[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/krantzberg edited.jpg” caption=”Gail Krantzberg, director of the Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy. File photo.”]A consensus is emerging that the current governance structure of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence ecosystem is inadequate and increasingly placing people, the environment and the economy at risk.

This view will be tested in a study being undertaken by the Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy at McMaster University through the support of a $163,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation.

“Accountable and responsive institutions, sound public policies and appropriate models of programs are needed to protect the diversity and integrity of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem,” said Gail Krantzberg, director of the Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy and former director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the International Joint Commission. “Having the right governance system in place will ensure the sustainability of the Great Lakes for the next generation.”

The study will evaluate current governance and accountability systems and benchmarks, evaluate relevant international case studies, identify key stakeholders in the U.S. and Canada and involve them in consultation and focus groups, and provide recommendations for future governance.

Study results will be provided to the Binational Executive Committee overseeing the review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, and other Great Lakes institutions throughout the Basin. Peer review publications will be submitted to environment, law and policy journals.

The Joyce Foundation:

Based in Chicago with assets of $825 million, the Joyce Foundation supports efforts to strengthen public policies in ways that improve the quality of life in the Midwest region. Joyce makes $9 million in grants each year to groups working to protect the natural environment of the Great Lakes. Other program areas are education, employment, gun violence prevention, money and politics, and culture.

Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy:

The Centre provides study at the graduate level to enhance students' understanding of the interface between engineering and public policy, and how public policy affects technological, social, economic and ecological systems leading to sustainability.