Anna Kopec ( She/Her )

• Bachelor of Arts (University of Alberta)
• MA in Political Science and International Development (University of Guelph)
• PhD in Political Science (University of Toronto)

Anna Kopec’s scholarly agenda examines the relationship between political participation and public policy among marginalized populations in Western welfare states. How do policy designs influence the political agency of vulnerable groups, and how in turn do such groups participate to bring about changes to the policies and systems they interact with? This comparative work focuses on populations experiencing homelessness. A secondary research agenda examines intersectionality and homelessness, with a consideration of how policies and services individuals access influence how certain communities participate.

• Kopec, A., Smith, A., & Johnson, G. F. (2025). “Trust, Accountability, and Relationships: Developing Quality Data with the “Hard to Reach.” Public Opinion Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfaf032
• Tongs, C., Weber, M. & Kopec, A. (2024). “We Can’t Access Invisible Services: A Qualitative Study on the Visibility of Homelessness Services in Toronto”. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 33(1), 28-42. https://cjur.uwinnipeg.ca/index.php/cjur/article/view/425
• Malik, H., McLean, E., Cristea, D. & Kopec, A. (2024). “Lived Experience as Evidence for Research, Policy, and Advocacy on Homelessness in Canada.” Canadian Public Administration, 67(3), 361-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12579
• Kopec, A. & Smith, A. (2024). “Lived Expertise in Homelessness Policy and Governance”. Social Sciences, 13(271), 1-22.  https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13050271
• Vafaie, Parisa & Kopec, Anna. 2024. “Questions persist as Ottawa prepares Citizenship Act amendments”. Policy Options, May 14, 2024
• Kopec, A. (2024). “The Interactive Effects of Policies: Insights for Policy Feedback Theory from a Qualitative Study on Homelessness”. Policy Studies Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12532
• Kopec, A. (2023). Policy Feedback & Research Methods: How Qualitative Research Designs With Marginalized Groups Inform Theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22.
• Kopec, A.. (2023). “Critical Junctures as Complex Processes: Examining Mechanisms of Policy Change and Path Dependence in the Canadian Pandemic Response to Homelessness”. Journal of Public Policy, 1-21.
• Pue, K. and Kopec, A. (2023). “Do Service-providing Nonprofits Contribute to Democratic Inclusion: Analyzing Democracy Promotion by Canadian Homeless Shelters”. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 14(1), 1-29.
• Smith, A. and Kopec, A. (2023). “Mapping Homelessness Research in Canada”. American Review of Canadian Studies, 53(1), 42-62.
• Hughes, S Dick, A. and Kopec, A. (2021). “Municipal Takeovers: Examining State Discretion and Local Impacts in Michigan”. State and Local Government Review, 0(0), 1-25.
• Kopec, A. & Sheldrick, B. (2020). “The Adoption of Open Government by Local Governments in Canada: Obstacles and Possibilities”. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 29(1), 70-93.
• Malik, H., McLean, E., Cristea, D. & Kopec, A. (2024). “Lived Experience as Evidence for Research, Policy, and Advocacy on Homelessness in Canada.” Canadian Public Administration, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12579

• The Government of the Future Series: Collaboration with the Public. Canada School of Public Service, Canada. (2023)
• LSE United States Politics and Policy Blog. “Michigan’s uneven and unequal approach to taking over municipal governments in financial distress is linked to local drinking water crises”. (2022)
• Homeless Hub Research Matters Blog. “Considering political citizenship: homelessness and voting”. (2017)
• “The 180” with Jim Brown. “Getting out the homeless vote”. CBC Radio. (2017)