written by Salimah Samji At Building State Capability (BSC) we resolve public problems with purpose. The increasingly complex, interdependent, and uncertain world we live in requires more flexible and adaptive approaches to solve complex problems, making the core of our mission more important than ever. 2024 was a year of new beginnings for BSC. We…Continue Reading BSC 2024: Year in Review
BSC 2023: The Year in Review
written by Salimah Samji Building State Capability (BSC) resolves public problems with purpose. We have developed a step-by-step approach called Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), a dynamic process with tight feedback loops that allows organizations to build their own solutions that fit their local context. PDIA empowers action, facilitates the emergence of local solutions, and…Continue Reading BSC 2023: The Year in Review
BSC 2022: The Year in Review
written by Salimah Samji Building State Capability (BSC) empowers public organizations to find local solutions to local problems and to improve the implementation of their policies and programs. BSC has developed Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), a learning by doing approach, that helps develop the capability to solve complex public problems. We build capability by…Continue Reading BSC 2022: The Year in Review
BSC 2020: The Year in Review
written by Salimah Samji 2020 was a challenging year. The Covid-19 pandemic and other crises highlighted the failures of governance and the large economic disparities that exist around the globe. The need to build public sector capability to meet these increasingly complex challenges has never been greater. Our response to these challenges included convening and training policymakers, as well as practitioners, around critical issues of leading through crises, implementing public policies, inclusive growth, and…Continue Reading BSC 2020: The Year in Review
BSC 2019: The Year in Review
written by Salimah Samji Reflection is a key part of the PDIA iteration process and as I have done in previous years (2017 & 2018) here’s a look back at what we @HarvardBSC achieved in 2019. Some highlights of the year include: training and engaging with 740 practitioners around the globe (incl. degree programs, executive education,…Continue Reading BSC 2019: The Year in Review
10 new things we did in 2018
written by Salimah Samji It’s February and 2018 feels like a long time ago! Last year, I wrote my first annual stock taking blog and I’ve been meaning to write a follow up since early January, but 2019 has been off to an incredibly busy start. As you may know, we are small team of…Continue Reading 10 new things we did in 2018
Taking stock of our achievements in 2017
written by Salimah Samji The Building State Capability (BSC) program had a very busy 2017. We are a small team of doers who are constantly testing, learning, reflecting, and adapting our approach – essentially PDIAing our way forward, often while charting new waters. …Continue Reading Taking stock of our achievements in 2017