Political leadership.
As part of our focus on strengthening political leadership, Samara conducted a series of exit interviews with former Members of Parliament. Many organizations hold exit interviews with departing employees to gather feedback on how best to improve the experience of current and future employees. However, in Parliament, this is not a regular occurrence. These interviews involved former MPs from all political parties, and from across the country. Our introductory report, The Accidental Citizen?, focuses on the varied, and often unexpected, ways so many MPs described their journeys into public life.
Public affairs journalism.
To support public affairs journalism, Samara partnered with the Massey College Canadian Journalism Fellowship, at the University of Toronto, to host lectures and discussions with some of the most experienced journalists from North America. These seminars featured Paul Steiger, the editor of ProPublica, the New York-based non-profit investigative newsroom, Tom Rosenstiel, from the Pew Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Ellen Weiss, the senior vice president for news at National Public Radio (NPR).
Citizen participation.
Our volunteer program invites citizens from across Canada and around the world to participate in our work. Please visit our volunteer page for more information.