtual Seminar Series to encourage an international dialogue and debate on public policy issues by connecting students from around the world with distinguished faculty residing at PolicyNet schools. Seminars are conducted in real time through the Australian branch of the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), managed by the Crawford School of Economics and Government. Students prepare for seminars by reading several relevant articles from a list provided by the speaker and posted on the PolicyNet website. The speaker starts the session with a short talk and then responds to questions from students and encourages discussion among participants. To date, the PolicyNet Virtual Seminar Series has presented sessions led by several prominent public policy experts including: Anne-Marie Slaughter, Thomas Homer-Dixon, and Zhiyuan Cui.
Although PolicyNet is primarily a networking tool which fosters relationships among members, it has recently expanded its mandate and is now actively participating in research on public policy education. In 2008, PolicyNet joined with the Institute on Research and Debate on Governance (IRG) to create the World Observatory of Teaching in Public Affairs (WOTPA) project, which seeks to “identify university level teaching programs in public affairs throughout the world, in order to analyze and compare them, make this information available to the public through a website and contribute to the debate on public governance.”
