HKS Ash Center

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2019 State of Digital Transformation
Eaves, David; Clement, Georges
In June of 2019, the Harvard Kennedy School hosted digital service teams from around the world for our annual State of Digital Transformation convening. Over two days, practitioners and academics shared stories of success, discussed challenges, and debated strategy around the opportunities and risks digital technologies present to governments.
The 2021 Digital Services Convening
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2022-03) Eaves, David; Kailasa, Sechi
This year’s convening marked the fourth Digital Services Convening jointly organized by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Public Digital, a disruptive digital trans- formation consultancy. The event has been described by a Cambridge University study as one of six seminal digital government conferences across the globe. The importance of having a space where digital government practitioners can learn, share, and discuss their experiences is only growing, as more and more governments are grappling with transformation efforts and the subsequent issues that such efforts give rise to. Many digital service teams had made significant gains during the pandemic and were awarded more authority, remit, and funding. COVID-19 had also affected governments’ risk appetites across the world, leading to more experimentation and iteration. This has not always led to successful outcomes; in some cases, it might not be appropriate to bypass processes or use a magic wand as a lever. However, this general shift has meant that the entrenched ways of working and the prevailing speed of bureaucracy were challenged. It remains an open question as to whether all the gains made during the pandemic can or should be retained.
Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, City University of New York: Innovations in American Government Award Case Study
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2022-01) Jordan, Philip
Social and economic mobility are at historic lows in America, while entrenched racial inequality cotinues to erect barriers. Research suggests that education is critically important to enable economic mobility, particularly for the lowest-income populations, which are most frequently served by the patch- work of community colleges across the US. While progress in expanding access and enrollment at community colleges over the past 20 years is significant, the rate of degree completion has generally not improved. Systemic barriers, including financial, social, and academic, persist. Three-year completion rates for associate degrees are very low, and there is a significant achievement gap for racial and ethnic minorities. Eliminating barriers to success is not easy and the community colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY) have not been immune to these challenges. However, while many programs attempt to overcome these obstacles, few have demonstrated verifiable success and none more so than CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP).
American Democracy: For Whom Does the Death Knell Toll?
(Harvard University, 2018-08) Rouyer, Muriel
American liberal democracy, once a model throughout the world, is in crisis. The most obvious symptom of this malaise is a paradoxical attitude that pervades an underprivileged section of the population that, against its own interests, supports the ruling plutocrats. How can we explain this?
American Indian Self-Determination Through Self-Governance: The Only Policy That Has Ever Worked
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2022-12-15) Kalt, Joseph
In testimony before the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children on December 15, 2022, Joseph Kalt, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Emeritus testified about the importance that American Indian self-determination has played in helping spark a remarkable period of economic growth across a broad swath of Indian Country. Kalt, who serves as the co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School delivered a detailed set of findings outlining how the expansion of the responsibilities and capacities of tribal governments have resulted in a remarkable period of economic growth over the past thirty years. “The onset of tribal self-determination through self-government in the late 1980s ushered in the only policy that has ever worked to improve economic and social conditions in Indian Country,” said Kalt in his remarks before the commission.
An Analysis of the Council of Arab Economic Unity's Arab Digital Economy Strategy
(Harvard University, 2019-12) Eaves, David
David Eaves, Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS), was engaged by the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) of the League of Arab States to conduct a critical review of the CAEU’s Arab Digital Economy Strategy. Experts from a variety of relevant backgrounds and profiles were selected from across Harvard schools and knowledge centers to participate in the review. Expert feedback was collected between May and July 2019 and compiled by David Eaves, Chair of digitalHKS. Reviewer biographies are available in the final sections of this report. In addition, interviews were held with representatives from a subset of Arab League countries to better understand the readiness of member countries to adopt programs proposed in the Arab Digital Economy Strategy, as well as surface any additional ideas or concerns related to digital and ICT strategic direction. The report is structured to highlight key strengths and weaknesses of the plan that emerged through expert evaluations of the Digital Economy Strategy, including considerations for the CAEU in the areas of technology policy design, economic growth and innovation, human rights, and governance. The report provides the authors of the Digital Economy Strategy guidance for where to focus further attention in subsequent rounds of strategic development.
Antiracist Institutional Change in Healthcare
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2023-03) Muhammad, Khalil; Rodriguez, Angel Cardo
Systemic racism is deeply embedded in U.S. healthcare and economic systems and remains pervasive in social policies and organizational practices that perpetuate oppression of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and produce disparate quality of life outcomes.1 In 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the rising wave of racial justice demonstrations exposed these deeply embed- ded inequities in a new light and moved many organizations, including those in healthcare, to commit to racial equity and embark on a journey to become antiracist. Yet, few studies exist that address the impact of antiracist change in healthcare organizations and, more importantly, evaluate the evidence used to measure the progress of long-term transformation. The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) team conducted a one-year research study to examine antiracist interventions in healthcare and evaluate institutional change initiatives originating before 2020. The team’s scope also included a comprehensive review of over 50 articles and publications to assess the landscape of research literature on health equity. IARA’s qualitative case study analysis included 25 interviews at three separate healthcare organizations—the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Mount Sinai Health System, and the Southern Jamaica Plain Commu- nity Health Center—to evaluate evidence of antiracist change in three distinctly different healthcare settings.
An Approach to Small-Scale Mixed-Methods Experimentation; Transparency for Development, Phase 2
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation) Kosack, Stephen; Creighton, Jessica; Tolmie, Courtney
Faced with a promising but complex intervention, how can further refinement be evaluated? The typical approach is experimentation. Rigorously evaluated experimentation, for several centuries the province mostly of medicine and related research, is today a reality in a variety of fields of social science and practice. Its primary form, the randomized controlled trial (RCT), stems from its medical roots. By design, RCTs are a highly specialized instrument of inquiry: they seek reliability by focusing on a simple, singular causal relationship. Their relevance typically depends on the relevance of this causal relationship and whether it can be accurately represented and measured in one treatment or in a handful of modifications (or “arms”). But the growth of experimentation has brought randomized controlled trials into evaluations of complex interventions in policy areas like health care, education, water, or sanitation, which often occur at the group or society level, at a large scale, and the implementation of which can take myriad forms. For precisely evaluating the benefits of complex programs, RCTs remain the gold standard, frequently used when, for example, a health or education program is under consideration for scaling, is already being done at large scale but is of uncertain benefit, or is almost perfected save for a very specific design question. But often large-scale randomized controlled trials of complex interventions are inappropriate. For an intervention whose benefit is already widely accepted, they may be too expensive; for one whose benefit is uncertain, they may be too large-scale. When, for whatever reason, evaluation of a complex intervention is important but small-scale experimentation is more appropriate than a full randomized controlled trial, how might further refinement of that intervention be most rigorously and reliably evaluated?
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission: One State's Model for Gerrymandering Reform
(2019-09) Mathis, Colleen; Moskowitz, Daniel; Schneer, Benjamin
Independent redistricting in practice has proven remarkably successful along several dimensions. This policy brief outlines key lessons learned from redistricting in Arizona, a state with a five-person independent redistricting commission. Based on a mix of empirical evidence and first-hand experience, we argue that Arizona’s approach to redistricting increases transparency through public engagement and participation in the mapping process; fosters increased competition in districts, which has several effects thought to be beneficial for democratic representation; contributes to higher levels of compactness (i.e., how far the district extends from its center) in newly-drawn districts and promotes partisan fairness in the state as a whole; and benefits from its multi-partisan composition and ought to be insulated from legislative interference.
An Aspirational Path for American Conservatism
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2023-09) Goldsmith, Stephen; Streeter, Ryan
In this working paper, Stephen Goldsmith and Ryan Streeter argue that the Republican Party is philosophically adrift, and it has been for a while. This is not only bad for the Party’s political future but bad for the country and its democracy by depriving voters of meaningful choice in ideas, they argue. The United States’ socioeconomic progress over the past 250 years, however uneven, can be attributed to the interplay of competing ideas on how to achieve progress. Central to the competition is how we understand individual rights and responsibilities, fairness and justice, and the definition of progress itself. When our political parties lose their ability to articulate governing principles and resort instead to defining themselves as the opposite of their enemies, the competition of ideas stagnates—and so does the condition of the country. Goldsmith and Streeter describe an alternative ideological path, aspirational conservatism, which is populist in spirit while rejecting the view that American institutions no longer offer upward mobility for ordinary individuals. It is pro-opportunity for grassroots doers and makers, such as shop owners, small-scale entrepreneurs, and new business owners with aspirations to grow. It is pro-worker in its focus on boosting wages by modernizing training, increasing access to the fastest-growing sectors for skilled work, and removing job barriers that have accrued over time. Additionally, it strikes a healthy balance by upholding the character and values inherent in American institutions and celebrating the diverse viewpoints and lifestyles that share those core values. The authors make the case for conservative governance that is respectful of its citizens, supportive of America’s underlying values, mindful that significant challenges remain, and aware that good politics and good policy require an effective government that helps individuals achieve their aspirations.
Assembling China's Carbon Markets: The Carbons, the Business, and the Marginalized
(Harvard University, 2016-06) Liu, John Chung-En
China is in the process to establish its national cap and trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Besides the top-tier market design (cap-setting, auction rules, etc.), Chinese policymakers need to pay attention to how the new carbon market embed in the larger social contexts.This brief highlights that the Chinese government needs to engage seriously with three less-concerned actors—the carbons, the business, and the marginalized—to realize the full potential of the carbon market.
BenePhilly, City of Philadelphia: Innovations in American Government Award Case Study
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2022-01) Gardner, Elizabeth
The American social safety net exists to meet needs for: unemployment assistance, supplemental money for food, help with health care costs and medical expenses, and more. However, the process of signing up for these services is often time-consuming, confusing, repetitive, and frustrating. To address these challenges, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Benefits Data Trust (BDT) developed BenePhilly, in partnership with the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Departments of Aging and Human Services, to inform people of their eligibility for benefits and assist them in quickly and efficiently enrolling. This paper is a case study of the BenePhilly program and will serve as a guide to replicate its success. By using proven, data-driven methods, the program connects high-need, eligible individuals with up to 19 different benefits, all while reducing overall poverty, providing a better application experience, and increasing trust in local government. BenePhilly is a network of government agencies, nonprofits, and community-based organizations connecting Philadelphians to benefits through targeted, data-driven outreach, referrals from a network of organizations, and in-person and telephone application assistance. The trained staff at both BDT and the nonprofit organizations embedded in the communities they serve help individuals easily find and enroll in benefits. According to BDT’s Chief Strategy Officer Pauline Abernathy, BenePhilly has helped more than 125,000 Philadelphia residents secure over $1.6 billion in benefits as of January 2021.
Best Practices for the Governance of Digital Public Goods
(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, 2022-04) Eaves, David; Bolte, Leonie; Chuquihuara Gozalo, Omayra; Hodigere Raghavendra, Surabhi
“Digital government” is becoming simply “government.” As a result, an ever-increasing number of systems and processes critical to the operation of government—the core infrastructure of a state—are being digitized. This necessity creates enormous opportunities—to enhance, scale, and even standardize government services—and challenges—including a risk that building out this new infrastructure will impose costs that will reinforce global inequities. In this light, it is no surprise that Digital Public Goods (DPGs)—an institutionalized sharing of “open-source software, open data, open AI models, open standards, and open content” between government and other actors—are an increasingly discussed model. This presents an opportunity to share the burden of modernizing the core infrastructure of a state. Inspired by the open-source movement, not only are DPGs non-rivalrous, but sharing them across jurisdictions could lower costs, speed adoption, and create standards to facilitate cooperation and trade. However, the joint management of any resource by sovereign entities—particularly of key infrastructure for the maintenance of public goods and services offered by the state—carries with it significant questions of governance.
Building a Democracy Machine: Toward an Integrated and Empowered Form of Civic Engagement
(Harvard University, 2016-06) Gastil, John
Dozens—and possibly hundreds—of online platforms have been built in the past decade to facilitate specific forms of civic engagement. Unconnected to each other, let alone an integrated system easy for citizens to use, these platforms cannot begin to realize their full potential. The author proposes a massive collaborative project to build an integrated platform called, tongue squarely in cheek, “The Democracy Machine.” The Machine draws on public energy and ideas, mixing those into concrete policy advice, influencing government decision making, and creating a feedback loop that helps officials and citizens track progress together as they continuously turn the policymaking crank. This online system could help to harmonize civic leaders, vocal and marginalized citizens, and government. Democracy’s need for ongoing public consultation would fuel the Machine, which would, in turn, generate the empowered deliberation and public legitimacy that government needs to make tough policy decisions.
Can China Reduce Entrenched Poverty in Remote Ethnic Minority Regions? Lessons from Successful Poverty Alleviation in Tibetan Areas of China during 1998-2016
(Harvard University, 2017-06) Holcombe, Arthur
In this paper Holcombe discusses lessons from successful poverty alleviation in Tibetan areas of China during 1998–2016. In the period between 1978 and 2015, the World Bank estimates that over 700 million people have been raised out of poverty based on a poverty line of $1.50 per capita. It also estimates that about 48 percent of residual poverty in China is located in ethnic minority areas where top-down macroeconomic policies to reduce poverty have been least effective and where strategies to target poor ethnic minority households with additional financial, technical, and other support were not successful in overcoming cultural and other barriers to greater income and food security.
Case Study of 21st-Century Civic Engagement: Code for America and the City of Boulder, CO Partnership
(Harvard University, 2016) Schrimmer, Debs
The City of Boulder and Code for America partnered on “Housing Boulder,” the community engagement process that would inform Boulder’s 2015/2016 Housing Action Plan. While this case study documents our work on a housing-related project, we believe our engagement tactics are relevant to a much broader audience. As a result, this case study also offers a series of recommendations to help governments begin using 21st-century civic engagement strategies that creatively combine in-person and digital channels.
China's Most Generous: Examining Trends in Contemporary Chinese Philanthropy
(Harvard University, 2020-03) Cunningham, Edward; Li, Yunxin
This annual report highlights leading results from the most recent data analysis of the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center’s China Philanthropy Project, capturing over one-quarter of estimated national giving in China. We focus on elite giving by building an annual database of the top 100 individual donors, top 100 donors from corporations and other organizations, and also top university recipients of philanthropic giving.
China's Most Generous: Understanding China's Philanthropic Landscape
(Harvard University, 2016) Cunningham, Edward
The growth of new wealth is one of the most important, far-reaching, and captivating aspects of change in modern China. Traditions of benevolent societies, clan-based giving, temple association support, and voluntarism have long been present in Chinese society, and coexisted alongside state-affiliated social welfare institutions throughout its dynastic, Republican, and Communist periods. Rapid economic expansion over the past 35 years has resulted in a generation of highly concentrated wealth holders who are now grappling with familiar questions of any gilded age: How should I give back to my community? Which causes are the most in need? How can I create meaningful change and have a lasting impact? Chinese philanthropy has also begun to branch into international networks of giving. This project seeks to complement existing studies and sources of data to highlight China’s top 100 donors in 2015, their giving patterns, and perhaps shift the focus away from wealth creation towards generosity in such a rapidly changing social, political, and economic context.
China’s Role in Promoting Transboundary Resource Management in the Greater Mekong Basin (GMB)
(2020-03) McPherson, Malcolm
This paper examines how China can improve transboundary resource management within the Greater Mekong Basin (GMB) through its participation in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC). Such improvement would ensure the efficient management and equitable development of the basin’s natural resources and ecosystems.
Chinese Regional Planning Under Xi Jinping: The Politics and Policy Implications of the Greater Bay Area Initiative
(Harvard University, 2021-04) Wu, Jason
This paper seeks to explain the logic of Chinese regional planning pertaining to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (粤港澳大湾区 , hereafter GBA) and the challenges it entails for spatial development. Three questions guide the inquiry of this research: First, what are the institutional underpinnings of the GBA initiative, and how is the path dependency of regional integration in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) unique compared to that in China’s other coastal macroregions? Second, how does Beijing’s changing strategy toward Hong Kong inform the costs and limits of the GBA initiative, and what are their policy implications for the future development of the PRD? Third, why is regional planning uniquely favored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) central leadership, and what does this tell us about the changing policy parameters that govern center-local relations in China?