How do you support a Community of Practice when the world economy is navigating uncharted waters?

Guest blog written by Amrita Deonarine, Liana Elliott, Perihan Tawfik, and Urkhan Seyidov

2022, a new year, the IPP Community of Practice (CoP) welcomes a new batch of IPPers, a new group of moderators to the CoP, and a new plethora of complex challenges. By January 2022, when our term as moderators began, the world economy and livelihoods had already undergone much trauma since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Countries were gradually beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as they bumped up vaccination drives and gradually eased restrictions. Even though the emergence of coronavirus variants brought about many doubts, by then, many of us in the realm of policy-making and policy implementation had already helped our countries emerge through several iterations to adapt to what many referred to as the “new normal”. A pandemic environment. Ghastly prospects of more lockdowns, closed borders, supply chain disruptions, nervous investors, and panicked consumers were still present. The expectation was for these to remain the designated threats to global growth in 2022.

Who knew additional uncertainties were about to emerge? When we thought the world was already stretched to its threshold of global disruption, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proved us wrong. Challenges of human suffering, record-high commodity prices, economic shocks, and geopolitical realignment unfolded by February to set the tone for the global outlook in 2022. Against the backdrop of global volatility, successful policy implementation requires swift movements into iterations where one can act and learn quickly. Reflecting on our time together as moderators, we were privileged to have had the opportunity to support the IPP CoP as they energize action using PDIA during these highly evolving unprecedented times.

From the beginning of our tenure as moderators, we decided that we wanted to hear directly from the CoP. Every point of engagement was carefully considered and designed. Our objective focused on understanding the needs of the CoP and how we can construct sessions to meet those needs. Every session functioned as a springboard to subsequent sessions. In other words, we relied on the outcome of each session to determine the entry points for us to act for subsequent sessions. Yes, you’ve guessed right, we applied PDIA to how we managed the CoP and delivered events.

As moderators, we relied more on the CoP to guide the content of our events, asking people closest to the “problem” to inform interventions. We created the CoP initial survey as a result, and used that direct input and feedback to select topics, and ensure each session had interactive and engaging elements such as polls, Q&A, and real-world examples to bring lessons to life. We also found that accommodating the ideas coming from our peers attracted more discussion and eagerness to get (and stay) involved.

Embracing PDIA in our time as moderators gave us structure and pushed us to appreciate the challenge before us, from the perspective of the CoP. This perspective widened our options and ideas. A common thread moderators maintained across sessions was the importance of failing forward and incorporating the PDIA philosophy into our diverse cultural portfolio. We also utilized our PDIA training to adapt, based on what worked, what didn’t work, and how we needed to shift our thinking and approach for upcoming events. The team did not hesitate to try new things to embrace these cultural competencies such as experimenting with different time zones to validate the ease of attendance by alumni who spread across the globe. Even when disaster struck Ukraine as Russia invaded their borders, the outpouring concern and pleas to assist from the CoP prompted us to meet to extend support to our members directly and indirectly affected. Together, the moderators ensured that we stood in solidarity with our CoP throughout our tenure.

The number of participants in each session varied from event to event, and we learned that certain topics and formats work well for smaller groups (more intimate, able to dig a little deeper) and some worked better for larger groups. Tailoring the sessions to maximize engagement based on the number of participants and depth of each topic created more impactful sessions for attendees.

The high level of interactions during each session was encouraging, offering the opportunity to learn more about the successes and challenges we experienced as individuals and as a group. Being moderators from different cohorts for a six-month term was the first obstacle we faced together. Juggling the workload between four busy professionals on different continents was no easy task, and we had to get to know each other and support the community through virtual interaction. The team was made up of individuals in different time zones, at different stages of development, different cultural backgrounds, different areas of expertise, and diverse work ethics. A team with a cross-section of personalities created a challenge but resulted in rich content for each session. Though we initially struggled, as a team, we worked together to acknowledge each unique perspective, deriving ideas, and arrived at consensus that embraced our differences. Our common factor was our familiarity with the practical application of PDIA. As such, we capitalized on this commonality as the main topic to work around, causing us to lead sessions in line with what we learned during the course, particularly focused on the practical part. The challenges were turned into constructive and positive attitudes having the same objectives. To accommodate our demanding schedules, after an initial discussion and consensus on what the next session would look like, it was agreed that two moderators would take the lead in planning, facilitating, and moderating. This approach allowed each of us to both lead and support one another without overloading any single individual.

All in all, being moderators of the highly esteemed community was during a time when humanity has never been so divided and united at the same time around shared goals and problems. On one hand, we have a COVID-19 pandemic that the world responded swiftly to in developing vaccines, yet, at the same time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led to a humanitarian crisis and substantial negative global spillovers. Admittedly, there are major global problems such as the fight against climate change, access to clean water, public education, and the fight against hunger among many others. Nevertheless, one constant has been limited success in finding common ground to propel us towards progress. We learned from this experience mostly from our CoP peers and their stories that we need to stop reacting to problems just when they appear on our radar. The ad hoc solutions are good for nothing and have to be replaced by strategic and proactive thinking. One is compelled to recognize global risks and think about the consequences of the decision for the whole world. What is needed now is to learn to think wider than simply within the borders of our nations. In this regard, our IPP community indeed is a unique place where key decision-makers from around the world are constantly learning from each other and united by the idea of changing the world for the better. 

Traveling the World via the Building State Capability Blog

Guest blog written by Dana Radojević and Lauren Truong

Four months ago, we set off on a journey across the world – though not in the way you might expect. 

You see… we weren’t traversing the jungles of Peru, eating street food in Thailand, or admiring the ancient ruins of Greece. Nor were we running through the terminals of Heathrow Airport to make a layover or boarding a ferry to island hop across the Galapagos. 

Instead, our journey across the world transpired via the stories of more than 400 global practitioners – practitioners who are working to address some of the world’s most complex and pressing problems. 

Civil unrest and misinformation in South Africa

Guest blog written by Collin Mashile

• What were your expectations of IPP Online when you signed up?

A few weeks before the closing date, I received an e-mail request from my then Authoriser (Acting-Director General) to consider applying for the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Implementing Public Policy Program (IPP).  Her exact words: “there is this amazing academic from South Africa, Professor Matt Andrews, he is offering this course and I think you will love his methods, see if you can apply or register; it will be a worthwhile training for you”. Having read the information on the programme, I had come to a conclusion that I needed this training because South Africa was being praised for having developed good quality regulatory policies; but the implementation was not seen as being effective. The training would equip me with skills required to assist my country in public policy implementation. The prestige of the institution and the professional testimony on how the training was the best and would provide practical and theoretical lessons on how to assist in effective policy implementation. My supervisor was actually right as this course opened my eyes to concepts and learnings I was not exposed to previously. Online made it more interesting, challenging and worthy.

Inclusion of youth in public and private decision-making bodies in France

Guest blog written by Fadila Leturcq

“Le savoir est une arme” (“Knowledge is a weapon” in English) is a recurring punchline in French rap lyrics and one that resonates with me when I take the time to reflect on my journey through the IPP program. “Le savoir est une arme ” suggests that learning, acquiring knowledge or making discoveries, is the prerequisite for winning battles, progressing and advancing. This is what the IPP program encourages us to do through a method that is well-constructed and inspiring for many of the challenges we face as professionals or public policy actors.

The Importance of Entry Points in Long Term Policy Problems

Guest blog written by Jake Lestock

After a little over a year working from home during the pandemic, I quickly realized that returning to ‘normal’ was still far from sight in a professional sense. Virtual work has become the new norm even in public policy settings. Many of the benefits of living in a political hub like Washington, DC with its excess of work events, meet-and-greets, and policy happy hours to network with new people from various public policy fields had abruptly ended. I realized I would need to be more proactive in looking for new opportunities to help advance my own professional development and learn from others about new ways to work on public policy challenges. It was around this time that I came across HKS’s Implementing Public Policy Program and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to fill that void.

Coming into the program I was uncertain of what I could expect as I had little knowledge of the problem driven iterative adaption (PDIA) and how a course designated for public policymakers across the world in the public sector would intersect with my policy problems working for a trade association representing the private sector. On top of this, it was both inspiring and intimidating to hear from my colleagues in the program who are working on such impressive/important public policy issues across the world. Once I was able to catch my bearings, I came to find that there are a set of key concepts and strategies that one can use to help break down any complex public policy challenge. While numerous strategies and concepts have proven helpful during the 6-month course, here are a few that proved particularly useful with my challenge.

Implementing to design better: Clean energy transition for islands

Guest blog by Ana Laca

I work primarily in foreign affairs and regional development, but as a side passion project, I have been actively working on islands’ energy transition. I work for a European institution on legislative procedures, following particular files as they pass through a legislative train until their final adoption.

For my action learning process, I focused on islands’ energy transition as my project for this course. My policy challenge was to tackle the energy dependence of islands since they have an abundance of natural resources that could be used for renewable energy.

This is my most tangible project as I authored or co-authored three successful pilot projects approved for financing from the EU budget. Their purpose was to provide technical assistance for islands and rural areas, to start and guide them through their clean energy transition processes.

My incentive to apply and my first expectation was to learn more about the implementation process. I hoped to gain theoretical and practical knowledge on challenges practitioners face while implementing their policies, to take that with me and apply it in my work – which is legislative work. I wanted to learn about implementing public policy to cover the link I frequently think is missing in the institutions when we design public policies. I feel that we design without really having the perception of the policies’ implementation and outcome. To my (positive) surprise, this class was more practical than theoretical. 

Unsustainable civil service expenditure in Fiji

Guest blog written by Susan Kiran

Expectations

I never imagined I would have the privilege of enrolling in a course from the Harvard University even though I had always harbored the dream of going to Harvard. When the IPP online opportunity was offered, I grabbed it instantaneously and I did not regret any single moment of having to wake up for the group sessions and the Q&A sessions, the weekly assignments and later the fortnightly assignments. It was not easy juggling a full-time job with its many demands, and being a mom to two girls, but it was a worthwhile journey of understanding how to implement policy solutions for complex problems especially in the public sector.

Private sector investment in renewable energy in Mongolia

Guest blog written by Hisaka Kimura

1. My expectation of IPP Online

Asian Development Bank, which I work with, has been strengthening its field offices to respond more effectively to the evolving challenges. Based in Beijing, one of the largest field offices, I lead private sector country work for China and Mongolia, focusing on strategy, business development, structuring, negotiation, implementation, regulatory monitoring, and knowledge-sharing. Following COVID-19, implementation jumped up the agenda among the full spectrum of new challenges. I had to deep-dive more project implementation, and I was thrilled at IPP online opportunity to prepare myself to deliver greater responsiveness to the client needs in these trying times.

Building sustainable and equitable transportation systems in Toronto

Guest blog written by Judy Farvolden

I am passionate about vibrant, equitable, sustainable urban life. My journey began in Paris when, as a 17-year-old living for a year in the City of Light, I wondered at the difference between living in a place where every day-to-day thing I needed was on my own block and my familiar and comfortable North American suburban life. I decided that the difference was the extensive subway system that made it possible for me to get anywhere in the city in 30 minutes, cheaply and safely, even as a teenage girl. That led me to study transportation engineering, and in particular systems design, because I believed the answer was to be found in mathematically optimizing transportation networks.

In the 30 years I’ve lived in Toronto, Canada I’ve watched the city grow from – not much – into North America’s fourth largest and fastest growing metropolitan region, with North America’s worst traffic congestion. About 10 years ago, after three engineering degrees and two decades in network optimization and mathematical finance, I realized that more math was not the “answer” to our transportation problems, and the real problem must be getting it done in policy. I decided to see if I could come back around and contribute to addressing the issues that had so motivated me but that I’d never actually engaged in.

I found that opportunity at the University of Toronto where, earlier this year, our proposed Mobility Lab was designated an Institutional Strategic Initiative and granted three years of seed funding on the promise that it would create a multidisciplinary network of researchers that would drive innovation in urban policy, thereby addressing the global challenge for cities to evolve into more sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban forms and mobility systems. The question was, how?

IPP: A master key to close problem doors and open solution doors for a better world

Guest blog written by Mamadou Mouctar Diallo

The thousands of miles that separate Guinea from the United States and COVID 19 were overcome by technology to enable us to attend this public policy implementation training at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School. When the opening bell rang in June, I knew I was about to embark on a new adventure that would not only change my life, but also end the suffering of so many young people in my country, Guinea.