Applying PDIA to Education Systems

BSC has been exploring how the PDIA methodology can help build capability to improve the implementation of education policies and programs. In 2022, the team developed a custom PDIA for Education Systems online action learning program for Education Development Trust (EDT), funded by United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The goal of this program was to build the capability to improve foundational learning outcomes through practical action-oriented work. 56 education practitioners across 9 country teams from Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia, participated in this program from September to December 2022. 

Improving reading proficiency and learning outcomes in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Guest blog by Salamatu Idris Isah, IPP ’23

PDIA: Learning by Doing and Getting it Right

Working in a public space has never been easy, especially when you are saddled with the responsibility of making sure everything you proposed, that has been adopted, has a developmental impact. My participation in the 2023 IPP course was an eye-opener, as we were introduced to the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) Concept. Taking a step to identify a problem challenge such as Eliminating Learning Poverty as a means of “Improving reading proficiency and Learning outcomes among primary school pupils in Kaduna State, Nigeria” and wanting to navigate through the PDIA processes to find solutions is an inspiration for me every day throughout the course.

Effectively tackling industry-level climate risks to ensure inclusive participation in the green economy by all organizations

Guest blog by Chiu Hao Chen, IPP ’23

My Odyssey with PDIA

In a time overshadowed by rising tensions among nations, unprecedented increases in natural disasters, and the world’s collective shortfall on all Sustainable Development Goals, I set forth on a quest alongside revered Masters of PDIA (Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation) at the sanctified halls often referred to as HKS. As my journey unfolded, I garnered profound wisdom, insights, and epiphanies that will enlighten both policymakers and corporate executives.

Join me as I recount tales from this odyssey.

New Podcast: Authorizer Reflections on Using PDIA in Meghalaya, India

We have released a new episode in our podcast series A Decade of Building State Capability. In this episode, BSC Director Salimah Samji interviews Sampath Kumar, Health Secretary and Development Commissioner of the government of Meghalaya. Sampath attended Harvard Kennedy School in 2013 where he had his first exposure to Building State Capability.

In this episode, Sampath reflects on his experience as an authorizer using the PDIA and Adaptive Leadership approaches at scale in Meghalaya, India and discusses the importance of cultivating political supportability.

Reflections on IPP and Returning to Work

Guest blog by Marcio Paes Barreto, IPP ’23

As my course Implementing Public Policy (IPP) ended I recognized a familiar feeling that relates to my experience leading NOLS wilderness expeditions. At the end of those expeditions, participants often reflected on what they couldn’t bring back from the wilderness, and some felt uneasy about returning to the front country without all their newly acquired skills or peers.

We used to talk about how we couldn’t take home our large backpacks or kayaks and how they would have no application in our daily lives. We also discussed why the pizza we cooked under a tarp during a storm would not taste the same at home.

Are we facing a similar situation at the end of the IPP? Did the morning coffee you had at the HKS breakfast jolt you in the same way at the office? Did outsiders attribute similar value to the PDIA toolkit? Did the PDIA anthem get the same laughs or make sense to anyone?

As I reflect on my valuable experiences in the IPP course, I recognize that can be frustrating not fully capturing the essence of this learning and taking it back to work. So here is what I am choosing to bring home with me.

Developing a Harmonized Legal and Regulatory Framework for Reforming Public Sector Pay in Sierra Leone

Guest blog by Sonia Umu Karim, IPP ’23

One of my favourite quotations, which I came across during my secondary school years and which has kept me going through many frustrating ups and downs working on public sector reforms in Sierra Leone is by Henry David Thoreau; it goes “All endeavour calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil.” As I look back at the past 5 plus months of trying to make progress on critical challenges with public sector pay  using the tools and techniques I’m learning in the Implementing Public Policy course, this quote by Thoreau, who coincidentally attended Harvard College, becomes more and more apropos. The Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach to addressing complex policy problems, which I’m learning in this IPP course, promotes taking short action steps informed by a careful construction, deconstruction and sequencing problem analysis technique. The short action steps enable implementers and policy makers to make progress, but with less risk and more opportunities for reflection, learning, adaptation and iteration, before scaling up. 

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 creates new problem-solving capabilities. Over the past decade, we have trained and engaged with over 4,000 practitioners in 150 countries and created a global community of practice.

The increasingly complex, interdependent, and uncertain world we live in requires more flexible and adaptive approaches to solve complex problems, making the work of BSC more relevant than ever. 

Apply for our Strategies for Inclusive Growth Executive Program!

We are offering Strategies for Inclusive Growth at the Harvard Kennedy School from April 28 – May 3^rd 2024. Application deadline is March 25th, 2024.

Paths to economic prosperity are rapidly evolving. Policymakers struggle to meet economic goals as growth remains unsustainable, non-inclusive, or just plain stuck. Organizations often rely on one-size-fits-all approaches that fail to meet their intended outcomes. To achieve inclusive growth, strategies require context-specific approaches to build the capability to diagnose the problem and implement actions to create change. 

Strategies for Inclusive Growth is a one-week on-campus executive education program led by Ricardo Hausmann and Matt Andrews that rethinks the practice of economic policy, from design to implementation. The program will equip you with the framework, tools, and networks to drive inclusion-driven economic policy to advance shared prosperity. 

New Podcast: Ricardo Hausmann Reflects on his Engagement with BSC

We have released a new episode in our podcast series A Decade of Building State Capability. In this episode, BSC Director Salimah Samji interviews Ricardo Hausmann, Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School and founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab.

In this episode, Ricardo describes his engagement with BSC over the years, how it has influenced his work, and reflects on the transition of Leading Economic Growth from a five day on campus program to a ten week online executive program in the face of the pandemic.

New Podcast: Applying PDIA in Meghalaya, India

We have released a new episode in our podcast series A Decade of Building State Capability. In this episode, BSC Director Salimah Samji interviews Rebecca Trupin and Prateek Mittal, MPAID graduates who applied the PDIA concepts they learned in MLD103 to their work in Meghalaya, India.

In this episode, Rebecca and Prateek discuss how they came to work in maternal mortality in Meghalaya alongside their authorizer, Sampath Kumar, and how they adopted the PDIA approach to address complex challenges across multiple sectors.