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MPA Major Research Papers

From 1990 until 2023, all Western Master of Public Administration students completed a faculty-supervised Major Research Paper. Starting in 2024, students complete a Research Report that is not individually supervised.

At the time of submission, students may opt to publicly release their papers. This series contains all publicly available papers completed since 1990.

The program does not endorse the content of these papers which are the independent research of the students. The papers are owned by the authors and posted here with their permission.

If you are the author of an MPA research paper and would like to have that paper removed from this database please contact .

Major Research Papers from 2020 2020

Addressing Water Security Through First Nations-Municipal Cooperation, Corrine Codina

Canadian mayors respond to Tent Cities: The old bums rush or a new script for homeless populations?, Dani Coffey

Who Has Seen the Wind Benefits? Impacts of Ontario Green Energy Policy on Municipal Community Benefit Agreements from Large Wind Energy Projects, Jason Cole

Beyond Books: Evaluating Maker Spaces in Ontario’s Municipal Library Systems, Lise Conde

Going Back: The Case for Remunicipalization: Analyzing the Ottawa Case to Understand Why Municipalities May Remunicipalize a Service Instead of Choosing Another Private Contractor, Stephen Coppola

Strategic Planning and Management in Mid-sized Ontario Municipalities: What factors contribute to successful adoption and implementation of strategic plans?, Lori Cruthers

Preparing Communities for the Golden Years: Approaches for Developing Age-Friendly Communities for Seniors, Shivi Darubra

Where Have All the Local Politicians Gone? A Preliminary Examination of Causes and Impacts of Acclamation in Canada’s Municipal Governments, Sheena Earl

Financial and Strategic Planning in Ontario Municipalities: Examining the Theoretical Framework and Linkages Between Municipal Financial and Strategic Planning in Ontario, Brian Geerts

Pot for Potholes: Could Cannabis Taxation Revenues Solve the Municipal Infrastructure Funding Deficit in Ontario?, Lori Jivan

Comparative Analysis of Emergency Communication Practices of Local Public Health Units in Ontario during COVID-19 Pandemic, Thulasika Ledchumikanthan

Inclusionary Zoning: Identifying Possible Legal Challenges within Canada and How Best to Pre-empt Them, Christina Pilatzkie

Community Improvement Plans: An analysis of content and outcomes of Community Improvement Plans in Ontario, Paul Pirri

Oh Caledonia! Our Home or Native Land? Haldimand County’s Role in the Caledonia Land Dispute, 2005-2016, Aren Plante

Supporting Knowledge Clusters: An analysis of the organizational structures and policies of economic development agencies in Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Windsor, Duncan Purssell

A Declaration of Interdependence: An Analysis of Multilevel Governance and the Role of Municipal Governments as Climate Policy Entrepreneurs, Tyler Raponi

Major Research Papers from 2019 2019

The Successful Implementation of O. Reg. 588/17: Organizational Factors that Contribute to the Success of Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure in Small Ontario Municipalities, Jenna Campbell (Shultz)

An Examination of Municipal Policy-Makers’ Responses Towards the Provincial Implementation of Retail Cannabis Stores Within Ontario, Mark Dean

Local Government Responses to Festivals: An Exploratory Study, Andrew Grozelle

Spatial Data Analysis: Examining the Quality of Life for Ethiopians and Nigerians in the City of Toronto and Edmonton, Ebyan Hassan

Investigating the Effects of Telephone and Internet Voting on Election Administration in Rural Ontario Municipalities, Carson Lamb

Peer Coaching for Leadership Development in the Public Sector: A Case Study from Local Public Health, Tammy MacKinnon

Building a Smart City: Insights and Perspectives from the Winners of Smart City Challenge, Andi Maloku

Factors that Contribute to Good Food Box (GFB) Program Sustainability: A Survey of all Known Existing and Discontinued GFB Programs in Canada, Ellen Pezzetta

Major Research Papers from 2018 2018

Held to Account? An Analysis of Political Accountability in Ontario’s Municipal Sector, David W. Arbuckle