It鈥檚 a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: two students from AV俱乐部鈥檚 School of Public Administration have won a national competition and, with it, the chance to present their ideas to some of Canada鈥檚 top public servants.
Salman Dostmohammad and Jude Long learned last week that their essay, 鈥淩egulating the Sharing Economy: Applying the Process for Creative Destruction,鈥� was awarded the grand prize of the Blueprint 2020 National Student Paper Competition.
The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) originally created Blueprint 2020 as an internal initiative for reforming the public service.
鈥淚n 2013, IPAC opened it up as an essay competition,鈥� says Markus Sharaput, lecturer in the School of Public Administration (SPA) and the school鈥檚 administrator for the contest. 鈥淭he idea was, what do the best and the brightest out there have for ideas about improving the public service?鈥�
Since then, students across Canada have competed yearly with essays addressing public service issues. This year Dostmohammad and Long won not only the grand prize, but also the People鈥檚 Choice Award, which is decided by public voting.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been invited to receive their award, present their paper and sit on a panel with high-ranking public servants,鈥� says Dr. Sharaput. 鈥淭his is a chance for them to meet public servants and actually present a policy idea.鈥�
A rigorous competition
Dr. Sharaput explains the competition鈥檚 rigorous selection process. The first level is internal: SPA chose three essays to compete, all of which were among the 10 national semi-finalists chosen. The other Dal semi-finalists were Brett Taylor with 鈥淒elivering the New Government鈥檚 Historic Infrastructure Investment鈥� and Alison MacDonald and Jessica MacMillan with 鈥淚s there a G.O.C. App for that?鈥� (MacDonald and MacMillan鈥檚 paper also made it to the top-five finals.)
At the semi-final level, each student or team creates a video about their essay. Dostmohammad almost literally dreamed up his team鈥檚 video: 鈥淚 woke up in the middle of the night with an amazing idea for the concept and the script,鈥� he says. They enlisted videographer Patrick Campbell, a friend of Long鈥檚, to create the short. 鈥淭he video portion was a wonderful experience,鈥� says Long.
Once the five finalists were announced, the authors presented to a panel of federal deputy ministers who made the final selection.
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling overwhelmed with pride and gratitude for everyone who has helped us along this journey,鈥� says Long (right).
鈥淚 am very excited at this accomplishment,鈥� says Dostmohammad. 鈥淏lueprint 2020 is really a competition of ideas, where you are competing with the best and the brightest in the country.鈥� He recalls the long nights of work that went into their paper. Long notes that team-work, trust and 鈥渟heer faith鈥� contributed to their win.
Sharing success
The essay subject that drove their hard work was the 鈥渟haring economy,鈥� which has long interested both students. Long explains the concept as 鈥渁 hybrid market model that refers to peer-to-peer-based 鈥榮haring of access to goods and services.鈥欌�� (Uber and Airbnb are examples.)
鈥淭he sharing economy interested me because I am technologically oriented and could see large systemic problems with the regulatory structure surrounding it,鈥� says Dostmohammad. 鈥淭his is not just a problem facing Canada, but the world at large.鈥�
Long explains further: 鈥淭here are always trade-offs that must be considered when weighing the option of regulating an industry or service versus the consequences and outcomes of deregulation.鈥� Their treatment of the subject grew out of an assignment for Dr. Sharaput鈥檚 Organizational Design class; Dr. Sharaput notes that the other AV俱乐部 entries also came from academic work in the SPA. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked to make that transformation easier over the last couple of years,鈥� he says.
Long and Dostmohammad, midway through their Master of Public Administration studies, appreciate SPA鈥檚 support. 鈥淚 feel the school prepares students well as it provides a solid foundation for the skills that are drawn upon in the public service,鈥� says Dostmohammad, adding that his time in SPA so far has left him feeling empowered and confident. Long calls the SPA faculty and staff 鈥渁n incredible bunch, always willing to lend a helping hand and advise us on any questions or concerns we have about the program.鈥�
Both students are currently in internships: Long is with the federal government鈥檚 Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Dostmohammad (left) is at the very place where he presented the team鈥檚 paper, the Privy Council Office. 鈥淚 am working in the Legislation & House Planning department, where I support the Cabinet and the Prime Minister,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 work with an extremely bright and talented team and am receiving the opportunity of a lifetime by learning from them.鈥�
Dostmohammad and Long plan to continue serving the public. 鈥淢y hope and dream is to become an established thought leader and create a significant contribution to Canada,鈥� says Dostmohammad. Long is not quite sure what his professional future holds, but he intends to remain in Nova Scotia: 鈥淚 feel it is my civic duty to see that our province grows and prospers in the years to come.鈥�
Dr. Sharaput explains that the win will help the students as they build careers in the public service. 鈥淭his is high profile,鈥� he says, noting the involvement of IPAC, the Canada School of Public Service and the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration. 鈥淧eople will remember their names.鈥�