University Principles and Expertise in Shaping Government Policy and Guidance
University Principles on Corruption and Bribery
McMaster has several policies that set out the university’s conduct in dealings that would prohibit any corruption, bribery or any action that is not fair dealing.
McMaster’s Fraud Policy outlines the university’s commitment “to the highest standards of honesty, propriety and integrity.” From the Investigation Excerpt (page 4): “5.4 Security Services shall be responsible for conducting internal investigations where the reported allegations, if true, would constitute an offence under the Criminal Code including, but not limited to situations where there has been an allegation of: bribes; burglaries; thefts of University Property and, unlawful use of confidential information”
McMaster University’s invested asset pools each use a responsible investment strategy aligned with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing. Our strategy involves the incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in investment manager selection, monitoring, and asset allocation decisions.
Each asset pool has a policy and procedure set by an oversight committee. The governance model including performance, strategies to address risks and opportunities, and climate-related metrics and targets are reported annually following the Task Force Recommendations for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”), endorsed by Government of Canada.
- Environmental considerations (page 4)
- Social considerations (page 4)
- Governance considerations (page 4)
- These factors include effective disclosures that are relevant, complete, transparent, accurate, and consistent that provide details about a company’s board structure, director nomination processes, composition, size, executive pay, shareholder voting rights, diversity skills, independence, stakeholder rights, business ethics, anti-bribery policies, corruption involvement, tax avoidance activity, internal controls, cyber-security, and conflict of interest policies. This area includes a company’s position on sustainability plans and integration of those plans into employee performance assessments and compensation.
Other Relevant Policies
- Conflict-of-Interest Policy provides direction to employees regarding substantial financial interest (pg. 2) and gifts or gratuities (pg. 3).
- Research Integrity Policy
- Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Internal Audit Department Policy Statement
- Many more…
The Office of Internal Audit provides the University with independent and objective assurance, consulting and advisory services designed to add value and improve processes and operations. By bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes, we help the University accomplish its objectives.
The objective of Internal Audit is to determine whether Management’s network of risk management, governance processes and internal controls is adequate and functioning in a manner to ensure that:
- Risks are appropriately identified and managed;
- Interaction of the various governance groups occurs as needed;
- Significant financial, managerial and operating information is accurate, reliable and timely;
- Employees conduct themselves in compliance with policies, applicable laws and regulations;
- Resources are acquired economically, used efficiently and adequately safeguarded;
- Quality and continuous improvement are fostered;
- Significant regulatory issues are recognized and addressed appropriately; and
- The strategic objectives of the University are being attained
In addition to these resources, McMaster has contracted with EthicsPoint to provide you access to report activities that may involve misconduct or violations of university policy.
Academic Freedom Policy
As an institution of higher learning, McMaster University upholds a fundamental commitment to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly for all its members.
United in our pursuit of knowledge, our belief in the power and importance of education, and our determination to be an inclusive community, we support the rights and freedoms of members of our community to exchange ideas, question and challenge received wisdom, engage in respectful and informed debate, discuss even the most potentially controversial issues, and engage in peaceful protest and dissent.
In exercising these freedoms, all members of the University community are required to respect the rights and freedoms of others and are expected to engage with one another in a spirit of mutual respect, understanding, and regard for human dignity. While recognizing the imbalances in power that exist within our community and the disproportionate impact such imbalances have upon marginalized groups and individuals, McMaster aspires to be a place where respectful, meaningful discourse and discussion can occur, where all voices have an opportunity to be heard, and where diverse viewpoints can be advanced and deliberated in a spirit of inclusiveness and academic integrity.
Academic Freedom
In addition to the overall commitment outlined above, McMaster’s faculty members enjoy the freedom, and the protection of the University, to pursue multiple avenues of inquiry, to teach and to learn unhindered by non-academic constraints, and to engage in full and unrestricted consideration of any opinion, including those that might be unpopular or even abhorrent. This is laid out in McMaster’s Statement on Academic Freedom, which also notes that faculty members bear the responsibility of exercising that freedom responsibly and professionally in order to further the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge.
While the rights of freedom of expression and free speech apply to all members of our community and to anyone expressing themselves as a private citizen, academic freedom is a privilege and a responsibility reserved for faculty members.
How Are These Freedoms Protected?
McMaster has a variety of policies, statements and other documents that outline the University’s commitment to these important freedoms and expectations for members of our community when exercising these freedoms. The policy framework is outlined in the summary document and this website gathers together the University’s policies and statements on freedom of expression and related matters and seeks to provide context and information about this critically important issue.
These documents are to be read in conjunction with the following policies, statements, and collective agreements. The University reserves the right to amend or add to the University’s policies and statements from time to time (this is not a comprehensive list):
- Academic Integrity Policy “scholars show respect for and courtesy to others in free discussions on academic topics and recognize the right to free inquiry and opinion” (page 32)
- Discrimination and Harassment Policy: “This Policy expressly prohibits any discriminatory or harassing action and/or conduct, verbal or non-verbal, directed at or about one or more individuals or groups, that creates a poisoned environment which interferes with academic or work performance, in a manner that exceeds the bounds of freedom of expression and academic freedom” (page 1)
Providing Expert Advice to Government
McMaster researchers regularly offer guidance to municipal, provincial, and federal governments. The examples provided show how our researchers collaborate with public health officials to develop mental health resources for first responders, work with the local and federal governments to help prevent opioid-related deaths, address climate change, and guide health policy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
McMaster researchers are recognized as leaders in their field, 79 McMaster faculty members have been named Canada Research Chairs in recognition of their research excellence in sciences, engineering, health sciences, humanities, or social sciences. Canada Research Chairs are the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research development
McMaster researchers collaborate with lawmakers to craft environmental and water policy at the local, provincial, federal Indigenous and international level.
Developing watershed management strategies
Altaf Arain, Director of McMaster University’s Centre for Climate Change, guides municipalities and conservation authorities in developing watershed management strategies to offset the effects of shifts in land use and climate change. Extensive land use changes, agricultural activities and forest harvesting in the Great Lakes region are putting pressure on this key source of drinking water.
Inaugural meeting of Global Water Futures held on a First Nation
McMaster hosted what is believed to be the first major science gathering on a First Nation in Canada for the inaugural meeting of Global Water Futures on the Six Nations of the Grand River to discuss critically important issues related to Canada’s freshwater resources. The meeting was an opportunity for hundreds of people from the community and across the country to come together and discuss the latest research, future scenarios, and possible solutions. Regional partnerships are a centrepiece of the work of Global Water Futures researchers, who recognize the importance of involving Indigenous ecological knowledge and leadership in solving water issues.
McMaster research team tackles water issues in First Nations communities
As part of a Global Water Futures project, Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools, an interdisciplinary team of McMaster University researchers is working to identify sources of contaminants in drinking water sources and local aquatic ecosystems within two Indigenous communities, the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario and the Lubicon Cree Nation of Little Buffalo in northern Alberta.
McMaster researchers work to ensure community water supply is safe
FloodNet is a multi-disciplinary research collaboration between academic experts including those from McMaster University, government scientists, and end-users such as flood forecasters. The group works to address the challenges of forecasting and managing floods to mitigate the impact on human life and agriculture, reduce socio-economic impacts and human distress, and protect community water systems and the environment.
McMaster water researchers named to International Joint Commission advisory board
The International Joint Commission (IJC), a 110-year-old initiative between the U.S. and Canada to prevent and resolve disputes around the country’s shared bodies of water, appointed McMaster researchers to its Great Lakes Science Advisory Board in 2019: Karen Kidd, a professor in the Department of Biology and the School of Geography and Earth Sciences, and Gail Krantzberg, a professor with the Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology.
Canada-U.S. collaborations on Great Lakes water research
Gail Krantzberg, a professor in McMaster’s Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, is an expert in Great Lakes science, policy, and governance. She has worked with local and provincial governments for decades on the issues of water security and policy. She collaborates on Canadian-American efforts to restore Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes (including Hamilton Harbour), which have invested US$22.8 billion over the last 35 years, according to an article in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The money has been well-spent, the article finds, with every dollar toward cleanup catalyzing more than $3 worth of community revitalization.
Pathways to a net-zero economy in Canada
When we talk about the transformation to address climate change, the intent is clear, the targets are set and the technology is accelerating. The missing piece is finance.
Financial players alone cannot transform the economy, but they can stimulate the transition by complementing the action of government and strategically fueling innovation. A panel of experts will tackle what exactly is the current state of the sustainable economy in Canada, where we need to go, and the roles each sector must play to reach our goals.
From the Walrus: At McMaster University, building a better 2080 starts now
McMaster hosted the event where they invited a council, a diverse group of forward-thinking leaders from across Canada—was brought together to shape the project by developing research themes and articulating a vision for Canada’s future. In addition to Nutt, who leads War Child Canada and has undergraduate and medical degrees from McMaster, the council includes prominent figures, such as former CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, musician Chantal Kreviazuk, former politician Lloyd Axworthy, and Indigenous midwife and executive leader Sara Wolfe.
The forum itself was an innovative step for McMaster University to take, one that reflected Wilson’s desire for the work of the Future of Canada Project to connect the academy with the outside world across many disciplines. In 2022, Wilson followed his initial gift of $5 million in 2020 by donating $50 million for the establishment of a new school within the McMaster faculty of humanities and faculty of social sciences called the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Providing Expert Advice to Government
McMaster researchers regularly offer guidance to municipal, provincial, and federal governments. The examples provided show how our researchers collaborate with public health officials to develop mental health resources for first responders, work with the local and federal governments to help prevent opioid-related deaths, address climate change, and guide health policy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local
Developing watershed management strategies
Altaf Arain, Director of McMaster University’s Centre for Climate Change, guides municipalities and conservation authorities in developing watershed management strategies to offset the effects of shifts in land use and climate change. Extensive land use changes, agricultural activities and forest harvesting in the Great Lakes region are putting pressure on this key source of drinking water.
Addressing climate change impact on Black communities
Ingrid Waldron, the HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Faculty of Humanities, and McMaster Engineering researcher Zobia Jawed are working together on a series of educational workshops for underrepresented communities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to bridge the gap between these communities and climate policymakers.
“In the complex intersection of climate challenges and infrastructure shortcomings, underrepresented communities fervently call for immediate action,” says Jawed, who has taken on a Senior Research Fellowship in the Global Peace and Social Justice program.
With the help of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Toronto Environmental Alliance and Waldron’s Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health Project, the workshops link climate change and climate justice to relevant aspects of life for the participants.
The workshops will begin early in 2024 and will continue through the end of 2026. The goal is to spark and sustain an interest in climate action, empower participants to act, get them comfortable with talking about climate change, and generate passion for the cause.
Professor helps combat Niagara opioid crisis
McMaster University professor Karl Stobbe is teaming up with Niagara-area welfare agencies, McMaster’s Department of Family Medicine and the federal government to ensure a supply of safer drugs for people at risk of overdosing on opioids.
Stobbe, a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine is also medical director of the Regional Essential Access to Connected Health (REACH) Niagara. REACH, which provides health care to marginalized and homeless people in the Niagara region, has received $1.2 million from Health Canada to implement and evaluate a safer supply program.
Regional
McMaster research team tackles water issues in First Nations communities
As part of a Global Water Futures project, Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools, an interdisciplinary team of McMaster University researchers is working to identify sources of contaminants in drinking water sources and local aquatic ecosystems within two Indigenous communities, the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario and the Lubicon Cree Nation of Little Buffalo in northern Alberta.
McMaster researchers have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 in Ontario, investigating the impact of the virus on long-term care home residents, and advising the government on ways to protect the public.
The COVID in Long-Term Care study by Dr. Dawn Bowdish and Dr. Andrew Costa consisted of over 1,000 residents across 25 homes in the province. Through collaboration with residents, staff, essential caregivers and partners, the research team is working to contribute a greater understanding of the impact of COVID-19 in residents of congregate care settings.
McMaster’s Global Nexus for Pandemic Prevention and Response shared data directly with public health officials in real-time to support policy decisions. Global Nexus research helped inform Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy and prompted a policy change that accelerated eligibility for third, fourth, and fifth doses of vaccines for long-term care residents, a policy credited saving lives.
Vaccines are the key to preventing more pandemics, expert tells Public Health Ontario.
Vaccine development may be the biggest factor in our ability to ward off the next pandemic, says Matthew Miller, Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University.
Innovation in vaccinology and immunology are critical to the future of public health preparedness, Miller told health experts from across the province in a talk delivered at Public Health Ontario Rounds.
“Prevention really needs to be the major focus of our strategy against emerging infectious diseases,” said Miller, an associate professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences.
“Vaccines — especially those that provide broad protection against families of viruses that have pandemic potential — are the best way to ensure that we are sufficiently prepared in the future.”
National
Peer support app for first reponders
McMaster researchers are working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop mobile applications to better equip first responders with access to peer-to-peer mental health support and resources.
Championing federal support for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
McMaster’s Dean of Graduate studies Steve Hranilovic addressed the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Science and Research to advocate for additional funding for students and postdoctoral fellows in the current inflationary environment.
That additional funding is also needed for Canadian universities to remain competitive globally and attract top talent.
Two McMaster instructors, engineering physics professor David Novog and associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology Saman Sadghi also addressed the committee as individuals to advocate for enhanced supports for student researchers.
Crafting post-COVID syndrome guidelines in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada.
McMaster University clinician-researcher Holger Schünemann is receiving $9 million in federal funding to develop official guidelines for post-COVID-19 Condition (PCC), commonly known as long COVID.
Schünemann’s project, titled McMaster Development and Dissemination of Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) Guidelines and Knowledge Translation Products, is being developed by McMaster in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Schünemann said that Cochrane Canada and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Centre at McMaster will develop, disseminate and evaluate six evidence-based health guidelines on PCC that will focus on its Canadian context. These guidelines, to be published early in 2024, aim to cover identification, prevention, assessment, management, follow-up and monitoring of people with PCC.
The large national team with links to global health organizations will be co-led by Robby Nieuwlaat from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) and Nancy Santesso, Jan Brozek, Wojtek Wiercioch, together with a team of experts in the field at McMaster, plus Kevin Pottie at Western University.
McMaster researchers are recognized as leaders in their field, 79 McMaster faculty members have been named Canada Research Chairs in recognition of their research excellence in sciences, engineering, health sciences, humanities, or social sciences. Canada Research Chairs are the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research development
Inaugural meeting of Global Water Futures held on a First Nation
McMaster hosted what is believed to be the first major science gathering on a First Nation in Canada for the inaugural meeting of Global Water Futures on the Six Nations of the Grand River to discuss critically important issues related to Canada’s freshwater resources. The meeting was an opportunity for hundreds of people from the community and across the country to come together and discuss the latest research, future scenarios, and possible solutions. Regional partnerships are a centrepiece of the work of Global Water Futures researchers, who recognize the importance of involving Indigenous ecological knowledge and leadership in solving water issues.
Pathways to a net-zero economy in Canada
When we talk about the transformation to address climate change, the intent is clear, the targets are set and the technology is accelerating. The missing piece is finance.
Financial players alone cannot transform the economy, but they can stimulate the transition by complementing the action of government and strategically fueling innovation. A panel of experts will tackle what exactly is the current state of the sustainable economy in Canada, where we need to go, and the roles each sector must play to reach our goals.
From the Walrus: At McMaster University, building a better 2080 starts now
McMaster hosted the event where they invited a council“It’s not just about interesting people having ideas, it’s also about how you influence policy, how you cultivate and nurture the next generation of leaders who will make this happen,” said Samantha Nutt, chair of the Future of Canada Project Council.
The council—a diverse group of forward-thinking leaders from across Canada—was brought together to shape the project by developing research themes and articulating a vision for Canada’s future. In addition to Nutt, who leads War Child Canada and has undergraduate and medical degrees from McMaster, the council includes prominent figures, such as former CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, musician Chantal Kreviazuk, former politician Lloyd Axworthy, and Indigenous midwife and executive leader Sara Wolfe.
The forum itself was an innovative step for McMaster University to take, one that reflected Wilson’s desire for the work of the Future of Canada Project to connect the academy with the outside world across many disciplines. In 2022, Wilson followed his initial gift of $5 million in 2020 by donating $50 million for the establishment of a new school within the McMaster faculty of humanities and faculty of social sciences called the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Global
McMaster researchers collaborate with lawmakers to craft environmental and water policy at the local, provincial, federal Indigenous and international levels.
McMaster researchers work to ensure community water supply is safe
FloodNet is a multi-disciplinary research collaboration between academic experts including those from McMaster University, government scientists, and end-users such as flood forecasters. The group works to address the challenges of forecasting and managing floods to mitigate the impact on human life and agriculture, reduce socio-economic impacts and human distress, and protect community water systems and the environment.
McMaster water researchers named to International Joint Commission advisory board
The International Joint Commission (IJC), a 110-year-old initiative between the U.S. and Canada to prevent and resolve disputes around the country’s shared bodies of water, appointed McMaster researchers to its Great Lakes Science Advisory Board in 2019: Karen Kidd, a professor in the Department of Biology and the School of Geography and Earth Sciences, and Gail Krantzberg, a professor with the Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology.
Canada-U.S. collaborations on Great Lakes water research
Gail Krantzberg, a professor in McMaster’s Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, is an expert in Great Lakes science, policy, and governance. She has worked with local and provincial governments for decades on the issues of water security and policy. She collaborates on Canadian-American efforts to restore Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes (including Hamilton Harbour), which have invested US$22.8 billion over the last 35 years, according to an article in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The money has been well-spent, the article finds, with every dollar toward cleanup catalyzing more than $3 worth of community revitalization.
A new global centre focused on climate change promises to address complex water crises that span international boundaries and jurisdictions.
Gail Krantzberg, a professor and program lead from McMaster’s Masters of Engineering and Public Policy program in the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Drew Gronewold from the University of Michigan (U-M) will lead the project. The Global Centre for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters will have a special focus on collaborating with Indigenous populations.
The centre received $3.75 million in funding from the National Science Foundation Global Centres – a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to encourage and support international collaborative research on climate change and clean energy.
McMaster researchers to share expertise in climate justice, sustainable healthcare at COP29
Two McMaster researchers will be among the global experts at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in November 2024, lending their expertise to critical conversations around climate change.
Their mandate from the UN is to come up with what we call best practices or good practices for how we carry out climate action and climate justice. And my report will benefit from the perspectives gathered at COP29.
Pollution, Power, and Protest: Unpacking Environmental Racism from Africville to Wet’suwet’en
In a world where clean air and safe drinking water should be fundamental rights, Dr. Ingrid Waldron exposed a national crisis during her seminar, From Africville to Wet’suwet’en: The Health Effects of Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities in Canada. Reflecting on her expertise as an advocate, health researcher, and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health at McMaster University, Waldron illustrated how systemic inequalities force marginalized communities to bear the brunt of toxic pollution and its devastating health impacts.
Waldron’s commitment to support these communities and advocate for policy change led her to launch the ENRICH Project. This initiative helps to raise awareness for this issue through multimedia campaigns, conducts interdisciplinary research, and provides training that empowers communities to monitor environmental hazards. The ENRICH Project has also played a key role in advocating for environmental racism and justice legislation in Canada. As Waldron stated, “In order to get people to act, they first have to empathize. In order for them to empathize, they first have to understand.” This prompted her to write the book, There’s Something in the Water, which was later adapted into a Netflix documentary in 2019, which explores environmental racism in Nova Scotia and amplifies the voices of Black and Indigenous communities fighting against industrial pollution.
Policy and law-makers outreach and education
Outreach
McMaster researchers to share expertise in climate justice, sustainable healthcare at COP29
Two McMaster researchers will be among the global experts at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in November 2024, lending their expertise to critical conversations around climate change.
Their mandate from the UN is to come up with what we call best practices or good practices for how we carry out climate action and climate justice. And my report will benefit from the perspectives gathered at COP29.
Pollution, Power, and Protest: Unpacking Environmental Racism from Africville to Wet’suwet’en
In a world where clean air and safe drinking water should be fundamental rights, Dr. Ingrid Waldron exposed a national crisis during her seminar, From Africville to Wet’suwet’en: The Health Effects of Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities in Canada. Reflecting on her expertise as an advocate, health researcher, and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health at McMaster University, Waldron illustrated how systemic inequalities force marginalized communities to bear the brunt of toxic pollution and its devastating health impacts.
Waldron’s commitment to support these communities and advocate for policy change led her to launch the ENRICH Project. This initiative helps to raise awareness for this issue through multimedia campaigns, conducts interdisciplinary research, and provides training that empowers communities to monitor environmental hazards. The ENRICH Project has also played a key role in advocating for environmental racism and justice legislation in Canada. As Waldron stated, “In order to get people to act, they first have to empathize. In order for them to empathize, they first have to understand.” This prompted her to write the book, There’s Something in the Water, which was later adapted into a Netflix documentary in 2019, which explores environmental racism in Nova Scotia and amplifies the voices of Black and Indigenous communities fighting against industrial pollution.
Chelsea Gabel appointed to lead national research institute on Indigenous Peoples’ Health
McMaster researcher and Indigenous scholar Chelsea Gabel is the new Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH).
The IIPH develops research capacity in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities; and supports partnerships and alliances between Indigenous communities and health research groups in a way that respects Indigenous values, beliefs and cultures.
Gabel’s appointment recognizes her as a leader in her field and a champion of health research, knowledge mobilization, and capacity development at the highest level of excellence.
Gabel’s four-year appointment comes after a careful and consultative approach with national Indigenous bodies, Indigenous and non-Indigenous health experts and an Advisory Circle, says Tammy Clifford, CIHR’s acting president.
The United Way of Halton & Hamilton (UWHH)’s ConnectEd program helps to build the capacity of local nonprofits to help them achieve their mission. However, since the pandemic, UWHH has received less feedback from organizations in their network about what their capacity building the needs are, driving them to reach out to the McMaster Research Shop for help conducting a needs assessment. The McMaster Research Shop partnered with UWHH to help assess the post-pandemic needs of local nonprofits, including their organizational priorities, capacity building topics that would help them with their priorities, and the formats capacity building initiatives should take.
Education
Whether you want to launch a career in Sustainability or expand your knowledge of sustainable environment, economic and societal best practices, our online program can help. Gain in-demand skills for this rewarding profession.
- Designed with reference to several ISSP-SA (International Society of Sustainability Professionals) core competencies:
- Gain sustainability skills and knowledge of the best practices
- Successfully complete any three out of the four online courses to earn a Certificate of Completion and receive a microcredential that highlights the specific skills you’ve learned.
Through our Sustainability program, you’ll learn to:
- Recognize the role of the individual, community and business within sustainable and environmental practices
- Identify key issues within the sustainable movement, both locally and nationally
- Review primary policies and laws affecting sustainable practices
- Understand the relationship between business and consumers for sustainable action
- Examine practical tools, resources, strategies and techniques to develop sustainable living and working environments
- Explore and apply various design views/approaches for responsible sustainable living and business development
- Address such challenging issues as:
- climate change
- Inequality
- social unrest
- economic instability
Health Policy is an interdisciplinary field that investigates how health policy is made, what it is, what it might become, and its impact. The implementation of Health Policy within a society requires an evidence-base, coupled with an explicit strategy and process to achieve specific health care objectives.
Master of Public Policy in Digital Society
McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) in Digital Society is a year-long professional degree program. It trains prospective policy leaders to navigate the changing dynamics of the technological landscape to address the complex social, political and economic challenges that have accompanied the digital age.
Engineering and Public Policy – MEPP
The MEPP degree is a project-based program that equips you to develop scientifically sound public policies, using your technical knowledge to provide a solid foundation for decision making.
Justice, Political Philosophy and Law Program
The aim of the Justice, Political Philosophy, and Law Program at McMaster (JPPL) is to foster a sophisticated understanding of the law and legal institutions that make up the social world in which we live and of the political and moral theories that address the value and justice of these institutions. To this end, JPPL offers students a broad range of courses on law, policy, global politics, political philosophy and moral theory, feminist jurisprudence, human rights, globalization, international law, and war and peace. In addition, the interdisciplinary core of JPPL, structured around the themes of Policy and Law, Political and Moral Philosophy, and Human Rights and Global Justice, ensures a rich and integrated learning experience to complement the Program’s primary focus. JPPL students will be well prepared for further studies or careers in law, philosophy, politics, education, human rights or public policy.
This multi-disciplinary area within the business school brings together faculty from divergent backgrounds ranging from economics and marketing to political science and business strategy. These faculty members all have interest and experience in management issues as they pertain to policy, funding and organization and delivery of health care services. Faculty expertise includes health policy analysis; design, delivery and economic evaluation of health services and programs; consumer behaviour; marketing; governance; and strategic management in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in the health sector.
Courses offered by area faculty provide support to a wide range of academic programs in addition to the MBA program, including several collaborative graduate programs (including Global Health, eHealth, and Health Management). Courses typically blend theoretical rigor and practical application as our faculty has extensive real-world experience in working for government, non-profit organizations, and private sector industries.
Participation in government research
McMaster University’s research is a valuable source of insights for various levels of government and non-governmental organizations drafting policies. As a research-intensive university, our leaders are consulted widely for their expertise, on a range of topics, from crafting guidelines to treat long-COVID for the federal government to partnering with provincial, federal, and international government partners to understand how climate change is impacting the Great Lakes.
McMaster researchers crafting post-COVID syndrome guidelines
McMaster University clinician-researcher Holger Schünemann is receiving $9 million in federal funding to develop official guidelines for post-COVID-19 Condition (PCC), commonly known as long COVID.
Schünemann’s project, titled McMaster Development and Dissemination of Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) Guidelines and Knowledge Translation Products, is being developed by McMaster in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Schünemann said that Cochrane Canada and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Centre at McMaster will develop, disseminate and evaluate six evidence-based health guidelines on PCC that will focus on its Canadian context. These guidelines, published early in 2024, aim to cover identification, prevention, assessment, management, follow-up and monitoring of people with PCC.
A new global centre focused on climate change promises to address complex water crises that span international boundaries and jurisdictions.
Gail Krantzberg, a professor and program lead from McMaster’s Masters of Engineering and Public Policy program in the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Drew Gronewold from the University of Michigan (U-M) will lead the project. The Global Centre for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters will have a special focus on collaborating with Indigenous populations.
The centre received $3.75 million in funding from the National Science Foundation Global Centres – a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to encourage and support international collaborative research on climate change and clean energy.
Professor helps combat Niagara opioid crisis
McMaster University professor Karl Stobbe is teaming up with Niagara-area welfare agencies, McMaster’s Department of Family Medicine and the federal government to ensure a supply of safer drugs for people at risk of overdosing on opioids.
Stobbe, a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine is also medical director of the Regional Essential Access to Connected Health (REACH) Niagara. REACH, which provides health care to marginalized and homeless people in the Niagara region, has received $1.2 million from Health Canada to implement and evaluate a safer supply program.
Neutral platform to discuss issues
McMaster hosts online and in-person events, and provides forums including surveys, and task forces that create a safe space for open dialogue. The purpose of the Gandhi Peace Festival is to promote nonviolence and peace and justice in a forum for local peace and human rights organizations to become collectively visible and work together, sharing knowledge, experiences and resources and to build on local interest and engage local communities in a conversation.
About the Gandhi Peace Festival
The Gandhi Peace Festival is co-sponsored by the India-Canada Society of Hamilton and Region, the Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University and the City of Hamilton. The Festival is named after Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), popularly known as Mahatma (literally, “Great Soul”) Gandhi, a central figure in India’s anticolonial struggle. Gandhi worked hard to achieve India’s independence from British colonial rule through the adoption of nonviolence as a strategy of resistance and challenged India’s own social and religious practices that discriminated against fellow Indians. In line with Gandhi’s attempts to forge connections across religious, class, caste, racial and linguistic divides, the Gandhi Peace Festival started in Hamilton in 1993 in celebration of India’s rich cultural heritage as a one-off event, but with the 125th birth anniversary of Gandhi the following year, it became an annual festival.
The purpose of the Gandhi Peace Festival is:
- To promote nonviolence, peace and justice;
- To offer a forum for local peace and human rights organizations to become collectively visible and work together, sharing knowledge, experiences and resources; and
- To build on local interest and engage local communities in a conversation on questions or issues as they emerge locally and globally.
The Gandhi Peace Festival is the longest running peace festival in Canada. It is held annually on the weekend closest to Gandhi’s birthday (October 2). This free, public festival includes speakers, cultural performances, workshops, a march through downtown Hamilton and a free, vegetarian meal for all. Financial donations from a diverse group of organizations and individuals from the local Hamilton community and the work of numerous volunteers make this Festival a vibrant campus-community engagement event.
Open Circle is a safe, respectful, and welcoming community where students from diverse backgrounds explore personal and spiritual growth in a safe environment. We support each other in developing into engaged community-minded leaders through:
- Volunteer groups in underserved Hamilton communities
- Weekly drop-in groups for sharing and reflection (Reflection circles)
- Reflection Circles are a safe space for connecting with your self and other students in an atmosphere of respect and awakening to your authentic life through exploring mindfulness practice, creative expression, and discussion
- Personal development courses
- Events like planetarium shows, panel discussions, and retreats
- Spiritual companioning (1 on 1 support)
McMaster Dialogues explore global challenges
To help us better understand how to live and work together when we have opposite opinions, the university has launched a new series of discussions called the McMaster Dialogues. Each session focuses on bringing together McMaster experts, students, faculty and staff for roundtable discussions on key global challenges as identified at the United Nations Summit of the Future and the Pact for the Future — a multilateral agreement that outlines a framework for international cooperation and collective action. Future discussion topics will include peace and security, climate change, global health threats and the ethical use of new technologies. The dialogues are a neutral platform where social, economic and political discussions from different political perspectives are shared.