Dr. Maria Gintova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program. She holds a PhD in Policy Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University, a Master in Public Administration from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York (Fulbright Graduate Student Scholar); and a Bachelors of Public and Municipal Administration from the School of Public Administration at the Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia.
Prior to joining McMaster University, Dr. Gintova worked for federal and Ontario provincial governments for 11 years. She held positions such as Senior Policy Advisor (Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and Ministry of Long-Term Care), Senior Policy/Program Analyst (Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services), Team Leader (Ministry of Transportation), and Immigration Officer (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). In addition to her full-time employment with the Ontario Public Service, Dr. Gintova taught at Toronto Metropolitan University and Humber College.
Her current research focuses on three main projects:
1) Future of work in the public service (supported by the McMaster Arts Research Board Grant - $7,000). This project uncovers an emerging area of the future of work in the public service and comprehensively examines current government transformation initiatives (e.g. digital and open government, transition to hybrid work, and anti-racism initiatives) to better understand the impact of these initiatives and public servants’ perceptions on the future of work in the public service.
2) User-centred policy design in child welfare (supported by SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant - $24,988). In partnership with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, this project pursues two main objectives: (1) to bring voices of those directly impacted by government policies into the policy development process (by applying user-centred design approach) and (2) to explore the area of coordinated service delivery between children aid societies, foster care agencies and group homes, and mental health, health, education, youth justice, immigration, and other service providers. We specifically focusing on the needs, challenges, and potential solutions identified by Black youth, families and services providers serving Black communities with the end goal of incorporating this advice into implementation of the Child Welfare Redesign strategy.
3) Social media use in public administration. This project focuses on understanding if government social media accounts are a source of misinformation and disinformation.
