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48 episodes with building state capability
19 episodes with building state capability
2 episodes with building state capability
2 episodes with building state capability
Learn more about BSC's engagement with The Voice Inc in Papua New Guinea.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.To learn more about Rebecca and Prateek's PDIA journey, read their BSC blog post or read about PDIA in Action.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.To learn more about what's discussed in this podcast, visit Leading Economic Growth's webpage, read about our work in Sri Lanka and Albania, and visit the HKS Growth Lab website.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.To learn more about Rebecca and Prateek's PDIA journey, read their BSC blog post or read about PDIA in Action.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.To learn more about Cara's work, visit Mozambique School Lunch Initiative, read this BSC blog post, or read this HKS magazine article.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Matt Andrews, the faculty director of the Building State Capability program at Harvard Kennedy School, says the reasons why African nations haven't done better at soccer's world championships have a lot in common with why much of the continent's economic promise has also gone unfulfilled. The World Cup, the biggest championship in soccer—or football, depending on where you are from—is currently underway and it's one of the two most-watched sporting events on the planet, the other being the Olympic Games. Yet even though it's a world-wide event, the list of World Cup champions is dominated by European countries like France, Italy, and Germany, plus a handful of South American ones like Argentina and Brazil. No African nation, meanwhile, has ever made it even as far as the semifinals, although Morocco will have the opportunity to make history tomorrow when they face off against Portugal in the quarterfinals. Some possible reasons for Africa's lack of success were recently outlined in a research paper by Matt Andrews, the Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development at HKS and faculty director of the Building State Capability program. Andrews, who grew up as a soccer fan in South Africa, says the problem isn't talent—in fact, top professional soccer teams around the world are loaded with African-born players. Instead, Andrews says the reasons Africa's soccer teams don't do better look a lot like the reasons their economies don't do better—they lack the institutional support that would help them realize their latent talent and promise. Matt Andrews is here today to talk football, goals, aspirations, and how to put African on a winning path.Matt Andrews is the Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He has worked in over 50 countries across the globe as a civil servant, international development expert, researcher, teacher, advisor and coach. He has written three books and over 60 other publications on the topics of development and management. He is also the faculty director of the Building State Capability program at Harvard, which is where he has developed – with a team – a policy and management method to address complex challenges. This method is called problem driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) and was developed through over a decade of applied action research work by Matt and his team. It is now used by practitioners across the globe. Matt holds a BCom degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Public Affairs and Communications is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an AB in Political Science from UCLA and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.The co-producer of PolicyCast is Susan Hughes. Design and graphics support is provided by Lydia Rosenberg, Delane Meadows and the OCPA Design Team. Social media promotion and support is provided by Natalie Montaner and the OCPA Digital Team.
This episode is cross-posted from the Building State Capability (BSC) at Harvard University's podcast series and features BSC Director Salimah Samji in conversation with Matt Andrews, who is BSC Faculty Director and the Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School. Together, they discuss Matt's paper “Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work”, which uses a novel due diligence strategy to examine 25 essential policy questions, citing real-world examples from policy reforms focused on girls' education in Mozambique from 1999 to 2020. In his paper, Matt offers policymakers a practical way to engage with public problems in the presence of unknowns—one which demonstrates the need for a more modest and realistic approach to doing complex work. Links The original episode: “https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/podcasts/getting-real-about-unknowns-in-complex-policy-work (Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work - A Conversation with Matt Andrews)” https://doi.org/10.35489/BSG-RISE-WP_2021/083 (Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work). RISE Working Paper Series. 21/083. https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/podcasts (BSC at Harvard University's podcast series) The https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/ (Building State Capability Programme) at Harvard University https://vimeo.com/262046965 (What is PDIA- Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation) (Video)? https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/files/bsc/files/pdiatoolkit_ver_1_oct_2018.pdf (PDIA Toolkit - A DIY Approach to Solving Complex Problems) (Guide) https://riseprogramme.org/publications/improving-public-sector-management-scale-experimental-evidence-school-governance-india (Improving Public Sector Management at Scale? Experimental Evidence on School Governance in India) [RISE Working Paper], by Karthik Muralidharan and Abhijeet Singh https://riseprogramme.org/blog/system-failure-school-management-reform-india (When the Devil's Not in the Details: The System Failure of a Large-Scale School Management Reform in India) [Blog], by Jason Silberstein Guest biographies Matt Andrews Matt Andrews is the Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He has worked in over 50 countries across the globe as a civil servant, international development expert, researcher, teacher, advisor and coach. He has written three books and over 60 other publications on the topics of development and management. He is also the faculty director of the Building State Capability program at Harvard, which is where he has developed – with a team – a policy and management method to address complex challenges. This method is called problem driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) and was developed through over a decade of applied action research work by Matt and his team. It is now used by practitioners across the globe. Matt holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. Salimah Samji Salimah Samji is the Director of Building State Capability (BSC). She has more than 15 years of experience working in international development on the delivery of public services, transparency and accountability, strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning. She joined CID in 2012 to help create the BSC program. Today, she is responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, oversight and managing projects and research initiatives. Salimah also leads BSC's work on digital learning. Before joining CID, she was an independent consultant working for the World Bank on issues of governance, and the Hewlett Foundation on strategic planning for one of their grantees. She has worked as a senior program manager at http://google.org/ (Google.org), leading a transparency and accountability initiative focused on empowering...
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
LinksFunda Wande through the Lens of PDIA: Showcasing a Flexible and Iterative Learning Approach to Improving Educational Outcomes [RISE Insight Note] by Samji & Kapoor: https://riseprogramme.org/publications/funda-wande-through-lens-pdia-showcasing-flexible-and-iterative-learning-approachFunda Wande [Website]: https://fundawande.org/What Do Effective Instructional Materials Look Like? [RISE Blog] by Hwa: https://riseprogramme.org/blog/effective-instructional-materialsWhat is PDIA - Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation? [BSC Video]: https://vimeo.com/262046965PDIA Toolkit - A DIY Approach to Solving Complex Problems [BSC Guide]: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/files/bsc/files/pdiatoolkit_ver_1_oct_2018.pdfTo solve the learning crisis, start with the problem [RISE Blog] by Marla Spivack: https://riseprogramme.org/blog/solve-learning-crisis-start-problemBuilding on Solid Foundations: Prioritising Universal, Early, Conceptual and Procedural Mastery of Foundational Skills [RISE Insight Note] by Belafi, Hwa, & Kaffenberger: https://riseprogramme.org/publications/building-solid-foundations-prioritising-universal-early-conceptual-and-proceduralAligning Levels of Instruction with Goals and the Needs of Students (ALIGNS): Varied Approaches, Common Principles [RISE Insight Note] by Hwa, Kaffenberger & Silberstein: https://riseprogramme.org/publications/aligning-levels-instruction-goals-and-needs-students-aligns-varied-approaches-commonMore on PIRLS Assessment [TIMSS & PIRLS Website]: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls-landing.html Guest biographyNangamso Mtsatse is CEO of Funda Wande (a not-for-profit organization that aims to equip teachers to teach reading-for-meaning and calculating-with-confidence in South Africa). Nangamso is also completing her PhD in Education Policy at Stellenbosch University and is an affiliated researcher at the Research on Socioeconomic Policy (RESEP) group. She has published her research in a number of accredited journals. In January 2019 she was also selected by the International Literacy Association (ILA) as one of the Top 30 Under 30 researchers around the world. AttributionRISE is funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Programme is implemented through a partnership between Oxford Policy Management and the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. The Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford supports the production of the RISE Podcast.Producers: Joseph Bullough and Katie CooperAudio Editing: James Morris
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
This episode is cross-posted from the Building State Capability at Harvard University Podcast Series and features Matt Crowley, Superintendent of the Public School District in Woburn, Massachusetts, interviewed by Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability Programme. They discuss how this school system pivoted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of collaboration and adaptability when leading through a crisis. Links The original episode, first published on the Building State Capability at Harvard University Podcast Series: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/pivoting-education-systems-in-a-crisis (https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/pivoting-education-systems-in-a-crisis) Building State Capability at Harvard University's Podcast Series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/podcasts (https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/podcasts) The Building State Capability Programme at Harvard University: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/ (https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/) What is PDIA- Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (Video)? https://vimeo.com/262046965 (https://vimeo.com/262046965) PDIA Toolkit - A DIY Approach to Solving Complex Problems (Guide): https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/files/bsc/files/pdiatoolkit_ver_1_oct_2018.pdf (https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/files/bsc/files/pdiatoolkit_ver_1_oct_2018.pdf) Funda Wande through the Lens of PDIA: Showcasing a Flexible and Iterative Learning Approach to Improving Educational Outcomes (insight Note) by Salimah Samji and Mansi Kapoor: https://riseprogramme.org/publications/funda-wande-through-lens-pdia-showcasing-flexible-and-iterative-learning-approach (https://riseprogramme.org/publications/funda-wande-through-lens-pdia-showcasing-flexible-and-iterative-learning-approach) To solve the learning crisis, start with the problem (Blog) by Marla Spivack: https://riseprogramme.org/blog/solve-learning-crisis-start-problem (https://riseprogramme.org/blog/solve-learning-crisis-start-problem) Marla Spivack on Diagnosing Education Systems, CID Speaker Series (Podcast): https://riseprogramme.org/publications/podcast-diagnosing-education-systems (https://riseprogramme.org/publications/podcast-diagnosing-education-systems) Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action (book) by Andrews, Pritchett and Woolcock: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/building-state-capability-evidence-analysis-action (https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/building-state-capability-evidence-analysis-action) Speaker biographies Matt Crowley is the Superintendent of the Public School District in Woburn, Massachusetts. Salimah Samji is the Director of Building State Capability (BSC). She has more than 15 years of experience working in international development on the delivery of public services, transparency and accountability, strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning. She joined the Center for International Development at Harvard University in 2012 to help create the BSC programme. Today, she is responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, oversight and managing projects and research initiatives. Salimah also leads BSC's work on digital learning. Attribution This episode was first published on the Building State Capability at Harvard University Podcast Series and has been cross-posted with permission. RISE is funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Programme is implemented through a partnership between Oxford Policy Management and the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. The Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford supports the production of the RISE Podcast. Producers Building State Capability at Harvard University
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Read Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work by Matt Andrews
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
In this BSC podcast, Director Salimah Samji interviews Matt Crowley, Superintendent of the Public School District in Woburn, MA. They discuss how this school system pivoted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of collaboration and adaptability when leading through a crisis.
Learn more about our Implementing Public Policy executive course and apply to be part of our next cohort.To learn more about Building State Capability (BSC), visit the website, access the PDIA toolkit, read BSC blog posts, and listen to the podcasts.
In an excellent book on how aid agencies manage foreign aid projects, Dan Honig argues that tight top-down controls and a focus on target-setting and metrics often lead aid projects astray. If one navigates from the top, one may achieve more management control, more oversight, and more standardized behavior. But this may be at the cost of flexibility and adaptability. By contrast, if one empowers those closest to the ground, and focuses on what field agents can see and learn, we may apply so-called “soft information” that will in turn allow for more flexibility. Managing large organizations is not easy. And most politicians and bureaucrats struggle to find the right balance between when to control and when to let go. In the book Navigation by Judgment: Why and When Top-Down Control of Foreign Aid Doesn't Work, Dan Honig argues that a misplaced sense of what it means to “succeed” encourages many aid agencies to get the balance wrong.Dan Honig is an assistant professor of international development at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is currently a visiting fellow at Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science, and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. He was previously special assistant, then advisor, to successive Ministers of Finance in Liberia and ran a local nonprofit in East Timor focused on helping post-conflict youth realize the power of their own ideas.Dan is busy completing his next book on “Mission-Driven Bureaucrats”, which explores the relationship between motivation, management practice, organizational mission, and performance in the public service. Actually Navigating byJudgment: Towards aNew Paradigm of DonorAccountability Where theCurrent System Doesn’t Work (policy paper, Centre for Global Development)Managing Better: What All of Us Can Do to Encourage AidSuccess (CGD Brief, Center for Global Development)"Making Good On Donors' Desire to Do Development Differently", Third World Quarterly 39:1, 68-84 (Honig & Gulrajani, 2018)."Information, Power, & Location: World Bank Staff Decentralization and Aid Project Success”, Governance 33:4, 749-769. (2020)The Limits of Accounting-Based Accountability in Education (and Far Beyond): Why More Accounting Will Rarely Solve Accountability Problems (Honig & Pritchett, working paper, Center for Global Development)Dan Honig on TwitterDan Banik and In Pursuit of Development on Twitterhttps://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com/
Learn more about the Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) organization: https://elgl.org/.Listen to the GovLove podcast interview with BSC Director Salimah Samji: https://elgl.org/podcast-solving-complex-problems-with-salimah-samji-harvard-kennedy-school/.
Learn more about Dan Honig's research and contributions to the field of international development, and stay tuned for his forthcoming book titled 'Mission-Driven Bureaucrats'. Read Patchwork Leviathan: Pockets of Bureaucratic Effectiveness in Developing States by Erin Metz McDonnell.Read South Sudan's Capability Trap: Building a State with Disruptive Innovation by Greg Larson, Peter Biar Ajak, and Lant Pritchett. Read The Limits of Accounting-Based Accountability in Education (and Far Beyond): Why More Accounting Will Rarely Solve Accountability Problems by Dan Honig and Lant Pritchett.Read Account-based accountability and Aid Effectiveness by Lant Pritchett.Read The Effect of Increased Autonomy vs. Performance Pay on Procurement Officers’ Performance in Pakistan by Oriana Bandiera, Michael Best, Adnan Khan, and Andrea Prat.
Read the HKS Case Study on the Juba Peace Talks.Read Bargaining with the Devil by Robert Harris Mnookin. Read Timing and Ripeness by I. William Zartman. Read Theories and Indicators of Change: Concepts and primers for conflict management and mitigation paper. Watch relevant videos on the conflict in Uganda, led by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjSh60q0RYA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-wQ7OXs8LIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX1TpN8pml4
In this BSC podcast, Salimah Samji interviews Sandra Naranjo, Former Minister of Planning Development in Ecuador, who was in government when an earthquake of historic magnitude struck the country in 2016. Sandra shares how she contributed to the country's response and recovery and what she learned about public budgeting during times of crisis.
Learn more about Peter Harrington: https://www.opml.co.uk/people/peter-harrington. Read Building State Capability's Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis. Listen to other Leading through Crisis podcast interviews and event recordings: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/podcasts/leading-through-crisis.
Learn more about Prof. Mark Moore: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/mark-moore.Read our Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis.
Listen to our podcast with Rob Wilkinson on the first P: Perception: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-7-4p-leadership-framework-perception. Listen to our podcast with Rob Wilkinson on the second P: Process: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-8-4p-leadership-framework-process. Listen to our podcast with Rob Wilkinson on the third P: People: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-9-4p-leadership-framework-people. Read Eye Movement and Vision by Alfred L. Yarbus: http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/yarbus%20(1967)%20eye%20movements%20and%20vision.pdf.Read Mindset: The New Pyschology of Success by Carol S. Dweck: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322.Read What Leaders Really Do by John P. Kotter: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/files/bsc/files/kotter_what_leaders_really_do_hbr_2001.pdf.Read Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen: https://www.amazon.com/Thanks-Feedback-Science-Receiving-Well/dp/0670014664.Learn more about Prof. Robert Wilkinson: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/robert-wilkinson
Listen to our podcast with Rob Wilkinson on the first P: Perception: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-7-4p-leadership-framework-perception. Listen to our podcast with Rob Wilkinson on the second P: Process: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-8-4p-leadership-framework-process. Read Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate by Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Reason-Using-Emotions-Negotiate/dp/0143037781.Read Thirteen Days in September by Lawrence Wright: https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Days-September-Dramatic-Struggle/dp/0804170029.Listen to Dr. Marc Brackett and Brené Brown's "Permission to Feel" podcast: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/dr-marc-brackett-and-brene-on-permission-to-feel/.Learn more about Prof. Robert Wilkinson: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/robert-wilkinson
Learn more about Harry Flecther-Wood: https://improvingteaching.co.uk/about/.Read our Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis.
Read BSC's Public Leadership Through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis.
Read BSC's Public Leadership Through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis.
Listen to our podcast on the first P: Perception: https://harvardbsc.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-7-4p-leadership-framework-perception. Read Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagelman: https://www.amazon.com/Incognito-Secret-Lives-David-Eagleman/dp/0307389928.Read Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents by William L. Ury: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Yourself-Worthy-Opponents-ebook/dp/B00OP1FIUM.Read Wiser by Cass R. Sunstein and Reid Hastie: https://www.amazon.com/Wiser-Getting-Beyond-Groupthink-Smarter/dp/1422122999.Read Collaborative Intelligence: Using Teams to Solve Hard Problems by J. Richard Hackman: https://www.amazon.com/Collaborative-Intelligence-Using-Teams-Problems/dp/1605099902.Learn more about Prof. Robert Wilkinson: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/robert-wilkinson
Read BSC's Public Leadership Through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis.
Read Errors in Social Judgement by Robert J. Robinson: https://store.hbr.org/product/errors-in-social-judgment-implications-for-negotiation-and-conflict-resolution-part-2/897104Read Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen: https://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Conversations-Discuss-What-Matters/dp/0143118447Read 7 Tips for Difficult Conversations in Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2009/03/7-tips-for-difficult-conversatLearn more about Prof. Robert Wilkinson: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/robert-wilkinson
Read BSC's Public Leadership Through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis
Learn more about Peter Harrington: https://www.opml.co.uk/people/peter-harringtonRead our Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis
Learn more about Tolbert G. Nyenswah, MPH: https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/2734/tolbert-g-nyenswahRead our Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis
Visit the Building State Capability program's “Public Leadership Through Crisis” blog.All PolicyCast episodes are now being recorded remotely. This episode was recorded on March 27, 2020 using SquadCast.
In this BSC podcast, Shruti Mehrotra shares her lessons learned from working on political, economic, and humanitarian crises with Professor Matt Andrews. Read more in this blog post: https://buildingstatecapability.com/2020/03/25/public-leadership-through-crisis-10-lessons-from-experience/ You can also read our Public Leadership through Crisis blog series: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/public-leadership-through-crisis
Read the Public Policy Failure: ‘How Often?’ and ‘What is Failure, Anyway’? working paper: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/publications/public-policy-failureLearn more about Building State Capability: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/Apply for our Implementing Public Policy Executive Education course: https://go.hks.harvard.edu/l/378242/2020-01-27/899ky
On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Marla Spivack, Research Fellow at CID’s Building State Capability program, and the Research Manager of the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) program where she leads an array of research activities focused on synthesizing the findings of RISE country team work. Marla sat down with CID Student Ambassador Emma Cameron to discuss her research on Diagnosing Education Systems following her talk at the CID Speaker Series. // Recorded on February 21, 2020 at Harvard Kennedy School. The rapid expansion of schooling is one of international development’s most remarkable achievements. In nearly every country the average child can expect to complete basic schooling. At the same time, in many developing countries, more than half of children complete primary school without mastering basic reading and math skills. Despite laudable progress on schooling, much of the world faces a learning crisis. Large-scale efforts to address the symptoms of this crisis often take the form of “more” – pushing children to spend more years in school, providing more inputs, and spending more money – and have failed to produce significant learning gains. More of the same isn’t working, highlighting the need for systemic change. Systems change will require moving beyond identifying symptoms of the learning crisis towards articulating a diagnostic characterization of its causes. This talk will make the case for systems analysis and outline a new approach to education systems diagnostics, rooted in an accountability framework. We argue that this approach can explain systems’ poor performance, identify priority areas for reform, and suggest principals for effective intervention to make meaningful progress on national learning goals. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Marla Spivack is a Research Fellow at CID’s Building State Capability program, and the Research Manager of the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) program. She leads an array of research activities focused on synthesizing the findings of RISE country team work. Prior to joining CID, she worked on social protection, rural development, and micro-credit programs with government agencies and the World Bank in a range of contexts including India, Mexico, and Zambia. She has also contributed to work on migration and development with researchers at the Center for Global Development. She holds a Masters in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. Learn more about Marla's work at: https://www.riseprogramme.org/people/marla-spivack
On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Miguel Angel Santos, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Director of Applied Research at CID's Growth Lab, as well as Tim O’Brien, Senior Manager of Applied Research at CID's Growth Lab. Miguel and Tim sat down with CID Student Ambassador Valeria Mendiola to discuss their research from Jordan on Macroeconomic Stability and Long-Term Growth. ABOUT THE TALK From February 2018 through September 2019, the Growth Lab conducted an applied research project in Jordan centered on understanding and addressing the country’s macroeconomic disequilibria and identifying the most binding constraints to economic growth. The project team applied growth diagnostic and economic complexity methodologies in coordination with the Government of Jordan and developed over 40 problem-specific research deliverables to support government policymaking and implementation. The project, which was supported through a grant from the Open Society Foundations, helped to inform Jordan’s overall growth strategy under Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, improve policy direction in several areas (fiscal, labor markets, energy, investment promotion), and harmonize donor programming in Jordan (including by the IMF, World Bank, USAID, DFID and EBRD). During this event, team members will present key findings on the Jordanian economy, discuss innovations in applying growth diagnostic and economic complexity applications that emerged from the project, and reflect on challenges and lessons learned from this applied research effort. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Miguel Angel Santos is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and the Director of Applied Research at the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University. At CID, he has been involved in various research projects aimed at helping governments to rethink their development strategies, both at the national and sub-national levels. Since he joined CID in August 2014, he has been involved in projects at the national level in Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, and at the sub-national level in Mexico in the states of Chiapas, Baja California, Tabasco and Campeche; and the city of Hermosillo at Sonora state. He has also performed as project manager in the projects leading to the build-up of the Mexican Atlas of Economic Complexity, and the Peruvian Atlas of Economic Complexity. Tim O’Brien joined CID in 2015 and has worked on both Growth Lab and Building State Capability projects. He is currently the Senior Manager of Applied Research at CID's Growth Lab. He has led growth diagnostic research in Albania and Sri Lanka. Tim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 2008-2010 and has experience working with the World Bank and in environmental engineering. Tim’s research interests center on the challenges of economic transformation and adapting to climate change in developing countries and vulnerable communities.
Why do global collective action problems persist, and how do we overcome them? Drawing on 140 interviews with campaigners, politicians, and businesses in 10 European countries, Dr. Alice Evans' research suggests that many activists are stuck in a despondency trap. Never seeing radical reform, they lower their ambitions, and invest in more feasible but sub-optimal alternatives. This creates a negative feedback loop, in which the dearth of radical reform becomes self-fulfilling. But if reformists see advances at home and abroad, they may become more optimistic about collective mobilisation and break out of their despondency trap. In this podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability, interviews Dr. Alice Evans about her latest work on overcoming global despondency traps. This paper is published in the Review of International Political Economy https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09692290.2019.1679220
Support for gender equality has increased globally, and studies of this trend usually examine individual- and/or country-level factors. However, this overlooks subnational variation. City-dwellers are more likely to support gender equality in education, employment, leadership, and leisure. Alice Evans, lecturer at Kings College London, sat down with Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID to discuss her investigation into the causes of rural–urban differences through comparative, qualitative research in Cambodia. Dr. Alice Evans is a Lecturer at King's College London as well as a Research Associate at CID’s Building State Capacity program. She researches social norms and how they change and is currently writing a book on how societies come to support gender equality. Interview originally recorded on October 30, 2018.
The Practice of PDIA: Building Capability by Delivering Results Podcast seriesPart 7: Deconstructing ProblemsWelcome to Part 7 of the Practice of PDIA: Building Capability by Delivering Results Podcast series. This 12 part series, based on a video series used for our PDIA online course, will walk you through the PDIA or Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation approach to solving complex development problems. More than 1,500 development practitioners in 90 countries have used the PDIA approach.Most problems in the public sector are wicked hard and therefore it is easy to get stuck. These meta problems need to be broken down into manageable problems to help you mobilize support and to ultimately solve. In today’s podcast, Professor Matt Andrews and Lant Pritchett will discuss how to deconstruct problems.Lant, you often say PDIA is hard. Can you explain this to our listeners?You cannot juggle without the struggleThanks Lant. Matt what else would you say about the role of struggling in PDIA?PDIA is a way to structure your struggleMatt, you often say, PDIA is an approach to solving complex problems where the problem needs to be broken down into smaller, more manageable sets of focal points for engagement, that are open to localized solution building. Can you explain how you do this in PDIA?Deconstructing sticky problems.Thank you for listening to Part 7 of the Practice of PDIA: Podcast series. Tune in to listen to Part 8 where we will discuss the triple A change space analysis. To learn more about the problem deconstruction process in PDIA, download our toolkit at bsc.cid.harvard.edu.
The Practice of PDIA: Building Capability by Delivering Results Podcast seriesPart 6: Constructing ProblemsWelcome to Part 6 of the Practice of PDIA: Building Capability by Delivering Results Podcast series. This 12 part series, based on a video series used for our PDIA online course, will walk you through the PDIA or Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation approach to solving complex development problems. More than 1,500 development practitioners in 90 countries have used the PDIA approach.Problems are key to driving change. A problem that matters is one that gets attention and mobilizes action. Solving problems that matter ensures that you are doing something contextually relevant. In today’s podcast, we have Professor Matt Andrews and Lant Pritchett who will discuss the process of problem construction.Lant, can you help our listeners differentiate between selling solutions and solving problems? Selling Solutions vs. Solving Problems.Thanks Lant. Matt, you often talk about problems as entry points, can you share more about this with our listeners?Real Problem Driven Reform. Constructing Problems that matterMatt, your examples are really helpful in clarifying what you mean. I was wondering if you could share more about the types of problems that drive change.Constructing Problems to Drive Change >Thank you for listening to Part 6 of the Practice of PDIA Podcast series. Tune in to listen to Part 7 where we discuss how to deconstruct problems. To learn more about the problem construction process in PDIA, download our toolkit at bsc.cid.harvard.edu.
CID Student Ambassador Emily Ausubel interviews Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability at Harvard University and Matt Andrews, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Director at the same program. Matt and Salimah talk about how the Building State Capability program came about, explain what the Program’s core methodology is and how it is being applied by hundreds of practitioners worldwide. Interview recorded on February 23rd, 2018 www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu
Since 2013, the Center for International Development has been collaborating with the Government of Albania to identify binding constraints to economic growth and create policy solutions to solve them. CID’s Growth Lab and Building State Capability programs have used the tools of growth diagnostics and problem driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) to help drive economic growth in the country. CID Researchers Ermal Frasheri and Tim McNaught have seen firsthand how theory informs public policy and how insights from public policymaking, in turn, enrich our theoretical frameworks. Today on CID’s Speaker Series podcast, Jason Keene, student at the Harvard Kennedy School, interviews Ermal and Tim, who give an overarching perspective on the project, addressing questions such as: where did we start, where are we now, and what is our approach to country projects? Learn more about the project: https://albania.growthlab.cid.harvard.edu/ Interview recorded on May 3, 2019. About Ermal Frasheri: Ermal Frasheri joined the Center for International Development's Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2014. Ermal finished his doctoral studies, S.J.D, at Harvard Law School, where he worked in the areas of law and economic development, international law, European integration, and social and political theories. He has written papers on legal reform and comparative law, European Union, financial services, international law, and his dissertation examined the relationship between regional integration in the context of European integration and development strategies. Ermal has taught at Harvard in various roles since 2006 in the fields of political and social theories, European integration and EU law, democracy, international institutions, and sociology. He was awarded a teaching excellence award by Harvard, and was appointed a Byse Fellow at Harvard Law School (fall 207) where he taught a series of workshops on Law and Development. He has also taught International Law at Babson College, and European Union law at New England Law – Boston. Currently, Ermal teaches courses on Law and Corruption, and International Law and Migration at the Sturm College of Law, University of Denver. About Tim McNaught: Tim McNaught joined CID's Building State Capability program as a Fellow in 2016, focusing primarily on engagements with the governments of Sri Lanka and Albania. He currently is working on the Building PFM Capabilities in Africa program. Prior to joining CID, he worked as an economist for the Ministry of Finance in Timor-Leste, specializing in fiscal policy. He developed his strong interest in economic development while serving as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan. Tim holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Miami.
Between 1999 and 2009, Jordan experienced a huge growth acceleration, tripling its exports and increasing income per capita by 38%. Since then, its economy has been thrown off balance, impacted by a number of external shocks that include the global financial crisis, the Arab Spring, and the Syrian Civil War. For the past year, CID has been working in the country with the goal of understanding what is hindering income growth per capita and drafting a roadmap to help Jordan get back on a sustainable growth track. This week on CID’s Research Spotlight podcast, we talk to CID fellows and project managers Miguel Angel Santos and Tim O’Brien on the methodologies and findings of this research project. To read the full paper: bit.ly/2FNNBtY Interview recorded on March 18, 2019. About Miguel Angel Santos: Miguel Angel Santos is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and the Director of Applied Research at the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University. At CID, he has been involved in various research projects aimed at helping governments to rethink their development strategies, both at the national and sub-national levels. Since he joined CID in August 2014, he has been involved in projects at the national level in Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, and at the sub-national level in Mexico in the states of Chiapas, Baja California, Tabasco and Campeche; and the city of Hermosillo at Sonora state. He has also performed as project manager in the projects leading to the build-up of the Mexican Atlas of Economic Complexity, and the Peruvian Atlas of Economic Complexity. Before joining the field of international development, Miguel worked for ten years in corporate finance and business development in Latin America, performing as Director of Finance for the Cisneros Group of Companies (1997-2003), Head of Corporate Finance for Mercantil Servicios Financieros (2005-2007), and Business Vice-President for Sony Pictures and Entertainment Latin America (2008-2009). At that point, he decided to switch tracks and get involved in development economics. He holds two Master of Science degrees in International Finance and Trade (2011) and Economics (2012) from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University (2014), and a Ph.D. in Economics at Universidad de Barcelona (2016). He was the head of the Macroeconomic Policy Team for presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski in the Venezuelan elections of 2012. About Tim O’Brien: Tim O’Brien joined CID in 2015 and has worked on both Growth Lab and Building State Capability projects. He has led growth diagnostic research in Albania and Sri Lanka. Tim holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. Tim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 2008-2010 and has experience working with the World Bank and in environmental engineering. Tim’s research interests center on the challenges of economic transformation and adapting to climate change in developing countries and vulnerable communities.
Salimah Samji, Building State Capability Program Director talks to Anjikwi Mshelbwala, who took the PDIA online course offered by the Building State Capability Program in the Fall of 2017. Anjikwi, an ICT Officer at ActionAid talks about his experience applying the insights from the program in his native Nigeria and describes how the learnings he got from the course have helped him solve complex development problems ever since. *** - Learn more about CID's Building State Capability Program at: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/ - Download the free PDIA toolkit at: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/PDIAtoolkit - Download the Building State Capability book at: https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/building-state-capability-evidence-analysis-action
Today on this BSC podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID has a conversation with Professor Matt Andrews, Faculty Director of the Building State Capability program to discuss public policy implementation failures. To learn more about the Implementing Public Policy course, visit bit.ly/2QAnf69. To read the Public Policy Failures paper, visit bit.ly/2DWoLs5. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on January 18, 2019. About Matt Andrews: Matt Andrews is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy. His research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments. Recent articles focus on forging a theoretical understanding of the nontechnical factors influencing success in reform processes. Specific emphasis lies on the informal institutional context of reform, as well as leadership structures within government-wide networks. This research developed out of his work in the provincial government of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa and more recently from his tenure as a Public Sector Specialist working in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He brings this experience to courses on public management and development. He holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
Across the world, people in urban rather than rural areas are more likely to support gender equality. To explain this global trend, Alice Evans has engaged with geographically diverse literature and comparative rural–urban ethnographic research from Zambia. Her research showed that people living in interconnected, heterogeneous, and densely populated areas are more likely to see women performing socially valued, masculine roles. Today on the BSC podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID interviews Alice Evans, Lecturer at Kings College London, who discusses what drives social change, and how people come to support gender equality. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on October 30, 2018. About Alice Evans: Alice Evans is writing a book on "The Global Politics of Decent Work". Through comparative research on strengthening corporate accountability, Alice explores how to resolve global collective action problems and improve workers' rights. She has published on the causes of falling inequality in Latin America; social movements; rising support for gender equality; cities as catalysts of social change; and the politics of maternal mortality. She is a Lecturer at King's College London, with previous appointments at Cambridge and the LSE.
Michael Woolcock has been at the World Bank for 20 years, where he is the Lead Social Scientist in the Development Research Group. For twelve years he has also been a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. As a sociologist, he's written about culture, social development, and social capital. Michael is also on the editorial board for Accord's new journal, Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy (CRDA). Nathan Mallonee from Living Water International talks with Michael about how he got to the World Bank from Australia, his new book on building state capability, the case for using mixed methods for research, and ideas for papers he'd like to see submitted to the CRDA journal. Here is a link to Michael's new book, Building State Capability: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-state-capability-9780198747482?cc=us&lang=en& Here is a link to the call for papers for the CRDA journal: https://crdajournal.org/index.php/crda/announcement Michael's Book Recommendations: ‘Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Opening of the West', by D'Arcy Jenish. A biography of the life of first person to map the western coast of North America, from (what is now) Oregon through to British Columbia, and vast areas inland to Hudson Bay. His maps became the basis for where exactly the border was drawn between the US and Canada along the 49th parallel, and included being the first to traverse (and map) the full length of the Columbia River. Doing all this entailed surviving decades of unimaginably cold winters, crossing the Rocky Mountains on foot endless times, learning some of the languages of indigenous peoples, and doing all manner of complex negotiations – all without ever losing a man. ‘The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold', by Geoffrey Robertson. Incredible account of the first legal team to challenge the divine right of kings, in the 1640s, arguing that no-one was above the law -- when that notion had never before been tested on a head of state, in this case a king (Charles I) whose civil wars had led one in ten Englishmen to their deaths. The lead lawyer, John Cooke, undertook this task knowing full well that it would likely lead to his own death, which it duly did in the most gruesome manner… Makes a bad day for me seem like a stroll in the park… And the justly classic ‘The Hiding Place', by Corrie Ten Boom. “Give thanks in all things” takes on a whole new meaning after reading this book…
Starting in November 2015, the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab has been engaged in economic policy research with the Government of Sri Lanka. Led by Professor Ricardo Hausmann, the team has focused on a single question: what is holding back investment in Sri Lanka – especially in new and non-traditional export-oriented sectors – and what can the government do about it? In this podcast, members of the Sri Lanka team explain what they learned from the project which includes: First, a lack of new economic “knowhow” has meant that there are few easy opportunities for innovative investors to exploit. Next, the investors who do arrive find significant roadblocks to their success; these include policy barriers to reaching markets and key inputs, and infrastructural gaps at the regional level. Today on CID’s Speaker Series podcast, Anna Mysliewic, Masters in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School, interviews Dan and Tim, who share their learnings from the project and how they partnered with key counterparts in the government and civil society to support potential solutions, and better understand the deeper institutional gaps that prevent proactive policymaking. // www.growthlab.cid.harvard.edu // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on November 16, 2018. About the speakers: Daniel Stock rejoined the Center for International Development's Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2015. He also held this position from 2011-2013. He studies how countries apply proactive strategies to promote structural transformation. His research focuses on using network models to uncover new opportunities for diversifying exports and attracting new sources of investment. Prior to joining CID, Daniel was a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank, working with governments to improve the investment climate for local businesses and FDI. Daniel has also worked as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab's Macro Connections group, and a Research Intern at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Santiago, Chile. Daniel earned a B.S. in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University. Tim O’Brien joined the Center for International Development in 2015, working on both Growth Lab and Building State Capability projects.He has led growth diagnostic research in Albania and Sri Lanka. Tim holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. Tim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 2008-2010 and has experience working with the World Bank and in environmental engineering. Tim’s research interests center on the challenges of economic transformation and adapting to climate change in developing countries and vulnerable communities. Sehar Noor is a Research Assistant at the Center for International Development's Growth Lab. Sehar graduated from Rollins College in May 2016 with honors in Economics and International Affairs. While at Rollins, she served as captain of the debate team, and studied abroad in Cuba and China. Her previous experience includes conducting fieldwork in disaster relief camps as an intern for the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in Gilgit, Pakistan, and interning with the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Islamabad, Pakistan.
This podcast comes from a panel discussion that took place at the Building State Capability program’s symposium on October 30th 2018. The panel discussion focused on How to Mobilize Political Elites and Citizens? as Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program, asked Alice Evans, Lecturer at Kings College London, Rakesh Rajani, Vice President of programs at Co-Impact and Lilly Tsai, Faculty Director and Professor at MIT’s Governance Lab, to share their experiences of mobilizing both political elites and citizens to facilitate social change. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Audio recorded on October 30, 2018.
A contemporary challenge is inequality, which is reinforced when it’s taken for granted. But, it can be disrupted when marginalised people gain self-esteem; challenge hitherto unquestioned inequalities; and gain confidence in the possibility of social change. These ideas are illustrated with ethnographic research from Latin America, where income inequality has recently declined. By highlighting some ways in which ideas matter, Alice Evans’ paper on Politicising Inequality: The Power of Ideas, seeks to persuade political economists to go beyond ‘incentives’. She suggests that future efforts to tackle inequality might harness the power of ideas: tackling ‘norm perceptions’ (beliefs about what others think and do); publicising positive deviance; and strengthening social movements. Today on CID’s Speaker Series podcast, Katya Gonzalez-Willette, Events and Outreach Assistant at CID, interviews Alice Evans, Associate at the Building State Capability program at CID and Lecturer at Kings College London, who provides further insight on why ideas matter for curbing inequality and how social mobilisation can catalyse greater government commitment to socially inclusive economic growth. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on November 1, 2018. About Alice Evans: Alice Evans is writing a book on "The Global Politics of Decent Work". Through comparative research on strengthening corporate accountability, Alice explores how to resolve global collective action problems and improve workers' rights. She has published on the causes of falling inequality in Latin America; social movements; rising support for gender equality; cities as catalysts of social change; and the politics of maternal mortality. She is a Lecturer at King's College London, with previous appointments at Cambridge and the LSE.
On this week’s podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID and Tim McNaught, Building State Capability Fellow, have a conversation about the recently launched PDIAtoolkit. // download the PDIAToolkit at www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on October 24, 2018. About the PDIAtoolkit: The PDIAtoolkit is designed to guide you through the process of solving complex problems which requires working in teams. We call it a Do-it-Yourself (DIY) kit, where the ‘you’ is a committed team of 4-6 people mobilized to work together to solve a complex problem that cannot be solved by one person. Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), is a step-by-step approach which helps you break down your problems into its root causes, identify entry points, search for possible solutions, take action, reflect upon what you have learned, adapt and then act again. It is a dynamic process with tight feedback loops that allows you to build your own solution to your problem that fits your local context. The PDIAtoolkit draws from two key resources. The first is the Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action book which is available as a free download and the second is a set of short videos explaining the key concepts of PDIA. While the PDIA process is not linear, we recommend that you first read this toolkit in sequence to understand the steps. The toolkit has eight sections. Each section introduces a new concept and has one or more worksheets which are the tools to help you try PDIA for yourself. All the tools are dynamic and should be reviewed and adapted on a regular basis. We hope that you find this toolkit useful and wish you the best on your PDIA Journey. This is an open access publication, available online and distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution –Non Commercial –No Derivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
On this week’s podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID, interviews Mark Moore, Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School who will be teaching the new Building State Capability online course titled “Creating Public Value”. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on September 13, 2018. About Mark Moore: Mark H. Moore is the Hauser Professor of Nonprofit Organizations. His current primary focus is studying the processes that enable social innovation and change to occur in response to changing political, economic, and social conditions.
Many government policies and reforms fail in developing countries. Research at the Center for International Development’s Building State Capability program (or BSC) ties such failure to the tendency of governments to adopt external ‘solutions’ that do not fit their contexts and overwhelm their capabilities. The program believes that governments should build their capabilities by employing processes that empower their own people to find their way to solving their country’s real problems. They propose a process for doing this, called Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (or PDIA) and have been working since 2009 to explore ‘how to do’ PDIA practically, in the real world. This is the second of a series of interviews with the Building State Capability team – the PDIA in Practice Series, or PIPs, where they describe where the PDIA tools and ideas have emerged from, and how these ideas have taken shape. The previous interview covered their experience working with officials in Mozambique’s public financial management sector in 2009, the ‘adaptation window’ idea and practice it inspired. Today’s interview will tell the story that followed that first year of work, how long it took to take the project off the ground and what were the main learnings of implementing an innovative problem-driven approach across many sectors at a national level. // Read the PDIA in Practice note: // https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/contributing-problem-driven-project-mozambique Interview recorded on June 25th, 2018. bsc.cid.harvard.edu About Matt Andrews: Matt Andrews' research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments. Recent articles focus on forging a theoretical understanding of the nontechnical factors influencing success in reform processes. Specific emphasis lies on the informal institutional context of reform, as well as leadership structures within government-wide networks. This research developed out of his work in the provincial government of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa and more recently from his tenure as a Public Sector Specialist working in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He brings this experience to courses on public management and development. He holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
Public organizations often have trouble implementing the policies and programs that will benefit the state and its constituents and the public sector in India is no exception. The perception of the state’s capacity to implement policy is often called into question so how can civil servants in India overcome the barriers they face to policy implementation? Today on CID’s Speaker Series podcast, Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability Program at CID interviews Yamini Aiyar of the Centre for Policy Research, who provides first-hand details on culture within the public sector in India. Salimah and Yamini further examine India’s state capabilities and discuss remedies that could improve decision-making processes within the government. Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive of CPR - the Centre for Policy Research - one of India’s leading public policy think tanks. Her research interests are in the field of social policy and development. In 2008, Yamini founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR. Under her leadership, the Accountability Initiative has produced significant research in the areas of governance, state capacity and social policy. // www.bsc.cid.harvard.edu // Interview recorded on June 6th, 2018. About Yamini Aiyar: Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive of CPR. Her research interests are in the field of social policy and development. In 2008, Yamini founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR. Under her leadership, the Accountability Initiative has produced significant research in the areas of governance, state capacity and social policy. It pioneered a new approach to tracking public expenditures for social policy programs and is widely recognised for running the country’s largest expenditure-tracking survey in elementary education. Yamini’s own research on social accountability, elementary education, decentralisation and administrative reforms has received both academic and popular recognition. Yamini Aiyar is a TED fellow and a founding member of the International Experts Panel of the Open Government Partnership. She has also been a member of the World Economic Forum’s global council on good governance. Previously, she has worked with the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program and Rural Development unit in Delhi, where she focused on action research aimed at strengthening mechanisms for citizen engagement in local government. Additionally, she was a member of the decentralisation team at the World Bank that provided policy support to strengthen Panchayati Raj (local governance) in India. Aiyar is an Alumnus of the London School of Economics, St. Edmund's college Cambridge University, and St Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
Building State capability program Director, Salimah Samji, interviews Matt Andrews, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School on the first report of the PDIA in Practice Series. The Series will cover a few of the research engagements done by the Building State Capability program in the past 8 years, and detail what results emerged, what we learned, and what were the next steps for each of these engagements. The first report covers the team’s experience working with officials in Mozambique’s public financial management sector, between September and December 2009. Interview recorded on June 6th, 2018. // More about the PDIA in Practice Series: // https://bsc.cid.harvard.edu/pdia-inform-budget-reform-mozambique About Matt Andrews: Matt Andrews is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy. His research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments. Recent articles focus on forging a theoretical understanding of the nontechnical factors influencing success in reform processes. Specific emphasis lies on the informal institutional context of reform, as well as leadership structures within government-wide networks. This research developed out of his work in the provincial government of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa and more recently from his tenure as a Public Sector Specialist working in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He brings this experience to courses on public management and development. He holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
CID Student Ambassador Emily Ausubel interviews Tim O’Brien and Dan Stock, research fellows here at Harvard’s Center for International Development. Tim and Dan talk about the Center’s project in Sri Lanka and how they are applying the Growth Diagnostics Methodology to identify the country’s binding constraints for diversification and economic growth. https://srilanka.growthlab.cid.harvard.edu/ >>> Interview recorded on March 2, 2018. About the interviewees: > Tim O’Brien joined the Center for International Development in 2015, working on both Growth Lab and Building State Capability projects. He has led growth diagnostic research in Albania and Sri Lanka. Tim holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. Tim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 2008-2010 and has experience working with the World Bank and in environmental engineering. Tim’s research interests center on the challenges of economic transformation and adapting to climate change in developing countries and vulnerable communities. > Dan Stock rejoined the Center for International Development's Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2015. He also held this position from 2011-2013. He studies how countries apply proactive strategies to promote structural transformation. His research focuses on using network models to uncover new opportunities for diversifying exports and attracting new sources of investment. Prior to joining CID, Daniel was a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank, working with governments to improve the investment climate for local businesses and FDI. Daniel has also worked as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab's Macro Connections group, and a Research Intern at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Santiago, Chile. Daniel earned a B.S. in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University.
CID Student Ambassador Emily Ausubel interviews Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability Program at Harvard University and Matt Andrews, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Associate at the same program. Matt and Salimah talk about how the Building State Capability program came about, explain us what is the Program’s core methodology and how it’s being applied by hundreds of practitioners worldwide. Interview recorded on February 23rd, 2018 // cid.harvard.edu // // bsc.cid.harvard.edu // About Salimah Samji: Salimah Samji is the Director of the Building State Capability (BSC) Program. She has over fifteen years of experience working in international development, on issues of public service delivery, transparency and accountability, strategic planning, and monitoring and evaluation. She joined CID in 2012 to help create the BSC program and is responsible for strategic planning and oversight. Salimah also leads the PDIA online courses. Prior to joining CID, she was an independent consultant working for the World Bank on issues of governance, and the Hewlett Foundation on strategic planning for one of their grantees. She has worked as a senior program manager at Google.org, leading a transparency and accountability initiative focused on empowering citizens and decision makers, by making information on service delivery outcomes, publicly available. Salimah has also worked at the World Bank as a social/rural development and monitoring and evaluation specialist in South Asia. She has a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and a Masters in Public Administration in International Development (MPAID) from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a qualified Casualty Actuary who decided to change careers after her 18-month experience working in Afghan refugee camps with a Canadian NGO (FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance) based in Pakistan. Salimah has worked and lived in Kenya, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Canada and the USA. About Matt Andrews: Matt Andrews is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy. His research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments. Recent articles focus on forging a theoretical understanding of the nontechnical factors influencing success in reform processes. Specific emphasis lies on the informal institutional context of reform, as well as leadership structures within government-wide networks. This research developed out of his work in the provincial government of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa and more recently from his tenure as a Public Sector Specialist working in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He brings this experience to courses on public management and development. He holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
How to improve state capability - such that low- and middle-income country governments can effectively tackle local problems? Instead of 'best practice' recommendations or cocooned donor projects, Dr. Matt Andrews emphasises 'Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation' (PDIA). Governments explore challenges, identify their causes, incrementally address obstacles, and build their capabilities through doing. But can such incremental adaptations enable inclusive growth? And how can researchers/ donors support this process? Listen to our discussion! You can register for their free online course here: www.buildingstatecapability.com/ Read the open access book: bsc.cid.harvard.edu/building-state-…analysis-action
Salimah Samji, CID's Building State Capability Program Director, interviews Matt Andrews, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Lant Pritchett, Professor of the Practice of International Development at Harvard Kennedy School on their recently launched book "Building State Capability - Evidence, Analysis, Action". Michael Woolcock, Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School is also a co-author. Recorded on the book launch event on February 13th, 2017. The book uses data to identify failures in efforts to build state capability in development, employs theory to explain why these failures are common and likely to persist-keeping countries in capability traps--and builds on applied experience to offer a new approach to build state capability more effectively. ‘Building State Capability provides anyone interested in promoting development with practical advice on how to proceed—not by copying imported theoretical models, but through an iterative learning process that takes into account the messy reality of the society in question. The authors draw on their collective years of realworld experience as well as abundant data and get to what is truly the essence of the development problem.’ Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University;
The talk addresses an apparent paradox between development indicators that seem to be improving and measures of institutional quality that are flat or declining
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