Category: Governance

Independent Evaluation of PDIA Application in Africa

Matt Andrews at the white board teaching CABRI participants

In April 2017, we began our engagement with the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), an intergovernmental organization based in South Africa, to design and launch the Building Public Financial Management Capabilities (BPFMC) Program using the PDIA approach. In this program, CABRI’s member countries could apply for a team of 5-7 members to work on their locally…Continue Reading Independent Evaluation of PDIA Application in Africa

Creating Space for Better Post-Covid Public Policy Spending

Decorative: Bills in US dollar and Euro

written by Matt Andrews Governments across the world are struggling with the many policy challenges wrought by Covid-19. While this pandemic is not yet over, many are already thinking about the recovery to come. Governments will undoubtedly be needed in this recovery process, helping people get back to normal or charting new paths to better…Continue Reading Creating Space for Better Post-Covid Public Policy Spending

Embracing flexibility to untangle longstanding policy issues in Nigeria

Guest blog by Tabia Princewill As a Special Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria, I have experience working in a large, complex bureaucracy and I decided to take this course to learn how to deliver results within a space where state capability has been weakened over the years and where competing…Continue Reading Embracing flexibility to untangle longstanding policy issues in Nigeria

Falling in love with the problem, not the solution

Guest blog by Kyle Novak “Fall in love with the problem, not your solution.”  It’s a maxim that I first heard spoken a few years ago by USAID’s former Chief Innovation Officer Ann Mei Chang. I’ve found myself frequently reflecting on those words as I’ve been thinking about the challenges of implementing public policy. I spent…Continue Reading Falling in love with the problem, not the solution

The Lack of Decentralization of Power: Delivery of Public Service in Liberia

Liberian flags hanging

Guest blog by W. Lawrence Yealue, II Firstly, my expectation was to learn strategies and approaches to Implementing Public Policies. My expectation was exceeded by this program. The manner in which the program was conducted, the peer learning approach and Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA). The logical pathways and the appreciation for contextualization the learning acquired…Continue Reading The Lack of Decentralization of Power: Delivery of Public Service in Liberia

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”

Anticipatory Government

Guest blog by Urkhan Seyidov Urkhan Seyidov is an expert in the field of innovation and strategic communication, a senior fellow of the Center for Political Psychology in Azerbaijan, and the author of two books: Innovation – Implementation Guidelines and Soft power and Public Diplomacy of Azerbaijan in the Digital Age.  Imagine a gleaming government office tower in…Continue Reading Anticipatory Government

Police reform in Bridgeport through PDIA: A radical approach to an old problem

Guest blog by Maria Viggiano As America faces a national reckoning over racial injustice and the over-policing of communities of color, the concept of “defunding the police” has become a hot topic in various cities including my hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut. As Connecticut’s largest city, Bridgeport is home to over 145,000 people, the majority of…Continue Reading Police reform in Bridgeport through PDIA: A radical approach to an old problem