Conditional Grants to Independent Foundations: The Emergence and Evolution of a Federal Policy Instrument in Canada

This dissertation examines a unique policy instrument, independent foundations, and the process of instrument choice, through case studies of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Health Infoway, and the Canadian Council on Learning. Using a modified version of Salamon's new governance framework, it analyzes the instrument choice decision, focusing on decision-makers' assessment of the instrument based on the characteristics of the instrument, as well as the influence of neoinstitutional factors and implementation challenges.;The research finds that the characteristics of independence and multi-year funding are particularly important to the emergence of the instrument due to the policy context of better than anticipated government finances and a desire to avoid future financial pressures. More surprisingly, limited consideration was given to the characteristic of automaticity while low visibility was seen as a positive rather than a negative attribute. Similarly, equity was not a particular concern in the instances where the instrument was implemented while the characteristics of the instrument contributed political feasibility and legitimacy to federal actions in areas of shared or provincial jurisdiction. More generally, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of applying a neoinstitutional approach to the analysis of instrument choice decisions. Context and policy instruments are temporal. Rather than being static, instruments evolve and new instruments are created through innovations. Researchers must incorporate the potential for innovation and change as well as the specificity of context into their analysis rather than assuming a standard set of criteria and objectives.