April – June, 2021 | Online
About This Series
BSC Faculty Director, Matt Andrews, and Program Director, Salimah Samji, have been co-teaching PDIA in Action: Development through Facilitated Emergence (MLD 103) at the Harvard Kennedy School since 2018. This is a field-lab class where students learn a research-oriented version of PDIA by working on public problems – they learn by doing.
This event series features presentations of students across Harvard who worked in teams on real-world problems nominated by Implementing Public Policy (IPP) alumni who served as their clients. The collection of student projects are also showcased in the PDIA in Action book.
Team Presentations
Police and Community Relations in Lancaster, PA
There have been deepening tensions in Lancaster, PA between the police department and the community, heightened by a 2020 police shooting and nation-wide protests against police brutality. Students worked with Milzy Carrasco, Director of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Lancaster and Chief Bey, Chief of Police, to better understand this problem and identify entry points. Students learned to embrace multiple perspectives, resist confirmation bias, work effectively as a team, and examine unknowns.
Presenters: Anne Dietterich, Awab Elmesbah, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Amreen Bashir, Revanth Voothaluru, Seun Akinfolarin, students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Milzy Carrasco, Director of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Lancaster and Implementing Public Policy executive course alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).
Tackling Safe Blood in Nigeria
Local health facilities and organizations do not have the capacity to attain or maintain safe blood supplies in Nigeria. Students worked with Dr. Adaeze Oreh, Country Head of Planning National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) to assess this problem and identify entry points for action using the PDIA approach. Students learned the importance of teamwork, staying focused on the common cause, and leveraging the diversity and expertise within your team to enrich your knowledge and inform your process.
Presenters: Allan Franklin, Dana Radojevic, Lauren Truong, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Hesham Gaafar, student at Harvard School of Public Health; Dr. Adaeze Oreh, Country Head of Planning NBTS, Nigeria and Implementing Public Policy executive course alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).
Radicalization in France
There is growing perception that radicalization is expanding in France, but no consensus on how best to approach it. Students worked with Raphael Kenigsberg, Cyber Security Expert at BNP Paribas, to explore the increase in radicalization and identify entry points for action. Through the PDIA process, the team learned to maintain open channels of communication with teammates and stakeholders, expand engagement as much as possible, and to regularly revisit and reevaluate the problem.
Presenters: Sasha Mathew, Imara Salas, Kishan Shah, Katie Wesdyk, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Raphael Kenigsberg, Cyber Security Expert at BNP Paribas and Implementing Public Policy executive program alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability.
Access to Childcare in Burien, WA
Current childcare benefits in Burien, WA are limited and restrictive, leading to broader social and economic impacts on the community. Students worked with Kevin Schilling, Burien City Councilmember to better understand the issue and detect entry points using the PDIA approach. Together they discovered the importance of teamwork, frequent communication, building strong relationships and networks, and maintaining a dynamic mindset which acknowledges the problem as continuously evolving.
Presenters: Crystal Collier, Doreen King, and Sasinat Chindapol, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Kevin Schilling, Burien City Council member, and Implementing Public Policy executive program alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).
Exploring Trade between Kenya and Canada
While the absence of bilateral trade agreements between Kenya and Canada hinders trade between the two countries, there are several other barriers contributing to the problem. Students worked with Dr. Imbenzi George, Honorary Consul General of Kenya to Canada to investigate this issue and help identify entry points for action. Together they learned to think outside the box, harness their creativity and flexibility, crawl the design space, and focus efforts on manageable steps to make forward progress.
Presenters: John Diing, Mayra Hoyos, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Bishal Belbase student at the Harvard School of Public Health; Stephanie Shalkoski, student at the Harvard Business School; Dr. George Imbenzi, Honorary Consul General of Kenya to Canada and Implementing Public Policy executive program alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).
Implementing Reparations in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville passed its historic reparation resolution in July 2020, but there has been a lack of progress and consensus in designing and implementing the reparation initiatives. Students worked with former Asheville City Councilor, William Keith Young, to assess this problem and identify entry points for action. Utilizing the PDIA methodology, students learned the importance of building capacity before scaling, the power of iteration in tackling complex problems, and the value of taking small, incremental steps forward.
Presenters: Bethany Dill, Student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Isabel Mejia Fontanot, Kent Shi, Kerianne DiBattista, Students at the Harvard Kennedy School; William Keith Young, Former Asheville, NC City Councilor and Alumni of BSC’s Implementing Public Policy Executive Education course. Moderated by Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).
Abandoned Infrastructure Projects in Nigeria
Nigeria has been struggling with several key public infrastructure projects being abandoned before completion. Students worked with David Wuyep, Chief Technical Advisor in the office of the Governor of Plateau State, to better identify and understand the problem and determine viable entry points for action. Together they learned the importance of teamwork, staying humble, taking incremental steps forward, and the power of dissecting problems into underlying causes while questioning assumptions.
Presenters: Nathalie Gazzaneo, Tendai Mvuvu, Rodrigo Tejada, Matt Weber, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; David Wuyep, Head of Projects Management and Results Delivery Office, in the office of the Governor of Plateau State, Nigeria, and Implementing Public Policy executive program alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability.
Legal Education Reform in Ukraine
Poor quality legal education in Ukraine is perpetuating corruption within the country. Students worked with Artem Shaipov, Legal specialist with USAID New Justice Program to assess this issue and identify entry points using the PDIA framework. Through the process, the team learned the power of networking in opening new doors and potential entry points, the value of teamwork and optimizing each other’s strengths while being cognizant of weaknesses, and to continually question “why” and deconstruct the problem to its root causes.
Presenters: Frederick Tarantino, Ilhom Aliyev, Manoj Kumar, Mike Ramirez, Yousuf Folathi Alkhoori, students at the Harvard Kennedy School; Artem Shaipov, Legal specialist, USAID New Justice Program and Implementing Public Policy program alumni. Moderator: Salimah Samji, Director of Building State Capability (BSC).