written by Salimah Samji. Anyone who has ever worked in India knows how hard it is to implement programs. The sheer size of the country makes it impossible for anyone but the government, who is the only one with infrastructure and reach, to provide public services to its citizens. Currently, every district administers typically 100+…Continue Reading PMRDF: an Innovative State Capability Experiment in India
BSC Video 12: Maintaining your Authorizing Environment
Maintaining your support through a change process is often a challenging task which requires time and effort. In this video, Matt Andrews, explains how one does not only have to maintain the initial authorization, but also expand the number of actors who provide authorization, thus increasing the legitimacy of the project or reform. You can…Continue Reading BSC Video 12: Maintaining your Authorizing Environment
BSC Video 11: Learn Iterate Adapt
Organizations have multiple objectives. In public organizations, the search for legitimacy often clashes with the search for functionality. This is mainly because rewards are geared around form and not function. In this video, Matt Andrews, talks about how you can get both legitimacy and functionality at the same time. You can watch the video below…Continue Reading BSC Video 11: Learn Iterate Adapt
PDIA and Obamacare
written by Matt Andrews Governments often face unenviable tasks that border on the impossible, given particularly thorny political and administrative complexities. Commentators typically deride governments when they fail in their initial attempts to address such tasks. They pen new laws that are less than many had hoped for, and call public agencies inefficient (or worse)…Continue Reading PDIA and Obamacare
BSC Video 9: Constructing Problems to Drive Change
Problems are key to driving change. In this video, Matt Andrews, uses two examples about HIV in Pakistan, to illustrate how constructing local problems using data can be used to mobilize stakeholders to search for solutions that ultimately drive change. You can watch the video below or on YouTube. If you are interested in learning…Continue Reading BSC Video 9: Constructing Problems to Drive Change
BSC Video 5: Typology of Tasks by Capability Intensity needed for Implementation
It is important when thinking about building state capability, to first ask, what is the “type of problem” you are trying to solve? In this video, Lant Pritchett, provides a framework to determine the capability required for implementing development projects. He begins by asking whether your task is transaction intensive, followed by whether it is…Continue Reading BSC Video 5: Typology of Tasks by Capability Intensity needed for Implementation
New Year, New Logo
Happy New Year! Building State Capability is the Center for International Development at Harvard University’s newest program. Since the inception, the team has published 13 UNU-WIDER working papers and made over 50 presentations around the globe. As we head into the second year, we are pleased to share our new logo with you – see…Continue Reading New Year, New Logo
Bridging the Capacity Gap in Burundi
written by Salimah Samji The knee jerk reaction to building capacity is to organize more training workshops. These are taught by experts and held in fancy locations, with free-flowing food and refreshments. The attendees often do not include the front line workers who are ultimately responsible for implementation. In some cases attendees do learn new…Continue Reading Bridging the Capacity Gap in Burundi
PDIA in Cameroon
written by Salimah Samji In a recent paper entitled, Behavioral Economics and Public Sector Reform: An Accidental Experiment and Lessons from Cameroon, Gael Raballand and Anand Rajaram compare two World Bank projects in Cameroon: a $15 million, 5 year, Transparency and Accountability Capacity Development Project (TACD), and a $300,000, low-profile technical assistance project to improve…Continue Reading PDIA in Cameroon