Organized jointly by the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), the National Public Administration Case Competition welcomes participation from all Canadian Universities offering programs in public administration. 

This year 12 Canadian Universities will compete, highlighting the excellence of Canadian public administration programs and providing a valuable learning experience for students.

JSGS students Angèle Poirier, Harjot Singh Tur, Jade Anderson, Josh Saskiw, and Taige Sun, coached by JSGS alumni Nancy Carlson and Colten Goertz, make up the JSGS team and will dig deep to analyze this year’s case, which looks at ethical breaches in procurement processes impacting federal departments.

Preparation is key for teams, and now that the case has been released, teams will be spending a significant amount of time analyzing the policy problem and preparing to present their recommendations.

Teams will present their cases online on February 24, with the winning team being announced at 6:00 pm CST (Saskatchewan time).

Get the latest updates by following @JSGSPP on social media and use the hashtag #npacc_2024. 

For more information on CAPPA and the Case Competition: https://cappa.ca/en/what-we-do/case-competition/#past-competitions.

We wanted to gain some deeper insight into the competition, so posed three questions to JSGS Team Coach and alumni, Nancy Carlson:

JSGS - Why are you excited for the National Case Competition?

NC - The National Case Competition is a fun opportunity to watch students from across the country tackle policy problems in a manner that is brand new to many of them. The cases are challenging and tend to cause some trepidation on Day 1, but by the date of the competition it is amazing to see how competent and polished each team has become.

JSGS - How much work do JSGS Team members put in to prepare for the National Case Competition?

NC - The competition is a significant time commitment for the students, but is a very worthwhile professional development opportunity. The training schedule includes a practice case about a month before the competition, along with a few information sessions with experts from the public service. The 10 days of the competition are the busiest, with daily work to research and analyze the case, connect with subject matter experts, and work collaboratively to develop the presentation. The competition is the culmination of many hours of hard work over the course of 2.5 months, and students should take the opportunity to celebrate this significant accomplishment.

JSGS - Why do you like being a coach for the National Case Competition?

NC - I enjoy the opportunity to connect with students who are future policy leaders and provide them with a glimpse into my experience in the Saskatchewan public service. It is incredibly gratifying to watch the competition and celebrate how far the team has come to develop and demonstrate their expertise.