This volume investigates the specific conditions and mechanisms that contribute to successful public policy outcomes within the Canadian federal and provincial governance systems. The authors, a team of established scholars in public administration and political science, utilize a standardized analytical framework to evaluate twenty-two distinct case studies. By examining the history, evolution, and multi-dimensional success of these programs, the text argues that effective policy is the result of specific institutional processes and political alignments that can be replicated or understood by students and practitioners of governance.

Experts identify this volume as a significant resource for academic research and classroom instruction in public policy. Readers frequently note the clarity of the analytical framework, which allows for consistent comparison across disparate policy domains.