Category: Europe & Central Asia

From Silos to Bridges – Improving Children and Young People’s Experience of Safety in Helsinki

Group photo with Bloomberg coaches

Guest blog by Hanna Harris, Arjariitta Heikkinen, Tiina Hörkkö, Satu Järvenkallas, Katja Nissinen, Piia Pelimanni, Mari Väistö, Meri Virta. The challenge we decided to take on was improving children and young people’s experience of safety in urban environments. The problem was tackled by a core team of eight people representing each division of the City…Continue Reading From Silos to Bridges – Improving Children and Young People’s Experience of Safety in Helsinki

Implementing PDIA in Digital Transformation of Riga City

Fishbone diagram

Guest blog by Rasmuss Filips Geks Back in 2001, something groundbreaking occurred. Seventeen technologists gathered in the Wasatch mountains of Utah to draft the Agile Manifesto. It was a set of principles for IT Project Management that would fundamentally change software development. Today, any user-friendly digital product we use was probably developed using these principles….Continue Reading Implementing PDIA in Digital Transformation of Riga City

Imagining the Future of Parks and Libraries in Bristol, UK

Team photo

Guest blog by Louis Costa, Sofia Martinez, Anjali Nemorin, Mahabuba Rahman, Leonardo da Silveira, Prasanya Thirupathy Over the course of the “PDIA in action” class at the Kennedy School, our team, The Night Owls, worked together in a very dynamic way to find entry points to a real-world, complex problem in just seven weeks. Our…Continue Reading Imagining the Future of Parks and Libraries in Bristol, UK

Inclusive Growth in the City of Bristol, UK

Houses along water in Bristol, UK

Guest blog by Kevin Slocombe, IPP ’22 Why are we only delivering against some of the promises we made to the city in the election? Why are only some of our key programmes to deliver inclusive growth being realised? The Mayor of Bristol, UK was elected on a platform based around inclusive and sustainable growth;…Continue Reading Inclusive Growth in the City of Bristol, UK

Applying LEG Insights to Growth Challenges in Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan at night

Guest Blog by Anar Azimov, LEG ’22 I have come across to the Leading Economic Growth quite by chance. We were discussing with my colleague’s various capacity building options and resources, and one of our colleagues referred to this particular course at the Harvard Kennedy School. Of course, it goes without saying that quality and…Continue Reading Applying LEG Insights to Growth Challenges in Azerbaijan

Reflections on using PDIA to drive policy reforms during political turmoil

Guest blog by Ana Iorga, IPP 2021 When I joined the Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program of Harvard’s Building State Capability, I had flashbacks of my MBA program from a decade ago. I was both thrilled and scared at the same time—thrilled to be interacting with and learning from so many brilliant people from all…Continue Reading Reflections on using PDIA to drive policy reforms during political turmoil

Implementing PDIA for driving tax reforms in Switzerland

Guest blog by Juan Pedro Schmid, IPP 2021 I knew about the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) process before as I had done the 10 weeks online course Principles of PDIA: Building Capability by Delivering Results. However, as time passed, I had not really applied the concepts and I did not have a full recall…Continue Reading Implementing PDIA for driving tax reforms in Switzerland

Inclusion of youth in public and private decision-making bodies in France

Guest blog written by Fadila Leturcq “Le savoir est une arme” (“Knowledge is a weapon” in English) is a recurring punchline in French rap lyrics and one that resonates with me when I take the time to reflect on my journey through the IPP program. “Le savoir est une arme ” suggests that learning, acquiring…Continue Reading Inclusion of youth in public and private decision-making bodies in France

Implementing to design better: Clean energy transition for islands

Guest blog by Ana Laca I work primarily in foreign affairs and regional development, but as a side passion project, I have been actively working on islands’ energy transition. I work for a European institution on legislative procedures, following particular files as they pass through a legislative train until their final adoption. For my action…Continue Reading Implementing to design better: Clean energy transition for islands

Increasing the dynamism of the implementation of French public policies

Guest blog written by Kanan Dubal, Jess Redmond, Ankita Panda, Arba Murati No amount of information or research can and did prepare us for the intensity and unlearning that the Problem Driven Iterative Approach (PDIA) process demands. Theoretically, we knew what the PDIA process was, but the course facilitated an opportunity to learn, implement and…Continue Reading Increasing the dynamism of the implementation of French public policies