British Columbia Priorities Project 

Established in 2010, the BCP is a required and assessed component of SFU School of Public Policy (SPP) Master of Public Policy (MPP) courses PLCY800 and PLCY807. It matches small teams of SPP graduate students with federal, provincial, local, and Indigenous government or non-profit partners to produce reports suggesting how pressing public policy problems might be most effectively addressed by government.

Each BCP team produces a written report recommending how organizational partners might best tackle policy problems of interest to the organization and presents this report for discussion at a year-end forum. Past BCP projects proved valuable to partner organizations, with student teams using advanced policy analysis and research skills to produce detailed reports which draw upon original qualitative and quantitative analysis from interview, survey, case study, and statistical data.

All BCP reports contain the following components:

• Background information
• A foundational problem statement and assessment of its severity
• An assessment as to what is causing the problem to occur
• A review of what is currently being done to address the problem
• Option assessment criteria, including effectiveness, cost, equity, and feasibility
• At least three realistic policy options
• An assessment of the three options according to the assessment criteria
• A recommended path forward
• Implementation and risk considerations

• April-September: Supervising professor and partner organizations discuss potential topics
• Septemeber: Supervising professor prepares students for BCP work
• October-November: Student teams formed and meet partner organization team lead
• December: Students submit first BCP assignment for assessment
• January-April: Students refine projects through workshops and conduct original research
• April: Students make final presentations to BCP partner and submit final report

The supervising professor oversees student team assembly and management, deadline compliance, assessment, upholding university ethics requirements, and grading. The primary role of the BCP partner is to help students select a real-world issue and offer mentorship as time permits, with specific commitments limited to:

• Agreeing to a BCP policy issue with the supervising professor
• Assigning a contact person for periodic consultations with the student team
• Agreeing with the student team on an issue area and initial problem statement
• Where possible, linking students with data, people, and other research resources
• Attending the final April presentation virtually or in-person

• Students cannot be paid for their work
• The final report is the property of Simon Fraser University
• BCP reports are educational exercises and not direction to government
• Partner organizations cannot alter options, analysis, or recommendations