2010

Ash Center: Trouble in Paradise – Hawaii’s Affordable Housing Conundrum

Ash Center: Trouble in Paradise – Hawaii’s Affordable Housing Conundrum

December 7, 2010

HKS Student Helps Honolulu Secure Grant in Transit-Oriented Development
By Kate Hoagland

With its picturesque island beaches, festive and colorful luaus, and a summery climate year round, many view Hawaii as the ultimate tropical paradise. “There is no question that Hawaii is a beautiful place,” said Jim Secreto, HKS MPP 2011. “But the experience that tourists have while visiting Hawaii masks the very real, day-to-day struggles of the people that live there.”

Secreto explored issues of affordable housing and transit-oriented development for the city of Honolulu this past summer as an Ash Center Summer Fellow in Innovation.... Read more about Ash Center: Trouble in Paradise – Hawaii’s Affordable Housing Conundrum

Ash Center: Prospects for the Professions in China

Ash Center: Prospects for the Professions in China

November 16, 2010

By Jessica Engelman

A new book from Ash Center Lecturer in Ethics Kenneth Winston examines Prospects for the Professions in China. Co-edited with William P. Alford and William C. Kirby, the book is the first attempt at a comprehensive view of the subject. The book is the result of a conference convened at Harvard Law School in 2005, and includes papers on the fields of medicine, law, architecture, engineering, journalism, accounting, business management, the clergy, and public service written by experts on China and professional ethics.... Read more about Ash Center: Prospects for the Professions in China

Ash Center: Shanghai Conference on Deliberative Politics

Ash Center: Shanghai Conference on Deliberative Politics

October 8, 2010

By Jessica Engelman

On a Saturday in May 2010, scholars from around the world gathered in Shanghai to discuss a new strand of political theory called deliberative politics, also known as deliberative democracy. The conference on “The Cultural Sources of Deliberative Politics in East Asia” was held at Fudan University where it was organized by Melissa Williams of the University of Toronto and was sponsored by the Shibusawa Foundation of Japan. Presenters included Ash Center Professor Archon Fung and Wiener Center Professor Jane Mansbridge... Read more about Ash Center: Shanghai Conference on Deliberative Politics

What Did You Do This Summer?

What Did You Do This Summer?

September 13, 2010

This summer, Ash Center Fellows in Innovation rolled up their sleeves and got to work, supporting unique education, government, and service initiatives in cities around the country.

Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant
Alejandra Vallejos Morales, HKS MPA 2011, explored data transparency in government this summer, offering research support to Washington, D.C.’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer.... Read more about What Did You Do This Summer?

Communiqué: One Million More Children Live in Poverty Since 2000

Communiqué: One Million More Children Live in Poverty Since 2000

November 5, 2010

Improving Child Well-Being Forum Convenes City Policymakers to Find Solutions

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2010, Volume 7

One in six children is now raised in poverty – a rate that the Annie E. Casey Foundation reports has increased by over one million since 2000, an 18 percent rise. Experts estimate that over 40 percent of children in the United States are now born into single-parent households. Before the age of eight, those children will witness their mothers in at least three separate relationships and their fathers in five.

“America’s families are really in crisis now,” said Julie Wilson, director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, speaking to city policymakers and welfare agents... Read more about Communiqué: One Million More Children Live in Poverty Since 2000

Communiqué: An Island Nation with Poor Ports

Communiqué: An Island Nation with Poor Ports

November 4, 2010

New Ash Center Report Assesses Indonesia's Prospects for Success

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué Fall 2010, Volume 7

Over the last ten years, Indonesia has transformed from an authoritarian state into the world’s first majority-Muslim, multi-party democracy. The country’s successes and challenges as a new democracy are the subject of the Ash Center’s Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia report, “From Reformasi to Institutional Transformation: A Strategic Assessment of Indonesia’s Prospects for Growth, Equity, and Democratic Governance.”

Peter Sondakh, founding donor of the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, commissioned the report... Read more about Communiqué: An Island Nation with Poor Ports

Communiqué: Senior Mayoral Policy Advisors Convene from America’s Largest Cities

Communiqué: Senior Mayoral Policy Advisors Convene from America’s Largest Cities

November 3, 2010

Share Ideas for Driving Urban Innovation and Networked Governance

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2010, Volume 7

On August 5-7, 2010, the Ash Center, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Professor Anthony Williams hosted the fourth meeting of the Urban Policy Advisory Group (UPAG). Senior mayoral advisors representing 27 of the group’s member cities participated in a thoughtful and candid dialogue centered around the transformative capabilities of networked governance in three distinct areas: leveraging higher education institutions in community development; the role of philanthropy in economic development; and labor partnerships for increased public sector productivity.... Read more about Communiqué: Senior Mayoral Policy Advisors Convene from America’s Largest Cities

Communiqué: China Goes Global

Communiqué: China Goes Global

November 2, 2010

Explores Social, Political, and Economic Implications of China's Globalization

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2010, Volume 7

Held October 6-8, 2010, the fourth annual China Goes Global conference brought together academics, business leaders, and public officials from around the world as part of the Center’s efforts to advance analytical research and the overall state of knowledge about China’s growing role in the world economy. During this year’s conference, over 100 academics convened to present original research on a host of issues including:

    • Social, political, and economic influences of China’s globalization
    • The effects of China’s globalization on the business environment of firms in developed and emerging countries... Read more about Communiqué: China Goes Global
Communiqué: Typhoons and Earthquakes: Key Lessons for Case Program

Communiqué: Typhoons and Earthquakes: Key Lessons for Case Program

May 28, 2010

China Case Study Program Explores Emergency Management and Economic Development in China

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Spring 2010, Volume 6

The Ash Center recently launched the China Case Study Program to address pertinent policy areas in China and Taiwan. Taught both at Harvard Kennedy School and at the Center’s partner academic institutions in China, cases are designed to educate scholars, policymakers, and the next generation of public sector leaders on best practices in emergency management, environmental regulation, health care system reform, and infrastructure development.

“These cases will be extremely valuable for courses on public policy in China... Read more about Communiqué: Typhoons and Earthquakes: Key Lessons for Case Program

Communiqué: Professor Archon Fung Launches Participedia

Communiqué: Professor Archon Fung Launches Participedia

May 28, 2010

New Website Explores Participatory Governance

By Jessica Engelman – Communiqué: Spring 2010, Volume 6

As the Ash Center’s Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, Archon Fung spends his time thinking about the impacts of civic participation, public deliberation, and transparency upon public and private governance. Now, he is turning research into action by actively promoting citizen participation with his new website, Participedia. Developed with Mark Warren of the University of British Columbia, Participedia’s goal is nothing less than strengthening democracy with its user-generated library of examples and methods of participatory governance, public deliberation, and collaborative public action.... Read more about Communiqué: Professor Archon Fung Launches Participedia

Communiqué: Vietnam: Avoiding the ‘Middle Income Trap’

Communiqué: Vietnam: Avoiding the ‘Middle Income Trap’

May 28, 2010

Center’s Vietnam Program Explores Country’s Socioeconomic Factors to Ensure Success

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Spring 2010, Volume 6

At a Vietnamese floating market in Can Tho, farmers and fishermen stand in wooden boats stacked high with bright green watermelons, light yellow bananas, 25 pound-bags of white rice, and fresh shrimp. It is five a.m., and vendors shout out deals above the noises of rumbling diesel engines and clucking chickens. Small children play along the banks of the Mekong River Delta, while an older man walks the family water buffalo.... Read more about Communiqué: Vietnam: Avoiding the ‘Middle Income Trap’

Communiqué, Volume 5: An Investigation of Indonesia’s Improbable Democracy

Communiqué, Volume 5: An Investigation of Indonesia’s Improbable Democracy

January 15, 2010

Center Faculty Explores Democratic Practices in Former Authoritarian Regime

“Indonesia is one of the world’s most improbable democracies,” said Tarek Masoud, assistant professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and faculty affiliate of the Ash Institute. “It’s poor, ethnically diverse, geographically dispersed, and majority Muslim. Each one of these things on its own is thought to make democracy less likely; the fact that you have them all in a single country that has nevertheless managed to get and keep democracy is nothing short of remarkable.”... Read more about Communiqué, Volume 5: An Investigation of Indonesia’s Improbable Democracy

Communiqué, Volume 5: Chinese Perceptions of Government Revealed

January 15, 2010

Since 2002, Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center, has conducted detailed surveys of Chinese satisfaction with different levels of government. As he details below, his research reveals stark differences in government approval ratings based on government level as well as respondents’ region and income level.

Annual surveyAn annual survey of some 4,000 citizens drawn from across China reveals that general satisfaction with government has improved... Read more about Communiqué, Volume 5: Chinese Perceptions of Government Revealed

China Goes Global Conference Convenes at Harvard

China Goes Global Conference Convenes at Harvard

October 4, 2010

Cambridge, Mass. – The fourth annual China Goes Global conference will be held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University October 6-8, 2010. Hosted by the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, this event will convene scholars, business executives, and students from around the world to present original research on the political, economic, cultural, and social dimensions of the China’s globalization.... Read more about China Goes Global Conference Convenes at Harvard

Ash Center Unveils New Website

Ash Center Unveils New Website

April 6, 2010

Cambridge, Mass. – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University today announced the launch of its new website. The enhanced site now reflects the integration and program development that the Center has accomplished over the past two years.... Read more about Ash Center Unveils New Website

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