University of Manitoba - Faculty of Arts - Classics - Enhancing Relationships between Government and the Voluntary Sector
Enhancing Relationships between Government and the Voluntary Sector
Public Policy Café - 2:30 pm March 22nd 2012
The Free Press Café 237 McDermot Ave.Presented by: The Duff Roblin Professor And The Manitoba Institute for Policy Research

Who delivers public sector services? How can the level of service that citizens expect best be delivered into the future? The relationship between the voluntary sector and government has become increasingly important as governments have increasingly been asked to do more and more with less. This changing dynamic has led to an emphasis on collaboration between government and the voluntary sector, while this governance model provides new opportunities for the participation of voluntary organizations in the public policy processes it also brings with it new challenges.

In order for voluntary organizations to fulfill this new role however, what are their capacity needs? Is the operating environment sufficiently stable to support voluntary organizations? What type of engagement needs to occur between government and the voluntary sector to ensure the development of autonomous and vibrant voluntary organizations? These are just some of the questions that our panelists will discuss in an effort to better understand how governments and the voluntary sector can build on their collective strengths and forge new relationships.

Panelists are:

Dr. Susan Phillips, Director of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University. Susan’s research focuses on the evolving relationship between government and civil society – in policy development, service delivery and promotion of citizenship. In particular, her work concentrates on comparative analysis of the policy, regulatory and financing frameworks that enable (or constrain) the work of civil society organizations and philanthropy, and the implications for public management.

Paul Vogt, Clerk of the Executive Council and Cabinet Secretary in the Manitoba Government. He is the formal head of the Civil Service and responsible for the Premier’s department (Executive Council) and Cabinet operations.  From 1999 to 2005, Vogt served as Policy Secretary to Cabinet, and from 1996 to 1999 he was the Research Director for the Opposition Caucus.  Prior to his work with the provincial government, Vogt taught politics, economics and philosophy at the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba (1990 – 1996).  He did his undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba (BA hons, 1983) and did graduate work at Oxford (MPhil, 1985) and Princeton University.

Martin Itzkow, Co‐Chair Manitoba Federation of Non‐Profit Organizations. Martin was one of the founders of the Manitoba Federation of Non‐Profit Organizations. Also, he was one of the founders of the Canadian Federation of Voluntary Sector Networks (civil society networks), a pan‐Canadian network of cross ‐sectorial provincial, territorial and local voluntary sector and non‐profit alliances and/or coalitions.

Moderator: Dr. Richard Sigurdson, Duff Roblin Professor, University of Manitoba