2013

  • 2013 Oct 06

    Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way

    2:00pm

    Location: 

    American Repertory Theater, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA

    Bryan CranstonFeaturing Bryan Cranston as Lyndon Baines Johnson
    Followed by a discussion on the play, LBJ, and civil rights with Alex Keyssar

    Listen to an Audio Recording of the Event



    Read the Challenges to Democracy blog post about this event.

    About the Speaker
    Alex Keyssar is the Stirling Professor of History and Social Policy at the Kennedy School. His books include The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000 and 2009), which was named the best book in U.S. history by the American Historical Association and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history. Keyssar is also the author of an award-winning history of unemployment in the United States. In addition to his scholarly publications, he writes frequently for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times and Folha de Sao Paulo.... Read more about Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way

  • 2013 Oct 03

    Challenges to Democracy Launch Event: Inequality vs. Democracy with WBUR and NPR’s On Point

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK St., Cambridge, MA

    Tom AshbrookModerated by Tom Ashbrook, host of On Point.

    Featuring

    Chrystia Freeland
    Liberal Party Candidate for Canadian Parliament, Journalist and Author of Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else

    Martin Gilens
    Professor of Politics, Princeton University, Author, Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America

    Alex Keyssar
    Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, HKS Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy

    Watch a Video Recording of the Event

    Listen to an Audio Recording of the Event

    Read the Challenges to Democracy blog post about this event.

    View Photos from the Event:

    About the Event
    The subject of growing wealth and income gaps between the wealthiest and the rest is particularly salient to the health of our democracy – testing our sense of fairness, social mobility and equal opportunity. Economic inequality also threatens to undermine the principle of political equality upon which our country is founded.

    This discussion, moderated by Mr. Ashbrook and to be broadcast on WBUR and NPR’s On Point soon after, will examine economic inequality and its relationship with political inequality – in particular how and why life looks so different for the richest and the poorest Americans. How do the very poor view their opportunities to get ahead?... Read more about Challenges to Democracy Launch Event: Inequality vs. Democracy with WBUR and NPR’s On Point

  • 2013 Oct 01

    Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex Is Destroying America

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Dollarocracy coverRobert McChesney, University of Illinois and John Nichols, The Nation

    About the Seminar
    In this seminar, two leading media experts – journalist John Nichols and academic Robert McChesney – examine the forces that have sapped elections of their meaning and stolen America’s democratic potential: the pay-to-play billionaires and the politicians who do their bidding, the corporations that have been freed to buy elections and the activist judges who advance their agenda, and the media conglomerates that blow off journalism while raking in billions airing intellectually and morally reprehensible political advertising. The determination of media companies to cash in on that mockery, especially by selling ad time at a premium to the campaigns – when they should instead be exposing and opposing it – completes a vicious circle.

    Nichols and McChesney argue that what has emerged is a “money-and-media election complex.” This complex is built on a set of commercial and institutional relationships connecting wealthy donors, corporations, lobbyists, politicians, coin-operated “think tanks,” beltway pundits, and now super-PACS.... Read more about Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex Is Destroying America

  • 2013 Sep 15

    General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar

    Sun Sep 15 (All day) to Wed Sep 18 (All day)

    The United States faces a continuing necessity to be prepared for and capable of responding to a major disaster – be it a massive seismic event, a major hurricane, a pandemic outbreak, or a terrorist event. Much of the thinking about how to organize a response to such an event imagines a highly centralized operation. However, much of our recent history with major events suggests an alternative approach to crisis response.

    Instead of hierarchical command from a single location, we need to prepare for a response involving operations by many different organizations and agencies, including federal, state, and local government, nonprofit organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and private sector organizations like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, as well as community groups. Such a response is inherently decentralized. It will involve engagement without control, and coordination instead of command. The major determinant of the effectiveness of such a response will be the ability of the decentralized organizations to coordinate with one another and be effective in carrying out their own actions.

    The General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar is designed by Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Crisis Leadership specifically for the National Guard and the United States Coast Guard.... Read more about General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar

  • 2013 Sep 12

    Resilience in the Face of Catastrophe: Rikuzentakata’s Ongoing Recovery from Japan’s 3.11 Triple Disaster

    4:00pm

    Location: 

    Weil Town Hall, Belfer Building (B-L-1), Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA

    Join us for a presentation by Kiyoshi Murakami, Goodwill Ambassador of Rikuzentakata, Japan, who will speak about the progress his town has made in recovering from the March 11, 2011 tsunami, which caused extensive devastation along the country’s Tohoku coast. Rikuzentakata was particularly hard-hit, and in this talk, Mr. Murakami will explore the extensive effort the community has made to rebuild – and discuss where recovery stands today.... Read more about Resilience in the Face of Catastrophe: Rikuzentakata’s Ongoing Recovery from Japan’s 3.11 Triple Disaster

  • 2013 Sep 03

    2013 Ash Center Open House

    4:00pm to 6:00pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Amelia MannThe Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation welcomes you to the 2013 Open House. Learn about the Ash Center’s resources for students, research, course offerings, and programs fostering excellence in democratic governance and innovation. Our faculty will be available to meet and answer questions during the event.... Read more about 2013 Ash Center Open House

  • 2013 Jun 23

    Using Evidence to Improve Social Program Effectiveness

    Sun Jun 23 (All day) to Fri Jun 28 (All day)

    Location: 

    Harvard Kennedy School of Government

    Student in classroomThis one-week executive program led by Faculty Co-Chairs Julie Boatright Wilson and Dan Levy helps managers of social programs discover, assess, and present different types of evidence that will increase the effectiveness of the social programs their organization undertakes, and support efforts to obtain and/or sustain funding. 

    Specifically, the program will explore:

        • What are the big questions managers need to ask about the effectiveness of programs in their organization?
        • How should managers decide what evidence needs to be gathered?
        • What kinds of evaluations and other forms of assessment need to be conducted?
        • Since evaluations can be expensive and time consuming, how should managers make decisions about which programs to evaluate?
        • What are the key methods to evaluate the impact of a program and when should each of them be used? 
        • What role do randomized experiments play in evaluating the impact of a program?
        • What data should be collected and when?
        • Does it all have to be numbers? How can managers make sense of mixed method evaluations and integrate quantitative and qualitative information to design and implement better programs? 
        • Answering these questions will help managers lead their organizations to design and implement more effective social programs.

    The program is designed for participants who have varying levels of experience with analyzing data. The emphasis is on understanding a range of possible strategies that will allow managers to demonstrate that their programs achieve results and make good use of resources.

  • 2013 Jun 19

    Legal and Financial Innovation in Land Conservation: The Next Chapter

    11:00am

    Location: 

    Online Webinar

    About the Webinar
    With every passing year, new innovations in conservation finance and the legal defense of conservation easements spring to life. On March 1, 2013, The Land Trust Alliance (LTA) celebrated a historic pivot point marked by the opening of the Terrafirma Risk Retention Group LLC. Terrafirma includes among its insured some 420 land trusts in 46 states and the District of Columbia that are now working together to defend conservation of 20,568 properties covering 6,354,434 acres. As described by the LTA, Terrafirma is a charitable risk pool owned by participating land trusts that insures its members against the legal costs of defending conservation. Leslie Ratley-Beach, who has represented Terrafirma at a number of recent forums, will join us to describe the basic functions and operational strategies of this new and important entity.

    Similarly, in June of 2013, we will celebrate the emergence of a new online presence for conservation finance at www.conservationfinancenetwork.org. Leigh Whelpton of Island Press will join us to discuss the relaunch of the Conservation Finance Network website, as well as her role in promoting conservation finance innovation in North America and around the globe.

    Our moderator will be James Levitt, Director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest, Harvard University, and a Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts.... Read more about Legal and Financial Innovation in Land Conservation: The Next Chapter

  • 2013 Jun 03

    Electoral Integrity Project 2013 Annual Workshop

    Mon - Tue, Jun 3 to Jun 4, 9:00am - 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, CGIS-South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA

    About the Project
    The second annual Workshop of Electoral Integrity will focus upon “Concepts and Indices of Electoral Integrity.”

    Countries around the world share challenges in meeting international standards of electoral integrity. The most overt malpractices used by rulers include imprisoning dissidents, harassing adversaries, coercing voters, vote-rigging counts, and finally, if losing, blatantly disregarding the people’s choice. Serious violations of human rights, undermining electoral credibility, are widely condemned by domestic observers and the international community. Recent protests about integrity have been mobilized in countries as diverse as Russia, Mexico, and Egypt.... Read more about Electoral Integrity Project 2013 Annual Workshop

  • 2013 Jun 03

    Electoral Integrity Project 2013 Annual Workshop

    Mon - Tue, Jun 3 to Jun 4, 9:00am - 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, CGIS-South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

    About the Project
    The second annual Workshop of Electoral Integrity will focus upon “Concepts and Indices of Electoral Integrity.”

    Countries around the world share challenges in meeting international standards of electoral integrity. The most overt malpractices used by rulers include imprisoning dissidents, harassing adversaries, coercing voters, vote-rigging counts, and finally, if losing, blatantly disregarding the people’s choice. Serious violations of human rights, undermining electoral credibility, are widely condemned by domestic observers and the international community. Recent protests about integrity have been mobilized in countries as diverse as Russia, Mexico, and Egypt.

    In many countries, however, minor irregularities are more common, exemplified by inaccurate voter registers, maladministration of polling, pro-government media, lack of security in absentee ballots, vote miscounts, and gerrymandering. Problems in America are exemplified by the notorious hanging chads in Florida in 2000 and accusations of voter fraud and voter suppression during the Obama-Romney contest.

    In response to these developments, recent years have seen growing attempts to analyze flaws in electoral integrity using systematic evidence, including the development of several cross-national data-sets, the use of techniques of forensic analysis, and new instruments monitoring mass and elite perceptions of malpractices.

    As it is timely to take stock of these developments, this workshop seeks to bring together international experts among scholars and practitioners to discuss cutting edge research on electoral integrity.... Read more about Electoral Integrity Project 2013 Annual Workshop

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