Cambridge, MA – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, announced the Top 25 programs in this year’s Innovations in American Government Awards competition, including the seven finalists who will compete for the $100,000 grand prize on May 17 in Cambridge.

Selected by a team of policy experts, researchers, and practitioners, these initiatives represent the dedicated efforts of city, state, and federal governments, and address such policy issues as economic development,… Read more about Ash Center Announces Finalists and Top 25 Programs for Innovations in American Government Award

Cambridge, MA – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, announced the Top 10 programs for the Roy and Lila Ash Innovations in Public Engagement in Government Award, including the four finalists who will compete for the $100,000 grand prize on May 17 in Cambridge.

Launched in 2014, the Roy and Lila Ash Innovations Award for Public Engagement in Government was initially conceived of through a joint effort of the Innovations in American Government (IAG) Awards and the Ash Center’s Challenges to… Read more about Ash Center Announces Finalists and Top 10 Programs for Public Engagement in Government Award

Cambridge, Mass. – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Brookings Institution Press celebrated the newest publication from Jorrit de Jong, Lecturer in Public Policy and Management and Faculty Director of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, with a recent book talk at the Ash Center.… Read more about New Ash Center Book Untangles Bureaucratic Dysfunction

Cambridge, MA – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government launched today a new platform for government efficiency highlighting operational efficiency in government, which will play a central role in the Center’s highly regarded Innovations in American Government program.

The Operational Excellence Project, supported by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and conducted in… Read more about Harvard’s Ash Center Announces New Platform for Government Efficiency

Cambridge, MA – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School released a white paper by Innovations in American Government Fellow Jane Wiseman highlighting the relatively new and evolving role of  chief data officers in cities and states across the country in working to improve social outcomes through data-driven government.

“Lessons From Leading CDOs: A Framework for Better Civic Analytics… Read more about New Report Charts Roadmap for Cities Working to Improve Social Outcomes Through Data-Driven Government

Cambridge, MA -- Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation today announced the appointment of Miles Rapoport as its inaugural Senior Practice Fellow as part of the Center’s new Senior Practice Fellowship in American Democracy.

Rapoport, a longtime organizer, policy advocate, and elected official, brings to the Ash Center four decades of experience working to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in the United States. Prior to his appointment to the Ash Center, Rapoport was most recently president of the independent grassroots… Read more about Harvard Ash Center Appoints Miles Rapoport, Longtime Democracy Advocate, as Senior Fellow

Cambridge, Mass. – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognized today more than 60 innovative government programs as part of the 2017 Bright Ideas initiative. This year’s cohort includes programs from all levels of government — school districts, county, city, state, federal agencies, and tribal nations, as well as public-private partnerships — that represent the next horizon in government work to improve services, solve problems, and work on behalf of citizens.

“These programs demonstrate that… Read more about Harvard's Ash Center Announces Bright Ideas and Semifinalists for 2017 Innovations in American Government Awards

Stephen Goldsmith, the Daniel Paul Professor and Director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, today released a report highlighting how the private sector should be engaged to help address America’s aging water resource infrastructure.

“… Read more about Ash Center’s Stephen Goldsmith Releases Report Calling on Alternative Financing for US Water Infrastructure Projects

The Initiative on History and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, based at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, invites applications for its 2017-18 postdoctoral and doctoral fellowships.

The… Read more about Application Period Open for Initiative on History and Public Policy Fellowships

Bloomberg Committing $32 Million for New Leadership Program for Mayors and Senior Aides; University to Design Comprehensive Program of Support to Advance Public Sector Management and Innovation 

NEW YORK – Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University are jointly announcing the launch of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, an unparalleled collaboration to advance leadership, management and innovation in cities across America and around the world. Funded by a $32 million gift from Michael R.… Read more about Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University Launch Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative

Aria Kusuma  of Indonesia has been awarded a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program grant to serve as a teaching assistant in Indonesian and take courses at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University for academic year 2016-17.   While in the United States, Kusuma will share their language and culture with U.S. communities to inspire Americans to travel and study overseas, and make U.S. citizens better prepared to engage with businesses, governments, and organizations abroad.… Read more about Aria Kusuma Received A Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Award to the Harvard Kennedy School

Cambridge, MA— The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce its new cohort of Technology and Democracy Fellows—technologists committed to improving the health of American Democracy. This year’s Fellows are especially passionate about building the capacity and new tools needed by civic activists, community organizers, local government officials, and journalists who are so critical to making democracy work.

Under the direction of Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship and… Read more about Ash Center Announces 2016-17 Technology and Democracy Fellows

New study from the SWIFT Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School looks at the impact of mobile banking on levels of financial inclusion in Africa through the lens of Kenya.

Johannesburg, 8 June 2016 – The SWIFT Institute, in partnership with the Harvard Kennedy School, today released new research on the impact of mobile banking on financial inclusion. The report, ‘A Quantum Leap Over High… Read more about SWIFT Institute Research Demonstrates That Mobile Banking Increases Financial Inclusion

Cambridge, MA --  Tiana Epps-Johnson, a Technology and Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, a leading research center at the Harvard Kennedy School, today launched the Election Toolkit for local officials administering elections across the United States.

The Election Toolkit, developed in part during Epps-Johnson's tenure as a fellow at the Ash Center and with the financial support of the John S. and James L. Knight… Read more about Ash Democracy and Technology Fellow Tiana Epps-Johnson Launches Digital Toolkit for Election Officials

Hanoi – Yesterday President Obama formally announced that Fulbright University Vietnam will begin operation in the fall of 2016. In remarks at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, President Obama said “now that the government of Vietnam has granted the necessary license, we can say that Fulbright University Vietnam -- this country’s first nonprofit, independent university -- can move forward and open its doors and welcome its first class this fall.” 

The announcement from President Obama comes on the heels of the Vietnam government’s formal decision to award FUV… Read more about President Obama formally announces opening of Fulbright University Vietnam

Cambridge MA -- Solomon Kahn, a Technology and Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School today launched Explore Campaign Finance, a new free and publicly accessible web platform housing decades worth of campaign finance data.

Explore Campaign Finance is an open source tool, which compiles the last 25 years of campaign finance data and puts it online in a new user friendly format. Kahn’s tool, developed in part during his Ash fellowship, allows the public to… Read more about Ash Fellow Launches New Campaign Finance Data Tool

Cambridge, MA -- Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, a leading research center at the Harvard Kennedy School announced it has signed an agreement with China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to bring up to two senior level Ministry officials to Cambridge as visiting scholars at the Center starting in the fall of 2016.

The Ministry will nominate two senior officials at the Director or Director-General level to conduct research relating to China’s energy and environmental systems, as well as examining broader innovation systems around the world. "… Read more about Ash Center announces agreement with China's Ministry of Science and Technology

Cambridge, MA -- The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, a leading research center at the Harvard Kennedy School today announced that it has been awarded a grant by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to establish and support a national peer network of urban Chief Data Officers (CDOs).

The Civic Analytics Network will collaborate on shared projects that advance the use of data visualization and predictive analytics in solving important urban problems related to economic opportunity, poverty reduction, and addressing the root causes of social problems. The Arnold… Read more about Harvard Ash Center Launches Nationwide Network of Urban Chief Data Officers

Cambridge, MA— The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce the establishment of the Technology and Democracy Fellowship.  Designed to build connections between the Kennedy School and the worlds of technology, policy, and government, the fellowship supports practitioners and students in developing their skills and understanding of major concepts related to technology and governance.

Technology and Democracy Fellows will design and lead a series of hands-on workshops for Harvard Kennedy School students on a broad range… Read more about Ash Center Establishes Technology and Democracy Fellowship

Cambridge, MA -- The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, a leading research center at the Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of longtime Latin America policy expert Peter Quilter as senior non-residential fellow. 

Quilter, who most recently served as the secretary for administration and finance at the Organization of American States (OAS) joins the Ash Center where he will focus on issues surrounding both the growth and retrenchment of democracy in the Western Hemisphere. “Peter’s perspective as a thought leader on Latin America policy will do… Read more about Peter Quilter, Senior Latin America Policy Expert Joins Harvard Ash Center