Adam M. Wellstead

"Academics are the only people I can think of for whom this sentence makes sense: 'I'm hoping to get some time off so that I can get some work done.'"
—Sidney Verba

Contact

awellste@mtu.edu
906-487-2115

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Professor of Public Policy, Social Sciences

PhD, Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 2006
MSc (Forestry), University of Toronto, 1996
MA, Political Science, Dalhousie University, 1993
BA (Hons), Economics and Political Science, 1991

Biography

I joined the Department of Social Sciences in 2011 after a 15-year career with the Canadian federal government. My professional experiences will contribute to research and teaching in public policy and public management. My research interests include investigating multi-level governance arrangements in the natural resource sector, measuring policy capacity and evidence-based policy-making, policy mechanisms, and theories of the policy process. I am the Director of the Graduate Online Public Policy Certificate and the Co-director of the MTU STEM Public Policy Lab.

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

Anglo-American policy advisory systems
Governance and political mechanisms
Survey research
Policy process frameworks

Areas of Interest

Climate Change Adaptation
Policy Design
Policy Innovation Labs
Public Value
Trust and public policy

Recent Publications (Since 2024)

Hoss-Golan, E., Gofen, A. and Wellstead, A.M., 2024. Meeting expectations? Response of policy innovation labs to sustainable development goals. Policy and Society, 43(3), pp.334-350.
Kim, S., Heikkila, T. and Wellstead, A.M., 2024. Pathways to learning in data-based policy innovation labs. International Review of Public Policy, 6(6: 2).
Morrison, A., Wellstead, A.M. and Dickinson, H., 2024. Reclaiming public service ethics through algorithms: Implications for teaching and development. Teaching Public Administration, 42(2), pp.251-268.
Villa-Alvarez, D.P. and Wellstead, A.M., 2024. More than Semantics? Navigating the "Policy* Design " Concepts' Landscape. Central European Journal of Public Policy, 18(2), pp.35-51.
Wellstead, A.M., Mechling, S.M., Carter, A. and Gofen, A., 2024. Artificial intelligence possibilities to improve analytical policy capacity: the case of environmental policy innovation labs and sustainable development goals. Policy Design and Practice, 7(4), pp.456-467.
Wellstead, A., Schmidt, R., Carter, A. and Gofen, A., 2024. New Avenues for Public Value Management and the Role of Nonprofit Policy Innovation Labs: Co-Experience and Social Media. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 15(1), pp.26-pp.
Wellstead, A. and Howlett, M., 2024. Public value and procedural policy instrument specifications in "design for service ". Policy Design and Practice, pp.1-14.

Teaching Experience

SS5350 (Environmental Policy Analysis)
SS5318 (Public Management)

Teaching Statement

Dr. Wellstead previously worked as a social scientist for the Canadian federal government, focusing policy efforts on climate change, forest management, and other environmental matters. Areas of expertise include policy capacity, policy design, policy process frameworks, and innovation labs.