The BSC blog, launched in 2013, features stories from practitioners around the world who are working to solve some of the world’s most pressing and complex problems. Browse blogs below by sector.
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ECONOMIC GROWTH
Scrabble, Fishbones, and Positive Deviance: A Perspective from New Zealand
Guest blog by Mark Lea, LEG ’24 I have really enjoyed participating in the Harvard Kennedy School’s Leading Economic Growth 2024 programme, led by Professors Ricardo Hausmann and Matt Andrews, and supported by their wider faculty team. Both Professors shared the theories, tools and frameworks they have developed to help us think about our economic…Continue…
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GOVERNANCE
Building Rights-Based Frameworks in Buenos Aires Province’s Fiscal Defense: From Awareness to Action
Guest Blog by Maria Agostina Cacault, IPP ’25 When I began the Implementing Public Policy program at Harvard Kennedy School in May 2025, I thought I understood my challenge: there was a “lack of human rights and gender perspective in the legal proceedings of Buenos Aires Province State Attorney’s Office.” Like many of us working…Continue…
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EDUCATION
Low Student Participation in STEM Careers in the Dominican Republic
Guest blog by Abel Capellan Almonte, IPP ’25 I entered IPP with a simple story in my head: students “don’t like” STEM. After months of PDIA, I think that story is convenient but wrong. The problem is not a single decision made by a teenager. It is a system that quietly pushes them toward safer,…Continue…
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CRISIS LEADERSHIP
Public policy during a crisis: 3 Lessons learned from Ecuador’s earthquake
Guest blog written by Sandra Naranjo Bautista Last October, I was a guest lecturer at Harvard’s Executive Education Program, Budgeting Through Crisis. I talked about my experience as a minister during Ecuador’s 2016 earthquake with Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability Program. Our conversation brought up memories that motivated me to write this blog. You can also…Continue…
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HEALTH
Strengthening Healthy School Nutrition Policy in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Guest blog by Mariam Alkarbi, IPP ’25 When I joined the Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program, I was eager to work on an issue close to my heart: improving school food environments in Abu Dhabi. Childhood obesity is one of the UAE’s most pressing public health challenges, and while we already have nutrition guidelines and…Continue…
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INFRASTRUCTURE
Changing Jobs and Changing Frameworks for Problem Solving
Guest blog by Brian Vandenberg, IPP ’24 When I first enrolled in the Harvard Kennedy School’s Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program, I had no idea how transformative the experience would be. At the time, I was working in Tallahassee, Florida, grappling with a particularly pressing challenge: how to make public transportation more financially sustainable within…Continue…
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PUBLIC FINANCE
Exploring the lack of access to revenue in Wyoming
Guest blog by Tom Brauer, Justin D. Farley, Amber Pollock In Wyoming, much like throughout the United States, communities lack access to revenue and control of the revenue-raising mechanisms needed to self-determine their future. Over the past 12 weeks, The Wild Optimists have been immersed in the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) course, where we’ve grown…Continue…
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OTHER
Unpacking Complexity in Tunisia’s Waste Management: A Journey through PDIA
Guest blog by Lobna Jeribi, IPP ’24 Discovering the Power of Small Steps Reflecting on my journey through the IPP program, I feel like I’ve been on a quest – not just for policy solutions but for clarity on how change actually happens. I’m no stranger to the messy realities of public policy. What the…Continue…