Dr. Scott Bennett

Biography

Associate Professor Scott Bennett received his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago and completed his master's and doctoral programs at York University. He served as a policy consultant at both the provincial and federal levels of the Canadian government, being involved in designing the largest true social policy experiments in history, such as the Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment. He has worked with and trained senior staff at major survey research and public affairs consulting firms in Canada. Bennett has served on expert panels to design standards for surveys undertaken on behalf of the Canadian federal government and assisted the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer in analyzing major federal policy initiatives such as the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and the Truth in Sentencing Act. His general interests include public affairs, public policy, public opinion survey research, quantitative research methods, and the design of public policy institutions. He pursues research on governance in human communities within the context of scientific, social, and technological change. Current academic research projects include the study of the use of information (including public opinion) in governance and experimental studies on changes in responses to policy based on shifts in public opinion. He has published extensively in these areas and continues to develop related materials on long-term relations between institutions and technology, as well as the physical constraints faced by communities.

Research Interests