The 2014 Asia Public Policy Forum “Urban Transport and Land Use in Rapidly Growing Asian Cities” will convene central and local government leaders, city planners and officials from transportation agencies, private sector managers, and scholars from Southeast and East Asia to discuss trends in urban transportation and land use and their implications for congestion and sustainability. Potential policy responses will be explored, including coordinated transportation and land use planning, promotion of public and non-motorized transportation, congestion pricing, and managed urban growth. The...
On October 7, 2014, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Steve Goldsmith and Harvard Law School Visiting Professor Susan Crawford were joined by First Cabinet-level CIO for the City of Boston, Bill Oates, to discuss Goldsmith and Crawford’s new book, The Responsive City, at the Ash Center. A series of case studies highlighting the work of municipal leaders in several cities, the book serves as a guide for how data and strong leadership can be used to improve city governments and generate active, valuable civic engagement.... Read more about Steve Goldsmith and Susan Crawford Discuss The Responsive City
Interview by Maisie O’Brien, Communications Coordinator
Marshall Ganz is a senior lecturer in public policy who joined the Ash Center in June 2014. He teaches, researches, and writes on leadership, organization, strategy, and narrative in social movements, civic associations, and politics. His newest book, Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement was published in 2009, earning the Michael J. Harrington Book Award of the American Political Science Association.
Earlier this June, the Ash Center’s Indonesia program played host to former President of Indonesia Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie for an event entitled “Democracy and Pluralism: What Can We Learn From Indonesia.” Having held office for two years in the late 1990s, Habibie oversaw Indonesia’s post-Suharto transition from an authoritarian state to an emerging democracy, which HKS Professor and Ash faculty affiliate Tarek Masoud called “one of the world’s most improbable democracies.”
Ash Center faculty members Tony Saich, Tarek Masoud, and Archon Fung recently discussed the rise of social media and its impact on government and social movements with students, alumni, and supporters of Harvard Kennedy School. This post was originally published on the Harvard Kennedy School website.
By Maisie O'Brien, Communications Coordinator
From tweeting a positive comment about a presidential candidate to liking the Facebook page of a local nonprofit, citizens are constantly using social media in civic-minded ways. But can this new form of communication substantively improve government or transform it entirely?... Read more about A Revolution in Politics? Social Media in China, Egypt, and the U.S.
“Nama saya Cengiz. Saya dari Turkey,” repeats Cengiz Cemaloglu, a Harvard College first year and student in the free not-for-credit Bahasa Indonesian language class offered at the Ash Center through the 2014-2015 academic year.... Read more about Free Indonesian Language Classes Offered at the Ash Center
Ash Scholars Assess Emergency Response in Boston and Japan
By Jessica Engelman – Communiqué: Winter 2013, Volume 13
Researchers from the Ash Center’s Program on Crisis Leadership (PCL) are intensively probing two recent, major — but quite different — emergency events to develop lessons about preparedness, crisis operations, and disaster recovery.
The Boston Marathon Bombing
This past April, the running of Boston’s iconic marathon was tragically interrupted by two bomb blasts at the finish line that left three people dead at the scene and dozens grievously injured.... Read more about Communiqué: Crisis Leadership in Action
By Jessica Engelman – Communiqué: Winter 2013, Volume 13
Formerly an authoritarian state, Indonesia has made impressive gains since President Suharto’s resignation in 1998 as the world’s first majority Muslim, multiparty democracy. The country’s successes and challenges as a new democracy were the subject of the Ash Center’s 2010 report “From Reformasi to Institutional Transformation: A Strategic Assessment of Indonesia’s Prospects for Growth, Equity, and Democratic Governance.” A new report, also from the Center’s HKS Indonesia Program, builds on the findings of the first... Read more about Communiqué: Doubling Shared Prosperity in Indonesia
Director Saich and Dean Ellwood Visit An Emerging Nation
By Jessica Engelman – Communiqué: Winter 2013, Volume 13
In early October, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Ellwood joined a team from the Ash Center led by Director Saich on a trip to Myanmar to seek the views of policymakers and other stakeholders on how the School can continue to support Myanmar’s development and transition through research, training, and dialogue. The Dean, Saich, and the Center’s team – comprised of Senior Advisor Thomas Vallely, Vietnam Program Director Ben Wilkinson, and Executive Director Julian Chang – met with a number of prominent political figures... Read more about Communiqué: Strengthening Prospects for Democracy in Myanmar
Cambridge, Mass. – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Brookings Institution Press are pleased to announce the publication of Robert Behn’s latest book:
Cambridge, Mass. – The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and the OpenGov Foundation today kicked off registration for its January 30-Feb 1, 2015 “not-just-for-technologists” hackathon – #Hack4Congress.