Issue 13: A gift for every wonk
Plus, exciting things to come in 2026
WELCOME
Thank you so much to the 30-odd Toronto Policycraft readers who came out to talk shop with me on November 13. It was wonderful meeting you and overhearing such smart conversations!
I plan to host more casual policy talk events in 2026, so don’t worry if you missed this one.
In addition to those events, next year will see some exciting new initiatives: a reader survey, collaborations with like-minded partners, an original essay or two, and more organized and accessible resources.
If you’ve found the first year of Policycraft to be of value, I’d appreciate you sharing it with friends and colleagues in the public policy space.
THE 2025 POLICYCRAFT GIFT GUIDE
Policycraft isn’t just here to aid in your professional and intellectual development; this newsletter also exists to solve the most intractable (according to my husband) problem of all: what to get the policy wonk who has everything.
This month, our syllabus is a gift guide tailored to the person who is looking forward to the holidays so they can finally make a dent in their to-read list. Armed with the thinking and tools on this list, you’ll be ready for whatever wicked problems come your way in the new year.
NB: This is likely the only gift guide on the internet with no paid partnerships or affiliate links, as Policycraft is not yet big enough for me to sell out.
Books
Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services by Michael Lipsky
This seminal 1980 text coined the term “street-level bureaucrat” and revolutionized how we understand policy implementation. Lipsky argues that teachers, police officers, social workers, and other public servants who directly interact with citizens are the real policymakers, and that their daily decisions and coping mechanisms shape policy outcomes far more than any legislative intent. (Make sure you grab a copy of the expanded, 30th anniversary edition!)
Perfect for: Anyone who’s ever wondered why policy looks so different on the ground than on paper
Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service by Donald Savoie
Recommended in Issue 1
Public administration scholar Donald Savoie examines the contemporary capacity of the federal public service to deliver for Canadians, arguing that without strong state capacity, even well-designed policies will struggle to hit their marks. A critical book for understanding if the Canadian government is able to meet the challenges of the 2020s (and beyond).
Perfect for: Anyone with big ideas about what the federal government ‘should’ be doing
Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better by Jennifer Pahlka
Recommended in Issue 2
Although framed as a book about implementing technology in the American public sector, Pahlka has actually created an empathetic and clear-eyed explanation of how and why government works (or, more often, doesn’t). Reading how, with pragmatism and patience, she was able to make positive change is essential for understanding how to get anything done in government.
Perfect for: Public servants trapped in the machine but still hoping to make a difference
Red Tape: Its Origins, Uses and Abuses by Howard Kaufman
Recommended in Issue 3
This slim text gets to the root of “red tape” as a symptom of low trust and a lack of human judgment and accountability in government; the more we try to reduce unwanted behaviors, the more we become snarled in its grasp.
Perfect for: Anyone wrestling with regulatory burden and process design; those interested in the unintended consequences of well-intentioned rules
Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis
Recommended in Issue 6
Michael Lewis profiles everyday public servants whose hard work and sense of duty keeps the American government running. Charmingly, one chapter features the Consumer Price Index as a character, making a stirring case for objective data in policymaking.
Perfect for: Public servants who need to remember why they chose this work
Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means by Donald P. Moynihan and Pamela Herd
Recommended in Issue 10
This award-winning book examines how paperwork and bureaucracy can systematically exclude populations and undermine policy goals in ways that amount to policymaking by stealth.
Perfect for: Anyone working on service delivery, program design, or equity issues
The Systems Bible by John Gall
Referenced in Issue 11
A cult favourite text offering the core wisdom that “a complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked”. This is essential reading on how systems actually succeed (and fail).
Perfect for: The skeptic who knows complexity can’t always be controlled
Law’s Indigenous Ethics by John Borrows
Author featured in Issue 12
Influential legal scholar John Borrows explores the renewal of Indigenous legal traditions and their emerging relationship with Canadian law, offering frameworks for governance beyond the Indian Act.
Perfect for: Professionals working on, or trying to inform their work with, reconciliation and Indigenous approaches to governance
Tragedy in the Commons: Former Members of Parliament Speak Out About Canada’s Failing Democracy by Alison Loat & Michael MacMillan
Based on over 80 exit interviews with former MPs across all parties, this book reveals what really happens inside Parliament and why so many politicians leave disillusioned. Loat and MacMillan (founders of the Samara Centre for Democracy) document the reality of life as a backbencher: minimal influence on policy, rigid party discipline, and a system that wastes political talent on partisan theatre rather than substantive governance. Essential reading for understanding the incentive structures that shape (and constrain) political decision-making in Canada.
Perfect for: Bureaucrats who need to understand why ministerial priorities shift so erratically and why MPs seem more interested in Question Period zingers than committee work; early career wonks who want to know why good policy doesn’t get legislative air time
Subscriptions and Memberships
Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de politiques
Canada’s foremost journal examining economic and social policy. Published quarterly by University of Toronto Press since 1975, it’s interdisciplinary, bilingual, and directed at policy researchers who need rigorous evidence and analysis on Canadian policy problems.
Individual digital and print subscriptions available at utppublishing.com/journals/cpp/subscribe
Perfect for: The policy professional eager for peer-reviewed research relevant to the Canadian context
Works in Progress
Fresh, contrarian takes on governance and policy with a technical bent, now available as a beautifully designed physical magazine. Brings deep, rigorous thinking about systems, infrastructure, and institutional design to your coffee table.
Physical magazine subscription available at worksinprogress.co/print
Perfect for: The technically- (or aesthetically-) minded wonk
Membership or donation to a favourite think tank
Give a win-win gift by investing in the Canadian think tank of your recipient’s choice: while only the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and C.D. Howe accept individual memberships, shops as diverse as the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Fraser Institute, and the Broadbent Institute accept charitable donations.
Perfect for: Anyone who values civil society input into policymaking
Other Must-Have Items
A ticket to Public Policy Forum’s Annual Testimonial Dinner
Perfect for: Wonks in need of inspiration; anyone who wants to see and be seen in the Canadian public policy circle.
Noise-cancelling headphones to survive any return-to-office mandate
Perfect for: The Ontario Public Service
Productivity-enhancing technology
The Overton Index – The public policy research equivalent of Google Scholar (recommended in Issue 11)
Miro or Mural – For collaborative consultation, policy design, and visual thinking
Tableau – Powerful data visualization
NVivo – Qualitative research software for consultation analysis
Claude or Gemini 3 – The best AI tools for graduate-level research assistance
Perfect for: The future of policycraft
Bullshit Bingo: The Management Bollocks, Business Bullshit, Nonsensical Buzzwords and Ludicrous Office Jargon Bingo Game by Robert Frosdick
😉
Have a very happy holiday season! Policycraft will return in January 2026.