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Category: Latin America & Caribbean

Can the private sector help to pave the way to tackle complex challenges in the Northern Triangle of Central America?

Map showing Honduras

written by José Eguigure and Daniel Barjum  A few weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other top officials, including Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency of International Development, and former professor at Harvard University, attended the inauguration of Xiomara Castro as the first female President of Honduras in its 200 years of…Continue Reading Can the private sector help to pave the way to tackle complex challenges in the Northern Triangle of Central America?

Making problems more approachable using PDIA

Guest blog by Ileana Ferber For a professional that has been dreaming of working in international development her whole life, the LEG program has been one of the best learning experiences that I have had so far. I like to learn, so that is why I am continuously taking courses and building on my skills. This…Continue Reading Making problems more approachable using PDIA

Responding to economic collapse in Venezuela

Guest blog by Ana Maria Chirinos Leanez After almost two years since the COVID19 pandemic started, policymakers and governments continue struggling with questions on how to deal with concerns on economic growth challenges and how to promote countries’ recovery more sustainably and inclusively. Those topics are very well discussed by the Leading Economic Growth program developed…Continue Reading Responding to economic collapse in Venezuela

Exploring export diversification in Trinidad and Tobago

Guest blog by Lebrechtta Hesse-Bayne The leading economic growth 2021 course exceeded my expectation. While the course overview gave an idea of what to expect, the tools provided were the icing on the cake. I am taking away from this course the key learnings or applying the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach. This step-by-step process…Continue Reading Exploring export diversification in Trinidad and Tobago

Panama Embassy official writes about promoting US-Panama trade ties

Guest blog by Franklin Morales, Head of Commercial and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Panama in the United States. A few years ago, I became a diplomat of my country in the United States.  Over time, I gained more responsibility until I became the Head of the Commercial and Economic Section. I am responsible…Continue Reading Panama Embassy official writes about promoting US-Panama trade ties

Urban Development in Argentina: How IPP helped me achieve my goal

Guest blog by Catalina Palacio This is the story of an inspiring journey. Everybody is working hard around the world looking for increasing their wellbeing, which in turn affects the improvement of the quality of life of others. Everybody plays a determinant role to make lives better, even more, when people share the public policies sphere…Continue Reading Urban Development in Argentina: How IPP helped me achieve my goal

An insightful journey to self-discovery and public policy effectiveness in Haiti

Guest blog by John Miller Beauvoir As a field-tested international development professional who crisscrossed 15 countries in Africa and in the Americas to support policy implementation, I carry my fair share of disillusion, cynicism and frustration regarding the slow pace of change and the lack of effectiveness of foreign aid. This is a matter of significant…Continue Reading An insightful journey to self-discovery and public policy effectiveness in Haiti

A half-empty glass and the joy of “failing forward”

Person refusing money

Guest blog by Silverio Zebral Filho I’ve started my PDIA journey 6 months ago, interested in gaining a deeper learning about alternative approaches to tackle a wicked (ill-defined, multi-sourced, technically complex and politically sensitive) problem in the context of large institutional divergence (weak rules, strong social norms), lack of state capacity, declining interpersonal trust and…Continue Reading A half-empty glass and the joy of “failing forward”

Working on trade in Mexico from Sao Paulo

Guest blog written by Oscar Benitez We all experienced the turmoil caused by Covid-19 in 2020. We will spend years trying to describe how it became a huge setback for every activity and economic sector. In my case, I spent several months putting on hold most of the projects of the year, to eventually seeing them…Continue Reading Working on trade in Mexico from Sao Paulo