Policy & Governance

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 jul 2015

Effective collaboration between private and public entities, by pooling their strengths and resources, can bring better and efficient outcomes of public and civic services for the citizens. An example of such a collaborative approach is the Small Business Portal that was launched in 2014 in San Francisco. For the project, Mayor's Office, Department of Technology, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Office of Small Business and Tomorrow Parter's (a design firm), came together to create a one-stop portal for people that provides information for starting, managing and expanding a company. The design firm utilized human-centered design principles to shape the innovation strategy and build a website that simplified and streamlined the process of starting a business. They took an 'inside out' and 'outside in' approach to understanding the challenges. Extensive research and focus groups were used and this finally led to establishing six main attributes for building a successful interface. According to Gaby Brink, founder and chief designer of Tomorrow Partners, 'They were filters for us to evaluate our design and establish clear guidelines for the various people developing content to ensure that we had a consistent voice.' The six key principles of digital design that represent their approach are - (1) Do the Right Thing: Sets the overall tone of the project. Sets clear expectations and make the process transparent. Assures the caring attitude. (2) Curate Content: Maintains the quality and availability of the right information to the diverse set of audience. (3) Make It Accessible: Responsive design and customization utilized to provide access to website on multiple devices and platforms. (4) Treat Constituents as Consumers: Users are to be treated as consumers, instead of taxpayers or voters, that civic authorities serve. (5) Dole Out Delight: Make the experience of the users pain-free, simple and as enjoyable as possible with a human approach. Shouldn't be a typical government portal. (6) Increase Trust: Make sure that the users feel that the government is working for them. Assuring that interacting with government is not a difficult and doubtful process. Jane Gong, Program Director of the Department of Technology, says 'From a user perspective, most of the time government thinks about putting together a website, it's copying from municipal code and pasting in some clip art. For the first time we did UX/UI research. This needs to be the approach of all government websites. It's time for government to take a step back and say we're here to serve people and make sure that we're accessible and responsive.' Read on...

Fast Company: 6 Principles Of Digital Design For Civic Innovation
Author: Diana Budds

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 10 jul 2015

Over the years economists have used different terms to represent economic downturn or slow down in economic activity like 'Stagnation', 'Contraction', 'Recession', 'Depression' etc. Often these words have different perceptions and may have different impact on public's sentiments. Alfred Kahn, one of President Jimmy Carter's economic advisors and professor at Cornell University, even called 'recession' a 'banana'. In 1930s, Keynesian economist and professor at Harvard University, Alvin Hansen, outlined the term 'Secular Stagnation' in his book 'Full Recovery or Stagnation?'. According to him, 'American economy would never grow rapidly again because all the growth ingredients had played out, including technological innovation and population growth. The only solution, he argued, was constant, large-scale deficit spending by the federal government.' Although the term lost its prevalence during the economic boom of 1940s and 1950s, but recently Professor Lawrence Summers of Harvard University used the term to represent slow pace of the current economic expansion. He himself is an advocate of deficit-financed government spending. Ed Yardeni, President and Chief Investment Strategist of Yardeni Research, explains how the current economic situation is leading to 'Secular Stagnation' and what are the main reasons behind it. He says, 'I think it is mostly attributable to too much fiscal and monetary intervention by our governments. More of these policies will make things worse, not better.' He explains that global economic growth slowed down in June with contraction in emerging market economies. While Japan and Eurozone posted growth and US above global average, BRIC economies were the weakest. Only positive sign is the rise in employment m/m for the overall index. Read on...

Investing.com: Global Economy - More Secular Stagnation Ahead
Author: Ed Yardeni

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 07 jul 2015

Higher education is undergoing shifts due to involvement of technology, pressures of rising costs, newer methods of teaching and learning, and changing perceptions of its quality and value with customers demanding better offerings. In this transformative scenario traditional higher education ecosystem seems unprepared to manage the challenges. European Commission's 'Study of Innovation in Higher Education' observed, 'The blockages for innovation can be found both at the institutional level, such as the lack of institutional support for innovative practices, and at national/regional, for example influenced by different degrees of autonomy of higher education institutions. Regulatory frameworks are also a crucial potential blockage to some innovative practices'. Patrick Harker, President of the University of Delaware, notes that 'One of the biggest limitations of the design of education services is that we assume teaching is the same as learning, and the resistance to change reflects the belief that too much variety in learning approaches would disrupt our highly optimized, highly engineered teaching system.' Rahul Choudaha of World Education Services (WES) explains that the time is ripe for the development of higher education innovation ecosystem with expanded stakeholders. There is pressure on traditional institutions regarding the approaches to learning due to some of the recent innovations like adaptive learning, competency-based learning and MOOCs. According to Mr. Choudaha, 'Innovation is taking place at a much faster rate at the fringes of the education system than at its core. It is getting accelerated by the energy of entrepreneurs, employers, investors and most importantly, new types of learners who are open to experiment. The opportunity for higher education institutions and systems is to embrace outsiders as an important part of the innovation ecosystem.' He suggests that they should work towards building new partnerships and collaborations and include new stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to adopt and accelerate innovations. Read on...

Huffington Post: Building an Ecosystem of Higher Education Innovation
Author: Rahul Choudaha

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 09 jun 2015

Diversity in nonprofit boards and leadership is an essential element of governance. It helps in bringing different perspectives and expertise in the decision-making process and affects the culture and dynamics of the nonprofit boards. Team of researchers led by Professor Garry W. Jenkins of The Ohio State University undertook the study to understand the ways in which the composition of the nonprofit boards has evolved in recent years in US. They examined the biographies of governing directors in 1989 and 2014 of three sets of nonprofit organizations: major private research universities, elite small liberal arts colleges, and prominent New York City cultural and health institutions. According to Prof. Jenkins, 'The most striking finding was the sizable presence and growth on charitable boards of those whose primary professional background and skill set were drawn from the financial services industry. The tally indicates that the percentage of people from finance on the boards virtually doubled at all three types of nonprofits between 1989 and 2014.' Another important takeaway from the study is the presence of high percentage of board leadership positions from the finance sector (Liberal Arts Colleges - 44%, New York City Nonprofits - 44%, Private Universities - 56%). Prof. Jenkins while mentioning the 2012 figures for finance sector contribution to GDP (7.9%) and employment (6% of private non-farm workforce) explains, 'If nonprofit boards were composed of a representative group of people from society, one would expect trustees with a finance background to represent roughly 6 to 8 percent of board members. Instead, according to our research, trustees with professional backgrounds and skills primarily from the financial services industry represent about four times that number.' While answering about this shift in composition of nonprofit boards, Prof. Jenkins says, 'Nonprofit organizations are simply following the money. Driven by the heightened pressure and expectations to raise ever larger sums, nonprofit boards and managers are selecting new board members with an eye toward those with the greatest capacity for making "transformative gifts."' The dominance of financiers in the nonprofit boards also influences the working dynamics of the board with inclusion of specific practices, approaches and priorities (Data-driven decision making; Emphasis on metrics; Prioritizing impact and competition; Managing with 3-5 years horizons and plans; Advocating executive-style leadership; Compensation etc). Although these practices do have benefits for nonprofits, but at the same time too much financial and business-like emphasis in the functioning of the board may have adverse impact on charitable goals and objectives. For the long-term success and effectiveness of the nonprofit boards the need would be to balance the composition of the board with inclusion of individuals that have expertise and skills in different fields alongwith consideration of racial and gender diversity, minority representation etc. Read on...

Stanford Social Innovation Review: The Wall Street Takeover of Nonprofit Boards
Author: Garry W. Jenkins

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 05 jun 2015

'Correspondent Banking' allows a local bank (respondent) to give its customers access to a faraway institution's services, such as currency exchange or sending money to an account abroad. Developing economies, in addition to such services, also get linked to the global banking system. Due to occasional misuse and illegal activity related to such a system some correspondent banks have retreated from certain regions or exited the line of business. According to Mark Carney, Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and Bertrand Badré, Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group, 'Anecdotal reports suggest that charities, and companies involved in remitting funds from overseas, are feeling the pinch. It would be wrong for regulators to ignore such consequences. Doing so would neglect the purpose of financial reforms by the Group of 20 leading nations intended to underpin an open and resilient global financial sector that serves real economies across the world.' Such an action by correspondent banks may even promote hidden illegal channels for financial transactions. The steps are now being taken to further investigate the situation and understand its scale and causes. Authors suggest, 'Authorities must ensure that they provide a clear and consistent interpretation and enforcement of international standards. They should work with the financial industry to pursue technical measures, such as the global Legal Entity Identifier system, which standardises identification, and Know Your Customer platforms that help avoid duplicating due diligence work...The financial abandonment of whole groups of customers - or even countries - is not something that can be ignored by the members of the G20...This is important not only for the countries directly affected, but for all of us as we seek to build a global financial system that can support growth for all.' Read on...

The Financial Times: Keep finance safe but do not shut out the vulnerable
Authors: Mark Carney, Bertrand Badré

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 may 2015

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) website, 'UNDP assists partners to achieve sustainable, people-centered development through an integrated approach that links policy with planning and programming, for promoting results based management, instating quality safeguards, monitoring and evaluating impact and equally learning from failures and successes.' Innovation is an integral part of the development program and requires investments to fulfil the goals. UNDP has defined nine innovation principles - (1) Design with the User (2) Understand the Existing Ecosystem (3) Design for Scale (4) Build for Sustainability (5) Be Data Driven (6) Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation (7) Reuse and Improve (8) Do no harm (9) Be Collaborative. In the context of development, innovation means to embrace complexity and accept diversity of solutions, and it implies that breakthroughs can only be created in partnership. As Millennium Development Goals are set to run their course, the agreement is now being sought on new development priorities. The Innovation Facility's 'Year in Review' report identifies six areas where UNDP will seek to innovate in 2015 and beyond - (1) What exactly, is the problem?: Social challenges are becoming increasingly complex. Focus is on understanding the problem based on available data. Big data analysis and embracing ethnographic methods to better understand diverse perspectives of the people affected by development challenges. (2) The best ideas come from surprising people and places: Looking for models and ideas beyond UNDP. Community solutions and open innovation challenges can encourage startups, NGOs and other partners to propose concrete solutions to problems or an opportunity. (3) Test, measure, improve: Test multiple ideas and approaches and select the one that gives better results. (4) Who wants your idea?: Before making investment, seek a clear business plan to identify probable partners (government, private sector or NGO) to bring the idea to scale. (5) Can we create shared value?: For post-2015 agenda large investment by governments alongwith substantial support from private sector are required. Through building local partnerships, opportunities for shared value to be explored. (6) Forget failure - learn!: Learn by testing ideas and failures to improve performance. Innovation involves calculated risks. To get success learn and improve. Read on...

Devex Impact: 6 ways to innovate for development in 2015 and beyond
Author: Benjamin Kumpf

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 may 2015

Maintaining healthier and longer lives of human beings require efforts at global scale. There is need for cooperation and collaboration among young scientists from around the world. Basic scientific research is one of the critical component that leads to advances and innovations in healthcare. According to Dr. Francis S. Collins, Director of National Institutes of Health (NIH), 'Rigorous, well-designed research is essential not only for the discovery of new ways to detect, treat, and prevent disease, but also for the most efficient development and cost-effective dissemination of such advances to the world's poorest peoples.' He cites examples of research-based technologies that are transforming the healthcare landscape - Point-of-Care diagnostics that include a DNA-amplification test which makes it possible to diagnose tuberculosis and detect drug resistance within 90 minutes; Mobile health technologies are already influencing healthcare in remote and poor regions. For example a quarter-sized, lensless microscope that, when connected to a mobile phone, can beam high-quality images of cells and microbes halfway around the globe to computers that can automatically interpret the images; Bioengineers has designed a 'paper microscope', a low cost use-and-throw device that doesn't need a power supply, to quickly and accurately diagnose malaria and other parasitic diseases in low-resource settings; Disease prevention through next generation of vaccines will only be possible through science-based technology and research; Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are fastest growing cause of deaths and would require creative scientific research to identify and implement the right tools to overcome them in resource poor regions. He further explains, 'Indeed, scientific knowledge does not travel only from developed countries to low-income countries - it is a two-way street from which the entire world stands to benefit. Recently, some of the most innovative and cost-effective advances have arisen from research reflecting the needs and ideas of people in poorer countries.' Read on...

Vox: Why the world needs more scientists
Author: Francis S. Collins

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 may 2015

According to a recent report by US Department of Agriculture, nearly 58000 high-skill agriculture-related jobs, requiring at least a bachelor's degree, are expected to open up between 2015 and 2020. But the report estimates that during the same time period fewer than 36000 qualified grads in related fields of study will enter the workforce. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack comments, 'Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have the satisfaction of working in a field that addresses some of the world's most pressing challenges. These jobs will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050.' 46% of the jobs in agriculture will have management and business orientation. Moreover 27% of the new high-skills jobs will require a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education. As per the data mentioned in the report for 2012-13 school year, female graduates outnumbered men in agriculture and life sciences, forestry and veterinary programs in US. This shows that women are better prepared for employment in agriculture sector which is becoming more high-tech and high-growth. In a 2014 interview with US News, Claudia Ringler, the deputy director of the International Food Policy Research Institute's environment and production technology division, said 'Improved land management strategies are very important - that includes no-till, precision agriculture and integrated soil fertility management. You need a mix of technologies and approaches.' Read on...

US News & World Report: STEM Skills a Necessity for 27 Percent of New Agriculture Jobs
Author: Andrew Soergel

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 21 may 2015

Value of data lies with how it can be utilized for better and improved decision-making and subsequent beneficial actions. Governments collect and hold substantial amount of valuable data on variety of parameters. Open data movement intends to give wider digital access to public data to increase government transparency, efficiency and accountability. A report by McKinsey Global Institute estimates global economic value of open data at US$ 3 trillion. Open Data Research Network, funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre and led by World Wide Web Foundation, is exploring the emerging impacts of open data in developing countries and how it can help address specific challenges. In Chennai (India) researchers found that existing municipal data on the urban poor is unreliable. Lack of data on the number and location of public toilets, hinder public sanitation investments to reach vulnerable communities. Local officials with the help of researchers significantly improved their procurement processes by creating and connecting different open databases. Another case study in India focused on the extractive energy sector, where no publicly available data has hindered regulatory enforcement in the production of coal, oil and natural gas. In Phillippines, researchers looked at how business, media, civil society and other groups benefit from national open data policy introduced in 2011 that required local governments to disclose financial and procurement related data on their websites. This project identified where local governments can be more accountable. Read on...

Phys.org: Strengthening governance through open data
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 13 may 2015

Adam Smith believed in laissez-faire world and his theory of 'invisible hand' of free markets has been a defining element of the capitalist economies. It explains that when markets are left alone, they allocate resources better and efficiently. This evolved into an economic school of thought that unregulated markets are inherently stable. According to Friedrich von Hayek, a free-market economist, the best way for an economy to recover after a slump was for it to be left alone. Deregulation was the main mantra in the global economy throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve (1987-2006), has been instrumental in this shift. Subitha Subramanian, chief economist at Sarasin & Partners, explains the reshaping of the free markets and the rise of the 'visible hand' in global economy in recent years. According to her, 'In 2007, the sharp collapse in asset prices and economic growth prompted a sea change in the attitude towards laissez-faire economics. Only expensive government interventions seemed capable of arresting the economy's plunge.' Works of economist John Meynard Keynes on the Great Depression is finding new relevance to understand volatility of markets. She further explains, 'The biggest distortion facing financial markets today comes from the repression of interest rates by the world's central bankers...Currency markets, too, are being subjected to large distortions owing to central banks introducing activist policies at different paces. In a laissez-faire world, wealth creation is a reward for risk taking and innovation. In a world of financial repression, it is linked to central bank policies pushing up asset prices, which disproportionately benefits the older and wealthier segments of society.' Rising inequality, shifting of tax systems away from economic activity towards wealth and assets, instability of credit-based financial system, shifting of geopolitical landscape away from US leadership and governance, and rise of regionalization and localizaiton, are all contributing to the reshaping of global economy by deliberate interference of policy makers who are seeking growth and stability. Read on...

The Financial Times: The rise of the visible hand in economic policy
Author: Subitha Subramaniam

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