“I have always been interested in the interplay between people and government, and how to support as many people as possible to influence government ideation and processes,” says Miriam Kramer, pictured above.
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For Miriam Kramer, attending the Maytree Policy School will allow her to make policy more central to her work at OCAD University where she is currently the executive director of government and corporate relations.
“At OCAD U, I oversee government relations and while policy has always been a part of this role, it has been secondary to relationship-building and fundraising. Participating in the Maytree Policy School will allow me to bolster OCAD U’s role to strengthen arts and culture policy and improve Canadian society,” says Kramer.
The program, which accepts participants from across Ontario, is designed for senior policy professionals who are in a position to influence the public policy direction of their organization and who are interested in enhancing their engagement and effectiveness in the policy process.
It is offered under the auspices of Maytree, a non-profit organization committed to advancing systemic solutions to poverty and strengthening civic communities.
Kramer looks forward to learning how other not-for-profits engage in policy work, which will help inform the University’s own strategy for prioritizing policy development.
“We plan to build our capacity for policy development, which will include conducting research, writing reports and influencing government and public opinion on our key policy areas,” she says. “We also hope to apply the University’s deep expertise in design thinking and strategic foresight within this context. This will lead to developing new policy methodologies and more innovative policy across the institution.”
Kramer has close to 20 years of experience working in policy, research, community relations and advocacy within government, NGOs and the private sector in Canada, the United States and Israel.