About
The following is based on the
text of the 5 November 2008 version of the CMFE Concept Note, which was the basis of Dean Graham's decision to
approve its creation as a Public Affairs Research Centre.
1. Introduction
This document sets out the proposed goals, objectives,
structure, and strategy for the Centre for Monetary and Financial Economics
at
Carleton University. An earlier draft was used to
provide a focus for discussion at initial meetings on this concept involving
faculty colleagues in the Department of Economics. Feedback from these meetings
(held on 18 June 2008 and on 3 July 2008) was incorporated herein.
2. Background
The context of monetary policy is changing rapidly. The
current conditions and dynamics of the global economy are generating new and complex
challenges for central bankers, policy-makers, and private-sector actors.
Relatively recent problems like the U.S.-sub-prime-mortgage-induced financial
crisis and the upward trend in real energy prices suggest that the traditional
tools of monetary policy and the theoretical knowledge base that underpins them
may be inadequate to some extent. In fact, some observers have suggested that
contemporary challenges have already forced monetary policy-makers to test new
practical and theoretical approaches that are not well-linked to the
traditional knowledge base of the field.
Since the turn of the century, the Department of Economics in the
Faculty of Public Affairs (FPA) at
3. Goals
and Objectives
The overall goal of the Centre is to generate
leading-edge knowledge on monetary and financial economics that can be used to
inform effective public policies. The specific objectives of the Centre are to:
3.1.
conduct high-quality research, both theoretical and policy-oriented, on key issues in the area of monetary and financial economics;
3.2.
organize
conferences, symposia, and other public events to enable the dissemination of
research findings as well as debate on this research by scholars, government
officials, and private-sector leaders;
3.3.
set
up, manage, and expand national and international networks, or communities of
practice, on research and policy related to monetary and financial economics;
3.4.
plan
and deliver professional development courses and workshops for the public and
private sectors on contemporary issues in the field;
3.5.
provide training opportunities for
graduate students to gain valuable knowledge and skills in research in monetary
and financial economics.
4. Phased
Development
The CFME will be developed in two phases during
its first five years. The general approach is to begin modestly and then
grow. Start-up issues will be dealt with in the two years of Phase I,
which will include the appointment of personnel to fill out the Centre's
structure (described in Section 5 below), the engagement of faculty from
across the University who have interests that are in line with the Centre's
goals and objectives, and the launch of a few initiatives in furtherance of
those goals and objectives. The regularization of CFME activities, the
maintenance or expansion of successful existing projects, and the development of new projects will be the focus of Phase II
beginning in Year 3. A second five-year plan (Phase III) will be
designed in Year 5 to build on the successes realized under the first one.
5. Leadership,
Structure, and Personnel
5.1.
Directorship
For the initial, two-year phase of the development of the
CFME, a co-directorship model is being employed. Two colleagues from the Department of Economics, Chuck
Freedman and Steve Ferris, have been appointed by the Dean of Public Affairs to serve in this capacity.
5.2.
Management Board
The work of the CFME is overseen by a Management Board
comprising nine Carleton faculty, including the Centre's Director or
Co-Directors, the FPA Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs, and the
Chair of the Department of Economics, who will serve as the Board's chair for
at least the first two years of its operation. The Board is responsible
for (i) setting the Centre's overall strategy and policy, (ii) advising
on the development of a research agenda, and (iii) supporting the
mobilization of funds to enable the Centre to achieve its goals. These terms of
reference will be made more precise by the Co-Directors during the Centre's
first year. Three Board meetings per year, or one per term, are anticipated.
5.3.
Advisory Committee
A largely external Advisory
Committee comprising senior public- and private-sector leaders will provide guidance to the Centre. This body will have nine to eleven
members, including the Centre's Director or Co-Directors, the Chair of the
Management Board, and the FPA Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs.
The Committee's general role is to advise on the
research and policy work of the Centre. More specifically, it will advise the
Centre on the planning and implementation of its research agenda and on the use
and dissemination of its outputs. Two meetings per year are anticipated.
5.4.
Research Associates
Associates of the Centre comprise members of the
Department of Economics and other Carleton academic units, including the
Department of Political Science, the Norman Paterson School of International
Affairs, the
School of
Journalism
and Communication, and the
School of
Public Policy
and Administration. Good
representation from the Department of Economics covering a diversity of
research skills has been secured already; efforts will continue to be made to increase participation from other units as well.
5.5.
Other
In the medium run, the CMFE may grow to a point where it
might appoint staff on the basis of third-party funding, including exchanges
with the public service. It is also expected that graduate students will be
employed as research assistants on CMFE projects.
6. Partnerships
The Centre is endeavouring to develop close working
partnerships with a variety of institutions. Chief among these is the Bank
of Canada. Other important partnerships will be explored with Statistics
Canada, the federal Department of Finance, the Federal Reserve Bank of the
7. Revenue
Strategy
It is expected that
the CMFE will have a variety of revenue sources; e.g.:
·
Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council (for large, networked projects);
·
fees
from public- and private-sector participants at conferences;
·
Statistics Canada;
·
American
foundation grants;
·
private-sector
contracts;
·
individual and corporate donations.
8. Business
Plan
A five-year business plan is being prepared for the Centre,
which will include (i) an analysis of its competitive position and
comparative advantages, (ii) detailed revenue and management plans, and
(iii) a proposed program of activities and a budget for Years 1 and 2.