Guest blog written by Dana Radojević and Lauren Truong
Four months ago, we set off on a journey across the world – though not in the way you might expect.
You see… we weren’t traversing the jungles of Peru, eating street food in Thailand, or admiring the ancient ruins of Greece. Nor were we running through the terminals of Heathrow Airport to make a layover or boarding a ferry to island hop across the Galapagos.
Instead, our journey across the world transpired via the stories of more than 400 global practitioners – practitioners who are working to address some of the world’s most complex and pressing problems.
From blood safety in Nigeria to subnational service delivery in Indonesia, homelessness in the United States, and everything in between… the Building State Capability blog has invaluable resources for policy practitioners everywhere. And now, those resources are much easier to find!
The new Building State Capability blog makes it easy to peruse interesting and helpful resources according to your sector or region of interest. Looking to learn more about global efforts to improve early childhood learning? Check out our section on education. Perhaps you’re interested in learning about initiatives in South Asia? Browse through more than 50 posts here.
We expect that just a few minutes of browsing will leave you hungry for more – as was certainly the case for us. After reading through each and every post, we’re deeply inspired to know just how many people are using adaptive approaches to improve policy design and implementation.
We were also moved by their resilience and willingness to confront struggle. As one practitioner reflected, “Any attempt to bypass the struggle does not lead to any sustainable change nor does it create the desired folk culture within the organization to drive the change.” The world is undoubtedly a better place because of their efforts.
As two recent graduates of the Kennedy School, we are hopeful that we too will join this cadre of global practitioners in sparking positive change and growth. We are not naive to the obstacles and disappointments we will inevitably face, but – like those featured in this blog – we will continue to adapt and persevere.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead