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Category: Africa

Using PDIA in Addressing the Non-Competitive and Inefficient Free Zone Scheme in Nigeria

  • Publication date June 20, 2023
Civic Towers, Lekki, Lagos Nigeria

Guest blog by Adesoji Adesugba My participation in 2022 Implementing Public Policy was timely and rewarding. IPP is the second program under the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education series I have participated. The first was Leading Economic Growth, which I completed last December. The IPP program has exposed me to new policy ideas through shared…Continue Reading Using PDIA in Addressing the Non-Competitive and Inefficient Free Zone Scheme in Nigeria

Access to Data and Affordable Finance to improve Youth Unemployment in Nigeria

  • Publication date June 1, 2023
Busy street in Lagos, Nigeria

Guest blog by Tejumola Abake Abisoye I was hoping for a magic bullet to implementing public policy and I learnt it is simply the ability to focus on the problem and be driven by iterations until ones sees the expected outcomes – PDIA. I currently manage a Government Agency – The Lagos State Employment Trust…Continue Reading Access to Data and Affordable Finance to improve Youth Unemployment in Nigeria

Building and Sustaining Local Crude Oil Refining Capacity in Nigeria Using the PDIA Technique

  • Publication date May 16, 2023
Kugbo, Abuja, Nigeria

Guest blog by Nyeso George The last six months has been like six years learning the nuggets of policy implementation especially using the PDIA Technique. In the process, how I plan to use what has been learnt and my key takeaways can be summarized as follows: Centrality of clarity in problem definition – in most…Continue Reading Building and Sustaining Local Crude Oil Refining Capacity in Nigeria Using the PDIA Technique

Providing Quality Health Care in Kaduna State, Nigeria

  • Publication date April 12, 2023
Team photo

Guest blog by Anis Saidi, David Friedman, Diksha Kataria, Krista Gon, Lucy Kruske, Tatenda Mujeni, Younmi Kim Complex problems are not impossible to solve. As we learned over the course of this module, PDIA teams must adopt a humble, progressive, and iterative approach to tackle complex problems successfully. The initial step is deconstructing the problem…Continue Reading Providing Quality Health Care in Kaduna State, Nigeria

PDIA: An Inclusive Approach to Fortify Voting Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Ethiopia

IPP 2022 participants working together

Guest blog by Hanna Demissie, IPP ’22 It was initially the idea of my boss, who is the Chairperson of the Election Commission and a Harvard Kennedy School alumna, to apply to the IPP program. Fortunately, despite my anxiety and hesitation, I found IPP extremely impactful, and it changed my understanding of policy challenges and…Continue Reading PDIA: An Inclusive Approach to Fortify Voting Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Ethiopia

The Power of Listening: The Beginning of our PDIA journey in Malawi

Malawi group photo

Guest blog written by: Lindiwe Chide, Joan Keaney-Bray, Grace Milner, Martha Sineta, Joshua Valeta, Arianna Zanolini Our Malawi team of six just ended a 12-week journey into Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) for Education through the Harvard Executive Education Course. We were a group of Directors at the Ministry, a District Education Manager, and two…Continue Reading The Power of Listening: The Beginning of our PDIA journey in Malawi

Underperformance in Schools in the Port Loko District of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Team working

Guest blog by Zacharia Bangura, Foday C Kalokoh, Kabiru Mansaray, Miriam Mason, Ibrahim Kanu, Rugiatu Alimatu Kamara This has been a real learning journey, where there are opportunities to test theories and put them into practice, review and revise, try again and after as many iterations as needed to get set for scale up.   Small…Continue Reading Underperformance in Schools in the Port Loko District of Sierra Leone

Breaking down the Youth Unemployment Challenge in Kenya

A busy city street in Kenya

Guest Blog by Maureen Gitata, LEG ’22 I have found this course to be invaluable in teaching new approaches to economic development challenges, that ensure that the root cause/systemic challenges of issues have been addressed. My favorite course takeaways include:…Continue Reading Breaking down the Youth Unemployment Challenge in Kenya

Learning, Relearning and Building Small Team Influence: Navigating Complex Education System Problems in Zambia

A piece of chalk on shelf of chalkboard

Guest blog by Amosi Chipasi, Agness Mumba-Wilkins, Besnart Simunchembu, Cornelius Chipoma, Laura Brannelly and Mutinta Kawina After 12 weeks of participating in the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) course conducted by the Building State Capability (BSC), the ‘Aspiring Ants’ Team reflects on a learning journey that has provided great insights on how a small team…Continue Reading Learning, Relearning and Building Small Team Influence: Navigating Complex Education System Problems in Zambia

Using PDIA to Tackle Educational Inequalities in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas in Kenya

Books in a library

Guest blog written by: Frederick Haga, Ezra Mwiti Manyara, Lydia Njoki Muchemi, Rosaline Muraya, John Ochieng, Evelyn Owoko. The national primary level education outcomes mask disparities based on gender, location and socio-economic factors (National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022). Children from households classified as poor, those from Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) and urban poor…Continue Reading Using PDIA to Tackle Educational Inequalities in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas in Kenya