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Evidence-based. Scholarly.
Thought-provoking.

A repository of evidence-based true stories of technology-related governance dilemma across various sectors shared by industry, policy and academic experts.

FEATURED CASE STUDIES

State in a Smartphone: Ukraine’s Critical Navigation of a Service Delivery App as a Wartime Defence Tool

Bo Kelestyn

This case explores the rise of Diia, Ukraine’s groundbreaking digital governance platform, through the lens of leadership, innovation and crisis. Diia enabled citizens to move within and outside the country without any disruption to their engagement with the state, ultimately saving lives and caring for the wellbeing of the citizens, while giving people the freedom to contribute to the war effort. But crucial to the governance dilemma was that Diia could also put civilians at risk, impose unintended surveillance and make them targets.

Smart Ethics for Smart Cities:
Learning from Quayside

Evelyne Tauchnitz

The case study follows a senior policy advisor as she navigates the challenges of data-driven technologies in Toronto’s Quayside smart city project, which highlights the broader governance challenges associated with integrating advanced data collection systems into urban planning. The project aimed to create a high-tech, sensor-driven neighbourhood to enhance urban living, but it faced backlash over issues such as data privacy, corporate control of public spaces and inadequate public engagement.

Can X-Road Be Travelled Abroad?
Digital Governance Beyond Estonia

Matt Malone

Estonia’s X-Road is widely acknowledged to be an impressive tool of digital governance. An open-source data exchange layer, complemented by a widely adopted digital identity program, it expanded state capacity while reducing data duplication, costs, fraud, cyber risk and bureaucratic burdens for citizens. Yet despite its success, X-Road has not been adopted by many other jurisdictions wholesale. This case study asks: why?

Where is the Gender Lens in Canada’s Cybersecurity Policy?

Hannah Bacon and Veronica Kitchen

This gendered analysis of Canada’s National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) explores why certain conceptions of national security become entrenched in policy. The case encourages discussion of why gender has been absent from Canada’s NCSS, and considers the consequences of failing to take technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) seriously.

Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: Balancing Innovation with Established Business Models in the Creative Industries

Ann Kristin Glenster

The case study sets out the dilemma between the need for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) companies to train their GenAI models on vast amounts of data, scraped from the internet without regard for copyright holders’ right to control how their copyrighted works are used.

RECENT CASE STUDIES

Public Investment, Private Gain:
Canada’s Role in the mRNA Vaccine Breakthrough

Health,  Intellectual Property,  Law,  Public Policy

Natalie Raffoul and Sarah Hamm
This case study examines Canada’s under-recognized yet foundational role in the development of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Despite its substantial public investment in this technology, Canada failed to secure direct benefits or timely vaccine access for its citizens.

Was Nortel Worth More Dead than Alive?

Economy,  Public Policy,  Technology

Dan Ciuriak and Harry Deng
This case study explores the decision-making process that led to Nortel’s liquidation, raising questions about industrial policy, technology sovereignty, and the role of anchor firms in innovation ecosystems.

Contact Tracing or Constitutional Creep?
South Korea’s High-Tech Pandemic Gamble

Data Governance,  Health,  Human Rights,  Public Policy

Barry Appleton
This case study analyzes South Korea’s pioneering yet controversial use of digital contact tracing during COVID-19. Set against the backdrop of the Itaewon outbreak in May 2020, the case raises urgent questions about surveillance, rights and democratic accountability.

Canada’s Digital Sovereignty is Under Threat:
A National Strategy is Imperative

Data Governance,  Data Security,  Economy,  Security Governance

Muna Mohamed
Canada’s digital economy contributes more than CDN$220 billion annually to Canada’s GDP and employs 2.4 million Canadians. However, the lack of sovereign computing capacity leaves this sector vulnerable to the interests of foreign actors.

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