Public Service Matters will be an occasional feature on the Samara blog. It will profile individuals and organizations engaged in exemplary public service. The column will be an opportunity to showcase ideas and initiatives that are having a positive impact in our communities and helping shape public policy at the local and/or national level.For this column, we spoke to Vickie Cammack, co-founder... [More]

I attended two talks last week that helped me think about how Samara can help create opportunities for Canadians to meaningfully contribute, in small, fun and accessible ways, to issues that matter to them. Friends know this has been a long-time interest of mine, something I've reflected on for years and regret not writing more about. If you're interested, here are the highlights on presentati... [More]

It's been a star-studded week of international policy-wonkdom here. After the Bush/Clinton discussion last week, tonight Toronto welcomed four international development thinkers and activisits to debate whether foreign aid is doing more harm than good. The third in an installment from the Munk Debates, the evening was designed (in the words of the event's benefactor Peter Munk) to provide a "s... [More]