written by Salimah Samji At Building State Capability (BSC) we resolve public problems with purpose. We equip teams of practitioners around the world with the tools and resources to improve the implementation of their policies and programs. Since our founding in 2012, we have directly engaged with over 4,850 practitioners in 157 countries and built a…Continue Reading BSC 2025: Year in Review
Guest Blog by Daniel Lombana, IPP ’25 Enrolling in the Harvard Kennedy School program Implementing Public Policy has been one of the best educational decisions I have ever made. I am a lawyer by profession, with a degree in Law and Political Science and a master’s in Procedural Law. Over the years, I have pursued…Continue Reading Improving Public Spending Efficiency and Transparency in Panama
Guest Blog by Carolyn Kandusi, IPP ’25 When I joined Harvard Kennedy School’s Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program, my goal was clear: sharpen my policy acumen before fully launching Policy Innovation Lab Africa (PIL-A). As a social sector leader who has spent years building solutions, mobilizing capital, and driving social sector impact, I knew that…Continue Reading Championing Social Public Partnership Frameworks in Africa
Guest Blog by Mayank Grover, IPP ’25 When I applied for the Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program, the biggest doubt I had was whether this course would be too theoretical or academic. The problem-driven iterative adaptation concept seemed a bit alien to the public policy or economic regulation in which I have been working for…Continue Reading Evolving Electricity Distribution Network Roles in Australia
Guest Blog by Maria Agostina Cacault, IPP ’25 When I began the Implementing Public Policy program at Harvard Kennedy School in May 2025, I thought I understood my challenge: there was a “lack of human rights and gender perspective in the legal proceedings of Buenos Aires Province State Attorney’s Office.” Like many of us working…Continue Reading Building Rights-Based Frameworks in Fiscal Decisions in Buenos Aires
In this talk hosted at HKS on November 3rd, Yamini Aiyar, senior fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute and former president of the Center for Policy Research in Delhi, discusses her book Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi’s Schools and shares her path from a pivotal 2010 meeting in Bihar to a groundbreaking three-year ethnographic…Continue Reading Event: Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi’s Schools
Guest blog by Abel Capellan Almonte, IPP ’25 I entered IPP with a simple story in my head: students “don’t like” STEM. After months of PDIA, I think that story is convenient but wrong. The problem is not a single decision made by a teenager. It is a system that quietly pushes them toward safer,…Continue Reading Low Student Participation in STEM Careers in the Dominican Republic
Guest blog by Mariam Alkarbi, IPP ’25 When I joined the Implementing Public Policy (IPP) program, I was eager to work on an issue close to my heart: improving school food environments in Abu Dhabi. Childhood obesity is one of the UAE’s most pressing public health challenges, and while we already have nutrition guidelines and…Continue Reading Strengthening Healthy School Nutrition Policy in Abu Dhabi, UAE
In June, we welcomed 36 practitioners from 16 countries to Harvard Kennedy School for the on-campus portion of our Implementing Public Policy (IPP) Executive Education program. This program ran from May to September 2025, with the on-campus phase being a week-long intensive, interactive, and immersive experience. During the week, participants engaged with faculty and peers…Continue Reading Highlights from the 2025 Implementing Public Policy Program
In this talk hosted at Harvard Kennedy School on October 16th, Shaun Tomson, a former surfing world champion turned purpose coach, shares his journey from business to purpose-driven work following the tragic loss of his 15-year-old son Matthew in 2006. Tomson now speaks globally about purpose, arguing that our words have transformational power which create…Continue Reading Event: Finding Purpose in Turbulent Times
