Harvard University homepage
HARVARD.EDU

Blog

Diagnosing Nigeria’s Growth Constraints

  • Publication date February 9, 2026
Lagos, Nigeria

Guest blog by Adamu Mathias, LEG ’25 Over the weeks, this course has reshaped not only how I approach complex national/regional/local or organizational challenges but also how I think about their development, especially Nigeria’s ongoing struggle to diversify, grow sustainably, and build systems that work. As someone deeply involved in leadership, energy, and development spaces, I found PDIA to be more…Continue Reading Diagnosing Nigeria’s Growth Constraints

Reversing New Mexico’s Brain Drain Through Economic Diversification

  • Publication date February 6, 2026
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Guest blog by Rita Gaurin, LEG ’25 Over the past ten weeks, I’ve immersed myself in understanding one of New Mexico’s most pressing challenges: the persistent out-migration of our educated workforce and the struggle to diversify our economy beyond extractive industries. This journey has fundamentally shifted how I think about economic development, moving me from viewing problems…Continue Reading Reversing New Mexico’s Brain Drain Through Economic Diversification

Phosphate Decarbonization as a Catalyst for Growth in Morocco

  • Publication date February 2, 2026
Plants growing in a field

Guest blog by Soumaya Benzennou, LEG ’25 When I began this course, I thought my challenge was technical: how can a hard-to-abate sector like phosphates decarbonize? But over the ten weeks, something shifted. The more we learned about growth, complexity and inclusion, the more I realized that my real challenge was not about emissions. It was about people, incentives, institutions,…Continue Reading Phosphate Decarbonization as a Catalyst for Growth in Morocco

Addressing Fragmented Housing and Behavioral Health Systems in Santa Fe County

  • Publication date January 29, 2026

Guest blog by Lisa Cacari Stone, IPP ’25 One of the deepest shifts for me has been realizing, as Matt told us, that ‘policy work is about people’—not just about ideas or analysis. I came into the course often frustrated that we had good ideas in Santa Fe but struggled to implement them. I now…Continue Reading Addressing Fragmented Housing and Behavioral Health Systems in Santa Fe County

A community-driven approach to flexible learning in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

  • Publication date January 28, 2026
A leadership and mentorship training conducted by the Voice Inc participants

Guest blog by Kim Allen, Evangeline Balili, Russel Graham, Jacqueline Matawawina, and Norah Tamarua What began as a learning journey for seven individuals became a mission for the Eastern Learners team. A team made up of individuals from the education sector, development sector, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The Eastern Learners team had one mission: ‘to…Continue Reading A community-driven approach to flexible learning in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

Reducing Youth Unemployment in Papua New Guinea

  • Publication date January 26, 2026
Kids in Papua New Guinea sitting on the steps of a hut

Guest blog by Frederick Joseph, Keren Mahabi, Joshua Sialis, Karo Tuva We are the Youth Economic Empowerment Team! We are from the finance industry; banking & superannuation. The challenge that we are tackling is youth unemployment struggles in Koki, Moresby South, and Port Moresby, PNG. We believe that youth are the cornerstone of development and…Continue Reading Reducing Youth Unemployment in Papua New Guinea

Strengthening Early Childhood Education Implementation in Papua New Guinea

  • Publication date January 23, 2026
Children in Papua New Guinea looking at a phone

Guest blog by Joyce Kafuo, Hilton Kapial, Elisheba Musia, Priscilla Vuvu, Regil Wanwanji Why is Early Childhood Education (ECE) still struggling in Papua New Guinea despite policy reforms? Over 12 weeks, our team applied the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach to understand why Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Papua New Guinea continues to struggle despite…Continue Reading Strengthening Early Childhood Education Implementation in Papua New Guinea

Digital Financial Inclusion in India: The Gender Gap Challenge 

  • Publication date January 22, 2026
Hands holding rupees

Guest blog by Richa Mukherjee, IPP ’25 After practicing public policy as a professional for 15 years, I decided to pursue it more formally as a subject from the Harvard Kennedy School’s IPP Class of 2025. This turned out to be a very insightful and an experience full of learning. The learning journey at HKS gave me comprehensive insights into addressing…Continue Reading Digital Financial Inclusion in India: The Gender Gap Challenge 

Addressing Gender‑Based Violence in Baiyer District, Papua New Guinea

  • Publication date January 16, 2026
Team photo

Guest blog by Kevin Gou, Dorothy Jack, Carolyn Kuk Kop, Shadrick Paraka, Mark Paroa, Johnson Trepi, and Yangga Treppe, Over the last 12 weeks, Team Baiyer Range has been working on the problem of gender-based violence (GBV) in our district. After we identified this problem, we used PDIA to identify ideas we can use to…Continue Reading Addressing Gender‑Based Violence in Baiyer District, Papua New Guinea