Charles Conteh

Professor, Political Science
Director, Niagara Community Observatory

BA (Hons) (Toronto)
MA (Carleton)
PhD (McMaster)

Office: Plaza 354
905-688-5550 x4075
[email protected]

Professor Conteh’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of Canadian and Comparative Public Policy, Public Management, Political Economy and Multilevel Governance. His current research focuses on governance structures and processes in complex and dynamic policy systems, particularly examining collaborative and strategic policy formulation and implementation. Prof. Conteh currently investigates how local, regional and national economies are reinventing themselves in the face of seismic global economic and ecological changes. A related interest is governance reform in developing countries.

Prof. Conteh won the Inaugural Faculty Distinguished Researcher Award in 2018. This is an award granted in recognition of “consistent record of outstanding research achievements and exemplary contributions to research and scholarship to the Faculty, Brock University, and the wider community.” Prof. Conteh was also short-listed for the 2014 Ontario Speaker’s Book Award for his co-edited book published with the University of Toronto Press. He received the “Highly Commended Award” at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence in 2013, for an article published in the International Journal of Public Sector Management. In 2010, he received recognition at the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) annual conference for his co-authorship of one of the “Eight Most Downloaded Articles” published in the Public Management Review journal 2009.

Area of specialization:

  • Public Policy & Management
  • Multilevel Governance
  • Political Economy

Publications

Books

  • Conteh, Charles. Spring (2024). The Role of Intermediary Institutions in Innovation Policy Delivery: The Regional Innovation Centres in Ontario. Toronto. University of Toronto Press.
  • Conteh, Charles (2013) Policy Governance in Multi-Level Systems: Economic Development and Policy Implementation in Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press (MQUP).
  • Conteh, Charles, T. J. Greitens, D. K. Jesuit, I. Roberge (Eds.), (2014). Governance and Public Management: Strategic Foundations for Volatile Times London: Routledge.
  • Conteh, Charles & Shafiqul Huque (Eds.), (2014) The Unfinished Agenda of Public Sector Reform in Developing Countries: Paradoxes and Practices.  London: Routledge.
  • Conteh, Charles & Ian Roberge (Eds.), (2014) Canadian Public Administration in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, CRC Press: Taylor & Francis).
  • Conteh, Charles and Konah Koroma (2014) Development Policy Governance.  Lambert Academic Publishers (LAP).
  • Conteh, Charles and Robert Segsworth (Eds.), (2013) Governance in Northern Ontario: Economic Development and Policy Making. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (UTP).

Recent Book Chapters

  • Conteh, Charles. (2024) “Member state implementation in Canada” in Fritz Sager, Céline Mavrot and Lael Keiser (Eds.) Handbook of Public Policy Implementation. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar” (In press. Publication scheduled for early 2024)
  • Conteh, Charles. 2023. “Canada and the United States: A Symbiotic Relationship or Complex Entanglement? In I. Roberge, N. Park & T. Klassen (Eds.). Asymmetric Neighbours and International Relations: Living in the Shadow of Elephants. Abingdon: Routledge. Pp. 13–28.
  • Conteh, Charles. 2021. “Development, Governance and Policy: A Multilevel Governance Framework” in H. Zafarullah & A Shafiqul Huque (Editors). Handbook of Development Policy. Edward Elgar. Pp. 35–47.
  • Conteh, Charles. (2018). “Public Administration and Management Reforms.” In Amanda Clarke and Jonathan Craft (eds). Issues in Canadian Governance. Toronto: Emond Publishing. Pp. 183 – 200.
  • Conteh, Charles. (2017). Concerted Action in Complex Environments: A Comparison of Industrial Restructuring in Mid-Sized City-Regions in Canada and the United States. in David K. Jesuit, Russell Alan Williams (eds). Public Policy, Governance and Polarization. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. Pp. 1 – 30.
  • Conteh, Charles (2014) “Strategic Management at the Local Level: City-Regions Managing Global Economic Change” in John Bryson, Marc Holzer and Paul Joyce (Eds.), Developments in Strategic and Public Management. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 196 – 210.
  • Conteh, Charles (2014) “Strategic forecasting in turbulent environments: reinventing regional economic hubs in Canada” in Conteh, Charles, T. J. Greitens, D. K. Jesuit, I. Roberge (Eds.), (Spring 2014). Governance and Public Management: Strategic Foundations for Volatile Times London: Routledge.
  • Conteh, Charles & Greg Smith (2014) “Towards an Interactive E-Government System in Sub-Saharan Africa” in Lloyd Amoah (Ed.), Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa. Hershey: IGI Global. Pp. 155 – 170.

Recent Refereed Journal Articles

  • Conteh, Charles and Brittany Harding. 2023. Boundary-Spanning in Public Value Co-Creation through the Lens of Multilevel Governance. Public Management Review. 25 (1): 104–128. I wrote the theoretical section and co-wrote with Harding, my research assistance, the empirical section.
  • Conteh, Charles, Jiyoung Park, Kathryn Friedman, Ha Hwang, and Barry Wright. 2023. “Strengthening the Competitiveness Productivity and Innovation of Cross-Border Industrial Corridors.” Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy, Vol. 12 (1), Pp. 75–100. I wrote the theoretical framework section of the paper. \
  • Conteh, Charles. 2022. “Build Intergovernmental Partnerships to Empower Small and Mid-Sized Municipalities” in “Who Does What Series: The Municipal Role in Economic Development.” The Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG). University of Toronto.
  • Conteh, Charles. (2021). Strategic adaptation of city-regions in federal systems: comparing Canada and the United States. Territory, Politics, Governance, 9(1), 56–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2019.1617772
  • Conteh, Charles, 2020. “Multilevel Governance through a Strategic Lens: Innovation Policy Delivery in Ontario” Canadian Public Administration. Vol. 63 (3): 429-449.
  • Conteh, Charles and Diana Panter. ( 2017) “Path-Dependency and the Challenges of Institutional Adaptability: The Case of City-Regions in Canada.”. Canadian Journal of Political Science.50 (4): 938 – 1004.
  • Conteh, Charles, (2016). “Rethinking Accountability in Complex and Horizontal Network Delivery Systems in Canada” Canadian Public Administration.59 (2): 224-244
  • Conteh, Charles, O. Kusi-Ampofo, J. Church, and B.T. Heinmiller. (2015). “Resistance and Change: A Multiple Streams Approach to Understanding Health Policy Making in Ghana”. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.40 (1): 195-220.

Awards

Awards

  • SSHRC Standard Research Grant
  • SSRRC Workshop and Book Publication Grants
  • BUAF & BSIG Research Grants
  • Institute for Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) Research Grant (in collaboration with Dr. B. Segsworth)
  • The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Grant. (in collaboration with the Director of World Hope International, Canada)

 

Recognition of Research Excellence 

  • Finalist, 2014 Speaker’s Book Award  (Book published with the University of Toronto Press)
  • “Highly Commended Award” at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2013, for article published in the International Journal of Public Sector Management.
  • One of the “Eight Most Downloaded Articles” published in the Public Management Review journal 2009.