Category: Education

Promoting Child Development by Improving Care Quality in Public and Private Institutions in Mexico

Adults and children hold hands on a beach in Mexico at sunset

Guest blog by Miriam Gastélum Aispuro When I got accepted for the IPP Harvard Program, I was happy relief. I thought, “WOW,” we will finally have the answers to the problems we are trying to solve in the Foundation. The course started and after weeks of learning, discussions and lectures, I realized that my thoughts…Continue Reading Promoting Child Development by Improving Care Quality in Public and Private Institutions in Mexico

Slowing Down To Go Fast: Fishing Out the Education Problems in Washington State

An empty classroom with a blank whiteboard

Guest blog by Sharonne Navas In a world of high speed wars, high speed internet, and high speed dating — can we slow down to solve world problems?   I was trained to problem solve in under five minutes. Math club, speed chess, wordle — the idea of speeding through a problem towards the solution was simply the…Continue Reading Slowing Down To Go Fast: Fishing Out the Education Problems in Washington State

Developing a Workplace of the Future in Dearborn, Michigan

Michigan team photo

Guest blog by Rana Allawnha, Laura Demarse, Angela Fortino, Zaineb Hussein, Mariam Jalloul, Amanda Bright McClanahan, Anisa Sahoubeh. The City of Dearborn’s young and energized workforce is not equipped to fill the jobs of the future. While cities across Michigan are losing their populations, Dearborn’s population grew by 12% according to the last census, the…Continue Reading Developing a Workplace of the Future in Dearborn, Michigan

Connecting Young Professionals to Local Government Public Service in Scottsdale, Arizona

A group of people collaborating

Guest blog by Stephanie Zamora, MPA Taking on large organizational or societal challenges requires a degree of creativity, risk-taking, and discomfort in addressing them properly. While we can certainly continue to rely on traditional methods of policy implementation, we may find ourselves missing the mark, not delivering on promises, and depleting the most scare resource:…Continue Reading Connecting Young Professionals to Local Government Public Service in Scottsdale, Arizona

Providing Mental Health Access to Vulnerable Youth in New York City

Students presenting their fishbone diagrams

Guest blog by Shanequa E. Moore, IPP ’22 When I applied to the IPP program, I envisioned a traditional academic experience; yet, what I received has helped me to embrace both my passions and frustrations with public policy and uncover the possibilities of what we can accomplish when we work together. I recall the words…Continue Reading Providing Mental Health Access to Vulnerable Youth in New York City

Our PDIA for Education Systems Online Program

Sierra Leone Team

Written by Salimah Samji We developed a 12-week custom PDIA for Education Systems online action learning program for Education Development Trust (EDT), funded by United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), to help build the capability to improve foundational learning outcomes through practical action-oriented work. 56 education practitioners across 9 country teams from Ethiopia,…Continue Reading Our PDIA for Education Systems Online Program

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

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