BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Growth Lab - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Growth Lab REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20150308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20151101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20160313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20161106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20170312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20171105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20180311T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20181104T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20190310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20191103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20200308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20201101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20210314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20211107T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20220313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20221106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20230312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20231105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251202T101500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251202T113000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20251128T232637Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251128T233402Z UID:17292-1764670500-1764675000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Geographic and Sectoral Impact of Productivity DESCRIPTION:Academic Research Seminars Online Speaker Series\n\n\nFederico Huneeus will discuss the geographic and sectoral impact of productivity changes and the local and aggregate impact of development policies\, the growth of the lithium industry\, and the closure of a major steel company. \n\n\n\nSpeaker: Federico Huneeus\, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Duke University\, Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Chile \n\n\n\nPaper Abstract: We study the geographic and sectoral impact of productivity changes in a model that includes production linkages throughout the supply chain\, labor migration\, international and domestic trade\, congestion of fixed factors\, firm entry and exit\, and knowledge diffusion. To quantify these impacts\, we construct\, for the first time for Chile\, input-output matrices disaggregated by geography and sector\, consistent with national accounts\, using administrative data and surveys. We use the model to study the local and aggregate impact of development policies\, the growth of the lithium industry\, and the closure of a major steel company. In addition to aggregate impacts\, we identify winners and losers from these events. \n\n\n\nThis event is online only. Please register in advance. The Zoom session is open to the public. \n\n\n\nSpeaker Bio: Federico Huneeus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Duke University. He is also a Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Chile. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale University Cowles Foundation. He has a PhD in economics from Princeton University. He is a trade economist who investigates issues related to firm behavior\, from a micro and macro perspective\, with a special focus on the study of production networks of firms\, how they are formed\, how they affect productivity growth and how they affect the impact of development policies. He also has a line of research on understanding equity-efficiency trade-offs. \n\n\n\nThe Growth Lab’s Research Seminar series is a weekly seminar that brings together researchers from across the academic spectrum who share an interest in growth and development. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n Share URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/17292/ CATEGORIES:Academic Research Seminars,Online,Speaker Series ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_0138.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231129T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231129T121500 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20231124T214700Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250908T230107Z UID:14998-1701255600-1701260100@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Research Seminar: Anticipating Climate Change Across the United States\, with E. Rossi-Hansberg DESCRIPTION:The Growth Lab’s Research Seminar series is a weekly seminar that brings together researchers from across the academic spectrum who share an interest in growth and development. Speaker: Adrien Bilal – Harvard University Register: https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ORfldxS0QwaTky5BhjVUsw Website: https://sites.google.com/site/adrienbilal/ Paper: NBER Working Paper 31323 -https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w31323/w31323.pdf Abstract: We evaluate how anticipation and adaptation shape the aggregate and local costs of climate change. We develop a dynamic spatial model of the U.S. economy and its 3\,143 counties that features costly forward-looking migration and capital investment decisions. Recent methodological advances that leverage the ‘Master Equation’ representation of the economy make the model tractable. We estimate the county-level impact of severe storms and heat waves over the 20th century on local income\, population\, and investment. The estimated impact of storms matches that of capital depreciation shocks in the model\, while heat waves resemble combined amenity and productivity shocks. We then estimate migration and investment elasticities\, as well as the structural damage functions\, by matching these reduced-form results in our framework. Our findings show\, first\, that the impact of climate on capital depreciation magnifies the U.S. aggregate welfare costs of climate change twofold to nearly 5% in 2023 under a business-as-usual warming scenario. Second\, anticipation of future climate damages amplifies climate-induced worker and investment mobility\, as workers and capitalists foresee the slow build-up of climate change. Third\, migration reduces substantially the spatial variance in the welfare impact of climate change. Although both anticipation and migration are important for local impacts\, their effect on aggregate U.S. losses from climate change is small. Speaker Bio: Adrien Bilal is a macroeconomist with interests in labor and spatial economics. Adrien received his PhD in Economics from Princeton University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at the department of Economics at Harvard University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Becker-Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago.  URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/research-seminar-anticipating-climate-change-across-the-united-states-with-e-rossi-hansberg/ LOCATION:HYBRID Weil Hall (Belfer L1) / Zoom CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20200306T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20200306T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20200218T210800Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175428Z UID:15083-1583499600-1583503200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:You Get What You Pay For: Sources and Consequences of the Public Sector Premium in Albania and Sri Lanka DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Ljubica Nedelkoska\, Postdoctoral Fellow\, Growth Lab About the Talk: We study the factors behind the public sector premium in Albania and Sri Lanka\, the group heterogeneity in the premium\, the sources of public sector wage compression\, and the impact of this compression on the way individuals self-select between the public and the private sector. Similar to other countries\, the public sectors in Albania and Sri Lanka pay higher wages than the private sector\, for all but the most valued employees. While half of the premium of Sri Lanka and two-thirds of it in Albania are explained by differences in the occupation-education-experience mix between the sectors\, and the level of private sector informality\, the unexplained part of the premium is significant enough to affect the preferences of working in the public sector for different groups. We show that the compressed distributions of public sector wages and benefits create incentives for positive sorting into the public sector among most employees\, and negative sorting among the most productive ones. Work co-authored with Ricardo Hausmann and Sehar Noor. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/you-get-what-you-pay-for-sources-and-consequences-of-the-public-sector-premium-in-albania-and-sri-lanka/ LOCATION:Bell Hall (B500)\, Belfer Building 5th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Growth Lab,Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20191018T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20191018T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20191011T185000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175428Z UID:14906-1571400000-1571403600@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Female Labor in Jordan: A Systematic Approach to the Exclusion Puzzle DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Semiray Kasoolu\, Research Fellow\, Growth Lab About the Talk: Women in Jordan are excluded from labor market opportunities at among the highest rates in the world. Previous efforts to explain this outcome have focused on specific\, isolated aspects of the problem and have not explained its persistence. After a careful review of the available literature and key stakeholder interviews in Jordan\, we develop a comprehensive framework to analyze the causes of low female employment rates and systematically test their validity. We find that the nature of low female inclusion in Jordan’s labor market varies significantly with educational attainment\, and identify evidence for different factors affecting different educational groups. Among women with high school education or less\, we report extremely low participation levels and find the strongest evidence for this phenomena tracing to traditional social norms and poor public transportation. Among university graduates and above\, we find that the problem is not one of participation but rather unemployment\, which we trace to a problem of a small and undiversified private sector that is unable to accommodate women’s needs for work and family balance. About the Speaker: Semiray Kasoolu has been a Research Fellow at the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab since 2017. Her research areas include labor markets and gender and growth diagnostics. She works in projects in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining CID\, she worked with the World SME Forum in the Republic of Georgia to diagnose constraints to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. Semiray holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID\, 2017) from the Harvard Kennedy School. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/female-labor-in-jordan-a-systematic-approach-to-the-exclusion-puzzle/ LOCATION:Rubenstein 414\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190426T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190426T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T010100Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235349Z UID:15069-1556280000-1556283600@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Andrés Reséndez\, Professor\, Department of History at University of California Davis; Author\, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. About the talk: The Other Slavery examines the system of bondage that targeted Native Americans\, a system that was every bit as terrible\, degrading\, and vast as African slavery. Anywhere between 2.5 and 5 million Native Americans may have been enslaved throughout the hemisphere in the centuries between the arrival of Columbus and the beginning of the 20th century.  And\, interestingly\, in contrast to African slavery which targeted mostly adult males\, the majority of these Indian slaves were women and children. About the Speaker: Andrés Reséndez is a professor of history and author. His specialties are early European exploration and colonization of the Americas\, the U.S-Mexico border region\, and the early history of the Pacific Ocean. His latest book\, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt\, 2016)\, was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and winner of the 2017 California Book Awards in nonfiction and the 2017 Bancroft Prize from Columbia University. He teaches courses on food and history\, Latin America\, and Mexico. He is currently working on a new book provisionally titled Conquering the Pacific: The Story of How a Mulatto Pilot and a Friar-Mariner Learned to Navigate the Largest Ocean and Launched our Global World. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/the-other-slavery-the-uncovered-story-of-indian-enslavement-in-america/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414 AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190419T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190419T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T005700Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:14901-1555675200-1555678800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Empowering Women in South Asia’s Slums: The Challenges of Environmental Degradation DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Amit Patel\, Assistant Professor\, McCormack Graduate School for Policy and Global Studies\, University of Massachusetts BostonAmmar Malik\, Director\, EPoD Research About the Talk: Environmental degradation reduces the environmental capacity to meet social and ecological needs of societies\, which is exacerbated by natural hazards and extreme climate events\, and often intensify existing vulnerabilities. Marginalized groups in cities\, particularly women and poor\, are disproportionately at risk to face negative consequences of such environmental stressors. To better understand relationship between women empowerment and environmental degradation in cities\, we surveyed 1\,199 households in 12 informal settlements of New Delhi (India)\, Dhaka (Bangladesh)\, and Islamabad and Lahore (Pakistan). Using this data\, we created the Empowerment in Informal Settlements Index (EISI) and the Women’s Empowerment in Informal Settlements Index (WEISI) that systematically measure men’s and women’s empowerment. We found that women were significantly less empowered than their male counterparts in all three countries\, with widest gaps in Pakistan. We tested several linkages between empowerment and measures of environmental degradation using regression analyses and found many significant associations.  How Climate Change and Environmental Degredation Hurts Women More Than Men in Slums of South Asia (Policy Brief) About the Speakers:Amit Patel\, PhD: Amit Patel is Assistant Professor at University of Massachusetts Boston’s McCormack Graduate School for Policy and Global Studies. Amit’s research focuses on bottom-up approaches to improve socio-economic outcomes for urban poor. His main research projects funded by the National Science Foundation\, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation\, Urban Institute\, and the World Bank focus on housing and health disparities concerning urban poor living in slums in the Global South. He regularly teaches courses on public policy theories\, urban politics and policies\, and advanced quantitative methods. Amit has a PhD in public policy from George Mason University and prior training in management\, urban and regional planning\, and architecture. When he is not in the field or in front of the computer\, you will find him behind the camera.Ammar Malik: Ammar A. Malik is the Director of EPoD Research. He leads research-policy engagements that derive actionable policy insights from rigorous research. He oversees EPoD’s labor market and education research portfolios in the Middle East\, identifying and supporting opportunities for data and economic analysis to inform local policies that empower underrepresented groups and support social and economic development. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/empowering-women-in-south-asias-slums-the-challenges-of-environmental-degradation/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414 AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190412T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190412T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T003500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:14920-1555070400-1555074000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Hard Data: Adventures in Evidence Collection DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Charity Moore\, India Research DirectorSonya Suter\, Senior Program Manager About the Speakers:Charity Moore: Charity Troyer Moore is the India Research Director for Evidence for Policy Design at the Harvard Kennedy School. She leads research-policy engagements with a variety of entities in India to ensure that research is attuned to the problems facing policymakers and integrated into policy design and program implementation. Charity’s research examines how to use technology to improve public service delivery and governance; the drivers and potential solutions to India’s low female labor force participation; land rights; and social protection programs. She holds an M.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Agricultural\, Environmental\, and Development Economics.Sonya Suter: Sonya Suter is a Senior Program Manager at Evidence for Policy Design where she oversees the management of Rohini Pande’s research portfolio in India\, including a range of projects on environment\, gender\, governance\, and financial inclusion. Prior to joining EPoD\, Sonya was the Special Assistant to the Managing Director at the World Resources Institute\, where she supported the organization’s management team\, expansion through international offices\, and engagement on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals among other projects. Sonya also worked as a Research Assistant at ICF International on land use and transportation policy and has worked on research projects in Rwanda and Tanzania. Sonya holds an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in environmental policy from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. About the Talk: Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) is a policy research initiative based at Harvard Kennedy School and working around the globe to improve lives by designing and enabling better policy. In India\, we collaborate on research-policy engagements focused on governance\, environmental and energy issues\, financial inclusion\, and gender equality – using theory\, economic frameworks\, and evidence to identify effective policies\, and help build capacity to implement them. However\, whether studying barriers to women’s economic empowerment\, implementation of social welfare programs\, or uptake of clean cookstoves\, often the real thing we want to measure (social norms\, time use\, or even real-time air quality) is elusive –because measurement itself is complex\, institutions are not set up for research collaborations\, or both. In this seminar\, Charity and Sonya will share experiences\, lessons\, and innovations in data collection from EPoD’s work in India. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/hard-data-adventures-in-evidence-collection/ LOCATION:Bell Hall (B500)\, Belfer Building 5th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190405T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190405T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T003400Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:14927-1554465600-1554469200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Improving Smallholder Farmers’ Livelihoods through Mobile Phone-Based Agricultural Advice DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Jonathan Lehe MPA/ID ’17\, Director of New Programs\, Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD) About the talk: The majority of the world’s 450 million smallholder farmers and the 2 billion people who depend on them live in rural villages in developing countries\, growing crops at close to subsistence levels to feed their families. Smallholders typically harvest only 30% to 50% of potential yields due to suboptimal farming practices in quickly changing contexts. Small changes in agricultural practices can substantially improve productivity and profitability\, but farmers continue to lack the advice they need to close the yield gap and maximize their incomes\, despite significant budgets spent on traditional in-person agricultural extension programs. However\, mobile phone ownership is 50 to 70% in developing countries\, and access to mobile phones is even higher—typically 70 to 90%—presenting a huge opportunity to provide digital agricultural advisory services. In addition to technological advances\, recent advances in research methods can also be leveraged to improve the delivery of agricultural extension\, including behavioral economics\, big data and machine learning techniques\, A/B testing\, and rigorous evaluation techniques. Jonathan Lehe\, Director of New Programs at Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD)\, will discuss how the organization is working to improve the lives of farmers in developing countries. About the Speaker: Jonathan Lehe is PAD’s Global Research Manager. Mr. Lehe holds a Masters in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School. He has more than 10 years of experience in the global health and education sectors\, managing research projects and implementation of programs to scale up access to critical public services in Africa\, Asia\, and the Caribbean. He has previously worked at the Clinton Health Access Initiative\, and consulted for the World Bank\, Bridge International Academies\, and MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab.  URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/improving-smallholder-farmers-livelihoods-through-mobile-phone-based-agricultural-advice/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R429)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190329T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190329T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T003300Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235355Z UID:15061-1553860800-1553864400@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Tackling Poverty Through Diplomacy and Development DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Fatema Z. Sumar\, Vice President of Global Programs\, OXFAM America About the talk: At a time when 65 million people are displaced from their homes and more than 800 million people go to bed hungry every night\, how can we make a real difference in tackling poverty & social injustices? During this talk\, Fatema will draw on her experiences as a diplomat and development leader and offer case “samples” from her experiences working in the U.S. Senate\, the U.S. State Department\, the Millennium Challenge Corporation\, and Oxfam America. We will explore different pathways to sustainable change – and how where you sit can define how you approach development. About the Speaker: Fatema Z. Sumar joined Oxfam America in 2018 as Vice President of Global Programs\, where she oversees our regional development and humanitarian response programs. Fatema comes to Oxfam with a distinguished career in the U.S. government\, leading U.S. efforts to advance sustainable development and economic policy in emerging markets and fragile countries. Most recently\, she served as Regional Deputy Vice President for Europe\, Asia\, Pacific\, and Latin America at the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)\, where she managed investments focused on international growth and poverty reduction. Prior to MCC\, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia at the U.S. Department of State and as a Senior Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Fatema holds a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University. She studied abroad at the American University in Cairo. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/tackling-poverty-through-diplomacy-and-development/ LOCATION:Bell Hall (B500)\, Belfer Building 5th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190308T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190308T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T002700Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:15070-1552050000-1552053600@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Promises and Pitfalls of Philanthropy in International Development DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Nageeb Sumar\, Vice President\, Philanthropic Strategies & Relationship Management Private Donor Group\, Fidelity Charitable About the talk: Private global philanthropy is on the rise\, which has resulted in a shift in the stakeholders involved in influencing international development policy and practice. During this talk\, Nageeb Sumar will review trends in philanthropy- both with private foundations and individual donors- and present reflections on how these shifts are affecting issues in global health and development. He will touch on his recent experience at the Gates Foundation\, as well as his current role at Fidelity Charitable to consider the appropriate role that philanthropy will play in the decades ahead to shape international development. About the Speaker: Nageeb Sumar joined Fidelity Charitable in 2018 as a member of the Private Donor Group team. In his current role\, Nageeb helps Fidelity Charitable’s most generous donors develop innovative solutions in catalyzing social change in the United States and around the world. Prior to joining Fidelity Charitable\, he served in a leadership role at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for nine years\, overseeing the foundation’s work on policy\, systems\, and innovation in philanthropy. He also led and oversaw the Gates Foundation’s partnership with various governments in the U.S.\, Canada\, and Asia-Pacific region. Nageeb holds a law degree from McGill Law School\, a master’s degree in international finance from Queen’s University School of Business\, and bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/the-promises-and-pitfalls-of-philanthropy-in-international-development/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414 AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190301T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190301T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T001800Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:14967-1551445200-1551448800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:PDIA in Action: Challenges & Experiences DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Salimah Samji\, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID About the talk: Building State Capability (BSC) program uses the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach to help organizations develop the capability to solve complex problems and to implement public policies. PDIA is a process of facilitated emergence which focuses on problems (not solutions) and follows a step by step process (not a rigid plan) that allows for flexible learning and adaptation. In this seminar\, Salimah will discuss the challenges and experiences BSC has faced when implementing PDIA in-the-field. She will draw on examples from BSC’s work in Albania and Sri Lanka\, and talk about the recent launch of the PDIAToolkit\, a Do-it-Yourself kit for teams to use when solving complex problems. About the Speaker: Salimah Samji is the Director of Building State Capability (BSC). She has more than 15 years of experience working in international development on the delivery of public services\, transparency and accountability\, strategic planning\, monitoring\, evaluation and learning. She joined CID in 2012 to help create the BSC program. Today\, she is responsible for providing vision\, strategic leadership\, oversight and managing projects and research initiatives. Salimah also leads BSC’s work on digital learning. Before joining CID\, she was an independent consultant working for the World Bank on issues of governance\, and the Hewlett Foundation on strategic planning for one of their grantees. She has worked as a senior program manager at Google.org\, leading a transparency and accountability initiative focused on empowering citizens and decision-makers\, by making information on service delivery outcomes publicly available. Salimah has also worked at the World Bank as a social/rural development and monitoring and evaluation specialist in South Asia. She has a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and a Masters in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a qualified Casualty Actuary who changed careers after working for 18 months in Afghan refugee camps with a Canadian NGO (FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance) based in Pakistan. Salimah has worked and lived in Kenya\, India\, Pakistan\, Tajikistan\, Canada and the USA.     URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/pdia-in-action-challenges-experiences/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th Floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190222T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190222T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T002500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:15060-1550840400-1550844000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Syria: The Catastrophe DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell\, British MP and Former Secretary of State for International Development About the Speaker: Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. He was the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2010 to 2012. Mitchell was elected President of the Cambridge Union in 1978. Before university\, he served for several months as a United Nations military peacekeeper in Cyprus. He has extensive pre-government experience of the developing world\, and is the founder of Project Umubano\, a Conservative Party social action project in Rwanda and Sierra Leone in central and west Africa\, launched in 2007. Mitchell was returned as MP for Sutton Coldfield at the 2017 general election\, with a reduced majority. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/syria-the-catastrophe/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414 AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20190215T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20190215T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20190115T002300Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235407Z UID:14978-1550235600-1550239200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Preventing Violence in Developing (and Developed) Countries DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Leslee Udwin\, Founder & President\, Think Equal About the Speaker: Leslee was voted by the NY Times the No 2 Most Impactful Woman of 2015 (second to Hillary Clinton)\, and has been awarded the prestigious Swedish Anna Lindh Human Rights Prize (previously won by Madeleine Albright). She has also been named Safe’s Global Hero of 2015\, Global Thinker by Foreign Policy. A BAFTA and multi-award winning filmmaker and Human Rights Campaigner\, Leslee’s documentary “India’s Daughter”\, has been critically acclaimed around the globe\, won 32 awards (including the Peabody Award and the Amnesty International Media Award for Best Documentary 2016) and sparked a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The searing insights yielded by the 2½ journey making “India’s Daughter”\, led Leslee to found UK-and-US-based Not for Profit global education initiative “Think Equal”. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/preventing-violence-in-developing-and-developed-countries/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab (R414 AB)\, Rubenstein Building 4th floor\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181130T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181130T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T190900Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14835-1543582800-1543586400@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Cash Transfer Programs in Developing Countries: Insights from Indonesia DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Aaron Berman\, Research Fellow\, Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) About the talk: In this talk\, Aaron Berman will present an overview of EPoD’s research on cash transfers in developing countries\, led by Professors Rema Hanna (HKS) and Ben Olken (MIT). He will focus in particular on two research projects. The first\, “Universal Basic Incomes versus Targeted Transfers: Anti-Poverty Programs in Developing Countries\,” explores several considerations related to the design and implementation of cash transfer programs and weighs the advantages of targeted programs against universal basic income schemes. The second\, “Cumulative Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia\,” evaluates a large-scale policy experiment involving Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH)\, Indonesia’s conditional cash transfer program\, six years after the program’s launch. In this paper\, Hanna\, Olken\, and co-authors show that the conditional cash transfer continues to have large impacts on incentivized health-seeking behaviors and educational attainment for children ages 7 to 15. Additionally\, the program has had longer-term impacts on health outcomes\, such as stunting\, that may require cumulative investments. This project contributes to a relatively new body of knowledge on the long-term impacts of conditional cash transfer programs\, which have previously been difficult to estimate. About the speaker: Aaron Berman is a research fellow at Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at Harvard Kennedy School\, where he supports the research portfolio of Rema Hanna\, Jeffrey Cheah Professor of South-East Asia Studies. He has spent his time at EPoD studying the implementation and impacts of various anti-poverty programs in Indonesia and India. Aaron’s research interests focus on the intersection between economics\, public health\, and medicine. He has previously worked on projects related to Ebola response in Liberia as well as on state-level drug pricing legislation in the US. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MPH from the Yale School of Public Health. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-cash-transfer-programs-in-developing-countries-insights-from-indonesia/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R429) – Rubenstein Building 4th floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181116T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181116T140000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T190800Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14849-1542373200-1542376800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: New Pathways to Inclusive Growth: Sri Lanka Project in Retrospect DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Daniel Stock\, Research Fellow\, CID; Timothy O’Brien\, Research Fellow\, CID; Sehar Noor\, Research Assistant\, CID About the talk: Starting in November 2015\, the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab has been engaged in economic policy research with the Government of Sri Lanka. Led by Professor Ricardo Hausmann\, the team has focused on a single question: what is holding back investment in Sri Lanka – especially in new and non-traditional export-oriented sectors – and what can the government do about it? In this talk\, members of the Sri Lanka team will show what they learned. First\, a lack of new economic “knowhow” has meant that there are few easy opportunities for innovative investors to exploit. Next\, the investors who do arrive find significant roadblocks to their success; these include policy barriers to reaching markets and key inputs\, and infrastructural gaps at the regional level. As these challenges became clear\, the team partnered with key counterparts in the government and civil society to support potential solutions\, and to better understand the deeper institutional gaps that prevent proactive policymaking. About the speakers: Daniel Stock rejoined the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab as a Research Fellow in 2015. He also held this position from 2011-2013. He studies how countries apply proactive strategies to promote structural transformation. His research focuses on using network models to uncover new opportunities for diversifying exports and attracting new sources of investment. Prior to joining CID\, Daniel was a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank\, working with governments to improve the investment climate for local businesses and FDI. Daniel has also worked as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab’s Macro Connections group\, and a Research Intern at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Santiago\, Chile. Daniel earned a B.S. in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University.  Tim O’Brien joined the Center for International Development in 2015\, working on both Growth Lab and Building State Capability projects.He has led growth diagnostic research in Albania and Sri Lanka. Tim holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. Tim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 2008-2010 and has experience working with the World Bank and in environmental engineering. Tim’s research interests center on the challenges of economic transformation and adapting to climate change in developing countries and vulnerable communities. Sehar Noor is a Research Assistant at the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab. Sehar graduated from Rollins College in May 2016 with honors in Economics and International Affairs. While at Rollins\, she served as captain of the debate team\, and studied abroad in Cuba and China. Her previous experience includes conducting fieldwork in disaster relief camps as an intern for the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in Gilgit\, Pakistan\, and interning with the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Islamabad\, Pakistan.       URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-new-pathways-to-inclusive-growth-sri-lanka-project-in-retrospect/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab AB (R414 AB) – Rubenstein 4th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181102T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181102T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T190500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14851-1541160000-1541163600@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Politicising Inequality: The Power of Ideas DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Alice Evans\, Associate\, Building State Capability Program and Lecturer\, King’s College London About the talk: A contemporary challenge is inequality. In this seminar\, Alice Evans will present findings from her paper\, “Politicising Inequality: The Power of Ideas”. The paper illustrates why ideas matter\, and how they can change over time. Inequalities are reinforced when they are taken for granted. But this can be disrupted when marginalised people gain self-esteem; challenge hitherto unquestioned inequalities; and gain confidence in the possibility of social change. Slowly and incrementally\, social mobilisation can catalyse greater government commitment to socially inclusive economic growth. This is illustrated with ethnographic research from Latin America\, where income inequality has recently declined. Clearly\, however\, no single paper can provide a comprehensive account of political change in an incredibly diverse region. By highlighting some ways in which ideas matter (and the limitations of alternative hypotheses about increased fiscal space and democratisation)\, this paper merely seeks to persuade political economists to go beyond ‘incentives’. Future efforts to tackle inequality might harness the power of ideas: tackling ‘norm perceptions’ (beliefs about what others think and do); publicising positive deviance; and strengthening social movements. About the speaker: Alice Evans is writing a book on “The Global Politics of Decent Work”. Through comparative research on strengthening corporate accountability\, Alice explores how to resolve global collective action problems and improve workers’ rights. She has published on the causes of falling inequality in Latin America; social movements; rising support for gender equality; cities as catalysts of social change; and the politics of maternal mortality.She is a Lecturer at King’s College London\, with previous appointments at Cambridge and the LSE. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-politicising-inequality-the-power-of-ideas/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab AB (R414 AB) – Rubenstein 4th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181102T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181102T103000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20181026T221000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175426Z UID:14845-1541151000-1541154600@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: How Cheap Smartphones and Off-The-Shelf Machine Learning are Changing the Government in Pakistan DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Prof. Umar Saif\, Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board About the talk: In this talk\, Prof. Saif will present a series of large-scale systems which use cheap smartphones and machine learning to inform policy in the government. Specifically\, the talk will focus on three areas: (1) Agriculture: Their platform\, FoodAtHome.org\, uses free multi-spectral imagery\, smartphone-based ground-truthing and distributed volunteer-computing to make weekly crop yield predictions in Punjab. (2) Vaccination: Their system\, eVaccs\, uses smartphones to track mobile vaccinators and satellite imagery to detect population clusters\, resulting in vaccination improvement from 43% to 87%. (3) Data Collection: Their platform\, SurveyAuto\, enables an uber-style market place for crowdsourcing local data and uses machine learning to automatically analyze the quality of crowdsourced data.       About the speaker: Prof. Saif is Chairman of the Punjab Informational Technology Board (PITB)\, heading all public-sector IT projects in Punjab\, Pakistan. He is also founding Vice Chancellor of ITU\, a newly setup research university in Lahore. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University and worked at MIT for several years before returning to Pakistan. He was named as one of the top 35 young innovators by the MIT Technology Review in 2011 and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He has received various accolades that include a Google Faculty Research Award\, MIT Technovator\, IEEE Percom Mark Weiser Award amongst others. In 2014\, Prof. Saif was awarded Sitara-I-Imtiaz\, one of the highest civil awards by the government of Pakistan\, and he was named among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2015-2018. Dr. Saif was appointed the UNESCO Chair for ICT for Development in 2018.  URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-how-cheap-smartphones-and-off-the-shelf-machine-learning-are-changing-the-government-in-pakistan/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R429) – Rubenstein 4th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181026T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181026T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T190400Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235414Z UID:14844-1540555200-1540558800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Hot Topics in Global Health Financing: Accountability\, Transition\, and the Universal Health Coverage Agenda DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Rachel Silverman\, Senior Policy Analyst and Assistant Director of Global Health Policy\, Center for Global Development (CGD) About the talk: Since 2000\, a large and complex global infrastructure has emerged to help finance public health improvement in low- and middle-income countries. These institutions have helped drive historic improvements in child survival\, HIV mortality\, and access to modern contraception—yet serious questions have arisen about their long-term sustainability\, their effects on country-led health systems\, and whether they create incentives that are misaligned with long-term public health impart. Rachel Silverman\, Assistant Director of Global Health Policy and a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Global Development\, will offer a brief overview of the current health financing architecture. Drawing on her research\, she will then introduce and discuss three “hot topics” in global health financing: fiscal and programmatic accountability and incentive models; strategies to “transition” countries away from reliance on external financing; and the movement away from “vertical”\, disease-focused financing streams toward a more comprehensive\, holistic vision for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). About the Speaker: Rachel Silverman is a senior policy analyst and assistant director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development\, focusing on global health financing and incentive structures. During previous work at the Center from 2011 to 2013\, she contributed to research and analysis on value for money\, incentives\, measurement\, and policy coherence in global health\, among other topics. Before joining CGD\, Silverman spent two years supporting democratic strengthening and good governance programs in Kosovo and throughout Central and Eastern Europe with the National Democratic Institute. She holds a master’s of philosophy with distinction in public health from the University of Cambridge\, which she attended as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She also holds a BA with distinction in international relations and economics from Stanford University. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-hot-topics-in-global-health-financing-accountability-transition-and-the-universal-health-coverage-agenda/ LOCATION:Bell Hall – Belfer 5th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181019T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181019T123000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20181011T180600Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235417Z UID:14833-1539946800-1539952200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Better Growth & Better Climate: The New Climate Economy DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Felipe Calderón Hinojosa\, Former President of Mexico and Honorary Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate About the talk: The presentation will focus on the key findings of the recently released New Climate Economy’s (NCE) 2018 Report on Unlocking the Inclusive Growth Story of the 21st Century: Accelerating Climate Action in Urgent Times. The presentation will introduce the key findings of the report\, focusing on five key economic sectors: Energy\, Cities\, Food and Land Use\, Water\, and Industry\, as well as the cross-cutting issues of Finance and Just Transition. President Calderon will then go on to highlight some examples of the low carbon transition taking root\, as well as the economic and social benefits being reaped as a result. This will be followed by a deep dive into a case-study with NCE Lead Economist Leonardo Garrido on a Low Carbon Development Initiative in Indonesia\, a collaboration with the Indonesian Planning Ministry (BAPPENAS) to create a low carbon 5-year development plan. About the speaker: Felipe Calderón was President of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. During his presidency he prioritized the rule of law and public security; a competitive and job-creating economy; equal opportunities; sustainable development; effective democracy; and a responsible foreign policy. Among other achievement his government pushed through structural reforms to modernize the Mexican economy in key areas\, such as public pensions\, tax\, the energy sector and universal healthcare. It also put in place the most ambitious infrastructure program in Mexican history\, raising annual investment from 3 percent to 5 percent of GDP a year. During his period in office Mexico positioned itself as a global leader in fighting climate change: President Calderon presided over the successful UN climate conference in Cancun in 2010 and saw the passing of a comprehensive Climate Change Act in 2012. Prior to becoming President Felipe Calderón served as Secretary of Energy\, and General Director of BANOBRAS (the public works and infrastructure bank). He was elected to the Federal Congress in 1991\, becoming Secretary-General of the PAN (National Action Party)\, President and Leader of the Parliamentary Group. He was earlier a Representative in the Assembly of Mexico City (1988-91).  Felipe Calderón is Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate; President of the Sustainable Human Development Foundation; and a Member of the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute. Felipe Calderón has a Bachelor’s degree in law\, a Masters in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He spent 2014-2015 as the Inaugural Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow at the Kennedy School. RSVP is required for this event\, please follow the prompts on this page to secure your space. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-better-growth-better-climate-the-new-climate-economy/ LOCATION:Starr Auditorium (B200) – Belfer Building\, 2nd floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181012T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181012T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T190000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235421Z UID:14821-1539345600-1539349200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series - Going Cashless: An Opportunity to Accelerate Progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Tidhar Wald\, Head of Government Relations and Public Policy\, Better Than Cash Alliance\, United Nations About the talk: Billions of dollars in cash payments are made daily in emerging and developing economies\, including payment of salaries\, social welfare and business transactions. The problem with these cash payments is their lack of transparency\, accountability and security. Thanks to technology and connectivity\, more people than ever now have access to mobile phones\, the internet and cloud-based solutions. How can this digital revolution help us reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more quickly? One way is through moving away from cash. For the nearly two billion people excluded from the formal financial sector\, the digitization of payments can open the door to a range of affordable financial services to help them save safely\, seize economic opportunities and reduce their vulnerability. But this vision can only be realized if digitization is carried out responsibly and responsively to people’s needs. Come hear how governments all over the world\, from India to Kenya\, UN agencies from UNHCR to WFP and companies such as H&M or Gap Inc. are shifting from cash to digital payments to achieve transparency\, efficiency\, reduce corruption\, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. About the speaker: Tidhar Wald leads the Government Relations and Public Policy teams at the Better Than Cash Alliance\, a UN-based partnership of over 60 governments\, companies and international organizations that accelerates the global transition from cash to digital payments in order to drive inclusive growth and reduce poverty. At Better Than Cash Alliance\, Tidhar oversees the outreach to governments\, companies\, international organizations and donor governments towards their commitment to digitize payments and work together to build digital economies that are inclusive. Prior to his tenure at the Better Than Cash Alliance\, Tidhar held positions in political affairs and government relations for over a decade\, including at the United Nations\, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Oxfam International. Tidhar holds a Master of Public Policy and International Affairs from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelors in Political Science and History from Sorbonne University in Paris. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-going-cashless-an-opportunity-to-accelerate-progress-on-the-2030-sustainable-development-goals/ LOCATION:Bell Hall – Belfer 5th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181005T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20181005T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T185800Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T235423Z UID:14858-1538740800-1538744400@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: The International Rules-Based System is Broken: What is to be Done?  DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell\, British MP and Former Secretary of State for International Development About the Speaker: Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. He was the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2010 to 2012. Mitchell was elected President of the Cambridge Union in 1978. Before university\, he served for several months as a United Nations military peacekeeper in Cyprus. He has extensive pre-government experience of the developing world\, and is the founder of Project Umubano\, a Conservative Party social action project in Rwanda and Sierra Leone in central and west Africa\, launched in 2007. Mitchell was returned as MP for Sutton Coldfield at the 2017 general election\, with a reduced majority. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-the-international-rules-based-system-is-broken-what-is-to-be-done/ LOCATION:Bell Hall (B500) – Belfer 5th Floor\, 79 JFK Street\, Cambridge\, MA 02138 CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180926T131500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180926T143000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T185100Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14857-1537967700-1537972200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: The Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela - A Conversation with José Miguel Vivanco DESCRIPTION:Speaker: José Miguel Vivanco\, Executive Director of Americas division\, Human Rights Watch About the talk: The current exodus of Venezuelans has generated the largest migration crisis of its kind in recent Latin American history\, as Human Rights Watch has pointed out in its most recent report. More than 2.3 million Venezuelans have left their country since 2014\, according to the United Nations\, and many others have left whose cases have not been registered by authorities. Venezuelans are fleeing their country for multiple reasons\, which includes: Severe shortages of medicine\, medical supplies\, and food; extremely high rates of violent crime; hyperinflation; and thousands of arbitrary arrests\, torture and other abuses against detainees. The director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division\, Jose Miguel Vivanco\, will talk about this exodus\, its causes and consequences\, and the Need for a Regional Response to face the crisis. About the speaker: José Miguel Vivanco\, director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division\, is a general expert on Latin America. Before joining Human Rights Watch\, Vivanco worked as an attorney for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at the Organization of American States (OAS).  In 1990\, he founded the Center for Justice and International Law\, an NGO that files complaints before international human rights bodies. Vivanco has also been an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University. He has published articles in leading American and Latin American newspapers and is interviewed regularly for television news. A Chilean\, Vivanco studied law at the University of Chile and Salamanca Law School in Spain and holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. This event is being co-sponsored by: URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-venezuela-a-conversation-with-jose-miguel-vivanco/ LOCATION:Allison Dining Room (ADR) – Taubman\, 5th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180921T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180921T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180815T185400Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14834-1537531200-1537534800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Can Brexit be Overturned with Other Trade and FDI Agreements? DESCRIPTION:Speaker: María C. Latorre\, member of the European Commission’s group of experts in International Trade; Professor\, Universidad Complutense de Madrid About the talk: With less than nine months before the UK is scheduled to depart from the EU\, much uncertainty surrounds the future EU and UK relationship. It is clear\, however\, that Brexit will increase barriers between the EU and the UK which will have harmful effects for both economies. According to the majority of economic studies and to our own estimations\, Brexit will be far more damaging for the UK than for the European Union (EU). From the economic point of view\, it seems less harmful for both to be able to negotiate a soft Brexit with rather small barriers. However\, for political reasons the EU may want to deter other nations from following the UK’s path and may want to negotiate a self-damaging hard Brexit. The negative impact of trade and foreign direct investment seems to be more important than UK’s contributions to the EU budget (with a maximum net fiscal saving of -0.53% of UK’s GDP)\, or reductions in the flows of migrants. Since massive deportation seems to be ruled out after the pre-agreement of December 8 (2018)\, the impact of migration would not be so harmful. UK may try to strike other trade or Foreign Direct Investment agreements with other countries outside the EU. We have studied different policy alternatives for UK and also for the Rest of the European Union (REU) to counteract the harmful impact of Brexit. In particular\, we have analyzed a unilateral tariff elimination in the UK\, different FDI agreements of this economy with China\, Japan and India and a comprehensive trade and FDI agreement with the US (similar to TTIP). While the FDI agreements have a negligible impact on the UK\, we find some scope in the unilateral tariff elimination to raise wages and capital remuneration in that economy. When analyzing a UK-US TTIP agreement we find it insufficient to compensate the negative impacts of Brexit. By contrast\, in most of the possible Brexit and TTIP joint scenarios\, TTIP could be useful for the REU to overturn the limited negative effects it experiences with Brexit. About the speaker: María C. Latorre is currently a member of the group of experts in international trade of the European Commission. She has also conducted other consulting projects for the World Bank and the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness. Maria has been a Research Scholar at the Center for International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School and at Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard University. She has held research visiting positions in the US International Trade Commission\, the CEPII and the University of Nottingham. Her papers have been published in academic journals such as World Development\, Journal of Policy Modeling\, Economic Modelling and China Economic Review among others.   This event is co-sponsored by:   URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-can-brexit-be-overturned-with-other-trade-and-fdi-agreements/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R429) – Rubenstein 4th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180914T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180914T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180814T003300Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175425Z UID:14860-1536926400-1536930000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Understanding Income Gaps within Mexico: Place-Specific vs. Individual Factors DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Miguel Angel Santos\, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government\, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University About the talk: The literature on income gaps between Chiapas and the rest of Mexico revolves around individual factors. Yet\, twenty years after the Zapatista rebellion\, the schooling gap has shrunk while the income gap has widened\, and we find no evidence indicating that Chiapas indigenes are worse-off than their likes elsewhere in Mexico. We explore a different hypothesis. Based on census data\, we calculate the economic complexity of Mexico’s municipalities\, a measure of knowledge agglomeration. Economic complexity explains a larger fraction of the income gap than any individual factor. Our results suggest that chiapanecos are not the problem; the problem is Chiapas. \nAbout the speaker: Miguel Angel Santos is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government\, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University. At CID\, he has been involved in various research projects aimed at helping governments to rethink their development strategies\, both at the national and sub-national levels. Since he joined CID in August 2014\, he has been involved in projects at the national level in Mexico\, Panama\, and Venezuela\, and at the sub-national level in Mexico in the states of Chiapas\, Baja California\, Tabasco and Campeche; and the city of Hermosillo at Sonora state. He has also performed as project manager in the projects leading to the build-up of the Mexican Atlas of Economic Complexity\, and the Peruvian Atlas of Economic Complexity. Before joining the field of international development\, Miguel worked for ten years in corporate finance and business development in Latin America\, performing as Director of Finance for the Cisneros Group of Companies (1997-2003)\, Head of Corporate Finance for Mercantil Servicios Financieros (2005-2007)\, and Business Vice-President for Sony Pictures and Entertainment Latin America (2008-2009). At that point\, he decided to switch tracks and get involved in development economics. He holds two Master of Science degrees in International Finance and Trade (2011) and Economics (2012) from Universitat Pompeu Fabra\, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University (2014)\, and a Ph.D. in Economics at Universidad de Barcelona (2016). He was the head of the Macroeconomic Policy Team for presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski in the Venezuelan elections of 2012.   URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-understanding-income-gaps-within-mexico-place-specific-vs-individual-factors/ LOCATION:Democracy Lab A (R-414 A) – Rubenstein Building 4th Floor CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180427T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180427T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180330T175700Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175424Z UID:14853-1524830400-1524834000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID SPEAKER SERIES: Preventing Violence in Caracas: A Community-Based\, Evidence-Informed Approach DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Roberto Patino\, Founder and CEO\, Caracas Mi Convive & Thomas Abt\, Senior Research Fellow\, Center for International Development at Harvard University \nAbout the talk: Caracas Mi Convive works in the poorest communities of Caracas\, Venezuela to prevent violence by building trusting relationships between and among community members. Founder\, CEO\, and HKS alum Roberto Patino will engage with Thomas Abt\, CID’s Senior Fellow for Security and Development for a dialogue on the role of community-based organizations in preventing violence in Latin America\, and on how scientific evidence can help to guide the process. About the speakers: Roberto Patiño is 29 years old\, he is from Caracas\, Production Engineer from Simón Bolívar University\, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University and a member of Primero Justicia. During his college studies\, he actively participated in the student movement\, being co-founder and coordinator of initiatives such as Votojoven and the Jota Movement. He was president of the Federation of USB Centers and coordinated La Fuerza Joven\, youth movement of the presidential campaign of Henrique Capriles Radonsky in 2012. During his studies abroad he specialized in citizen security and undertook a research and consulting project coordinated by professors from Harvard University on successful initiatives to reduce violence in other cities around the world. He is currently coordinating the Caracas Mi Convive movement\, a movement he founded in 2011 together with Leandro Buzón\, with the aim of working to prevent violence in the city of Caracas through coexistence and close work with community leaders and vulnerable populations. He is also the creator and coordinator of the Alimenta la Solidaridad (Feed Solidarity) program\, which offers lunches to 1030 children at risk of malnutrition in popular sectors of Caracas in collaboration with more than 700 volunteers. \nThomas Abt is a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for International Development\, where he leads CID’s Security and Development Seminar Series. Both in the United States and globally\, he teaches\, studies\, and writes on the use of evidence-informed approaches to reducing gun\, gang\, and youth violence\, among other topics. Abt is a member of the Campbell Collaboration Criminal Justice Steering Committee and the Advisory Board of the Police Executive Programme at the University of Cambridge. He also serves as a Senior Fellow to the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School and the Igarapé Institute in Rio de Janeiro\, Brazil. Before joining Harvard\, Abt served as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety to Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York\, where he oversaw all criminal justice and homeland security agencies\, including the Divisions of Corrections and Community Supervision\, Criminal Justice Services\, Homeland Security and Emergency Services\, and the State Police. During his tenure\, Abt led the development of New York’s GIVE (Gun-Involved Violence Elimination) Initiative\, which employs evidence-informed\, data-driven approaches to reduce violence. He also established the Research Roundtable on Criminal Justice\, a statewide criminal justice community connecting research with policy. Before his work in New York\, Abt served as Chief of Staff to the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice\, where he worked with the nation’s principal criminal justice grant-making and research agencies to integrate evidence\, policy\, and practice. He played a lead role in establishing the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention\, a network of federal agencies and local communities working together to reduce youth and gang violence. Abt was also founding member of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative\, a place-based development effort that was recognized by HKS as one of the Top 25 Innovations in Government for 2013. Abt received a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and a law degree with honors from the Georgetown University Law Center.   URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-preventing-violence-in-caracas-a-community-based-evidence-informed-approach/ LOCATION:Malkin Penthouse (4th Floor Littauer Building) – Harvard Kennedy School CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180420T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180420T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180322T184400Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T000418Z UID:14852-1524225600-1524229200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID Speaker Series: Preparing for the next pandemic: Whose responsibility is it? DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Susan Scribner\, Director\, Preparedness and Response project\, DAI About the Talk: In this session\, Susan will lead an interactive exercise where participants will identify risks that might contribute to a pandemic\, recommend interventions to mitigate the risks\, and discuss how different government and non-government actors can contribute to pandemic preparedness and response.  About the Speaker:  Susan Scribner leads the Preparedness and Response project (P&R). P&R works in 16 countries in East Africa\, West Africa\, and Southeast Asia to support multisectoral collaboration through National One Health Platforms. These platforms strengthen countries’ abilities to prevent\, detect and respond to pandemic threats. P&R facilitates countries in developing and maintaining National Preparedness and Response Plans to respond to public health events at the regional\, national\, and subnational levels. Prior to joining DAI\, Susan worked for 17 years for Abt Associates. From 2007 to 2009\, she was Chief of Party for a project in Vietnam and Laos that built capacity to prevent\, detect\, and respond to Avian Influenza. She also led a health systems strengthening project in Uganda from 2004 to 2005. Susan has supported a wide range of projects from the home office and provided technical support and leadership in health policy\, financing and governance\, infectious diseases\, and private sector health. Susan is also helping to grow DAI Global Health’s work in health system solutions. She has extensive experience in strategy and business development and led the integration of Abt Associates’ Australian subsidiary\, Abt JTA.   URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-preparing-for-the-next-pandemic-whose-responsibility-is-it/ LOCATION:Allison Dining Room – Taubman Building 5th floor (T-520)\, Harvard Kennedy School CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180330T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180330T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20180314T192500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175424Z UID:14837-1522411200-1522414800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:CID SPEAKER SERIES: Delivering life saving medical commodities in the developing world: How new technologies and approaches are making supply chains work in low resource settings. DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Jamey Butcher – Executive Vice President\, Chemonics About the talk: In January 2016\, Chemonics International was awarded the Global Health Supply Chain – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) program. GHSC-PSM is the largest project ever awarded by USAID\, and is tasked with procuring and delivering the HIV AIDS\, malaria\, reproductive health\, maternal and child health and other critical medical commodities provided to more than 60 developing countries on behalf of the US Government. Mr. Butcher has led this program since June of 2017 and will discuss the challenges associated with procuring and delivering public health products to medical facilities throughout the developing world and the new technologies and approaches that are making supply chains work in low resource settings. \nAbout the speaker:Since joining Chemonics International Inc. in 1998\, Executive Vice President Jamey Butcher has served in a variety of roles and regions. Mr. Butcher currently oversees the Global Health Supply Chain – Procurement and Supply Management IDIQ. Previously he served as senior vice president for the Strategic Solutions and Communications Division; East Africa region; and Europe and Eurasia region.  He has also led a number of business development initiatives diversifying the company’s portfolio. While providing strategic management and operational oversight of Chemonics\, Mr. Butcher draws from experience as a private sector development specialist with more than 20 years of experience in Eurasia\, Latin America\, and Asia. Mr. Butcher has conducted technical assignments on supply chain management\, international trade\, competitiveness\, and enterprise development. He also served as chief of party of the Armenia Micro Enterprise Development Initiative (MEDI). Mr. Butcher received an M.A. from American University in international political economy and a B.A. in political science from Colorado State University. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/cid-speaker-series-delivering-life-saving-medical-commodities-in-the-developing-world-how-new-technologies-and-approaches-are-making-supply-chains-work-in-low-resource-settings/ LOCATION:Harvard Kennedy School (79 JFK St.\, Cambridge\, MA) – Wexner Building 436 (4th floor) CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161116T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161116T183000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20161105T012000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175417Z UID:14900-1479315600-1479321000@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Education for People and Planet: Creating Sustainable Futures for All DESCRIPTION:On November 16th CID will be hosting a presentation by Dr. Priyadarshani Joshi of the recently published 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report\, an editorially independent report published by UNESCO. This report has been mandated by the international education community to monitor the progress of the global goal of education in the new UN agenda (2016 – 2030). The Report presents a comprehensive vision of the ways in which education is linked to the other 16 sustainable development goals\, and details the implications for monitoring the education goal (SDG 4). The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion. \nPriyadarshani Joshi is from Nepal and is a researcher with the Global Education Monitoring Report\, housed in UNESCO. She joined the team in 2014\, and her chief emphasis has been on articulating education’s role in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. She has a PhD in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. Her personal research agenda focuses on the consequences of private sector growth for the public sector\, parental choice\, and system wide quality and equity in the education sector in developing countries. Prior to her doctoral work\, her professional backgrounds included research positions at the IMF and consultancies at UNICEF and the World Bank. Priya also initiated\, co-designed and was part of the board of an innovative mobile library project in Nepal\, one of the World Bank Development Marketplace 2003 Education Sector Project winners. Priya holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Chemistry from Amherst College\, and a Master’s in Public Administration (Economic Policy) from Princeton University. \nMichèle Lamont is Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies and the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies at Harvard University. She will serve as the 108th President of the American Sociological Association in 2016-2017. A cultural sociologist\, Lamont is the coauthor of Getting Respect: Responding to Stigma and Discrimination in the United States\, Brazil\, and Israel(Princeton University Press\, 2016). She is also the author of a dozen books and edited volumes and has published close to one hundred articles and chapters on a range of topics including culture and inequality\, race\, racism and stigma\, social change and social resilience\, academia and knowledge\, and qualitative social science research. She is currently working on a monograph titled Being Worthy and is completing a co-edited Special Issue of Social Science and Medicine on “Mutuality\, Health Promotion and Collective Cultural Change.” She serves as the Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and the Co-Director of the Successful Societies program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. \nConnie K. Chung is the Associate Director for the Global Education Innovation Initiative and a lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education\, teaching a research practicum about education quality. She conducts research about civic\, global citizenship\, and 21st century education. She is especially interested in how to build the capacities of organizations and people to work collaboratively toward providing a relevant\, rigorous\, meaningful education for all children that not only supports their individual growth but also the growth of their communities. She is the co-editor of the book\, Teaching and Learning for the Twenty-First Century: Educational Goals\, Policies\, and Curricula from Six Nations (Harvard Education Press\, 2016)\, a co-author of the K-12 curriculum resource\, Empowering Global Citizens: A World Course (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform\, 2016)\, and a contributor to a book about US education improvement efforts\, A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform (Oxford University Press\, 2011). A former high school English literature teacher\, she was nominated by her students for teaching awards. Connie received her BA\, EdM\, and EdD from Harvard University and her dissertation analyzed the individual and organizational factors that facilitated people from diverse ethnic\, religious\, and socio-economic class backgrounds to work together to improve their community. This event is co-sponsored by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/education-for-people-and-planet-creating-sustainable-futures-for-all/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R-415)\, 4th Floor Rubenstein\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161021T114500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161021T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20161011T193000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175417Z UID:14942-1477050300-1477054800@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Lunch Seminar - City SMARTup: New Tools to Fire Up Your Smart City Project DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Renato De Castro\, International Advisor\, World e-Governments Organization   \nRenato de Castro is a Smart City senior consultant with more than 20 years’ experience and specialized in investment attraction and management for smart cities projects. He is senior vice president for Smart Cities at CreF\, Inc\, an American investment bank from Pittsburgh. He is also a member of the global advisory board of Leading Cities\, located in Boston\, and international advisor for The World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments\, in Seoul. Renato responds as mentor and advisor specialized in globalization strategies for startups around the world. He is a Doctor of Business Administration candidate at Maastricht School of Management\, MSM\, Netherlands\, researching about Smart Cities. He is also a writer\, columnist and video blogger for Smart City\, ICT and Urbanization Strategies topics. Note: This talk will be held in Nye A in the Taubman building. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/lunch-seminar-city-smartup-new-tools-to-fire-up-your-smart-city-project/ LOCATION:Nye A\, 5th Floor Taubman\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161007T114500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161007T130000 DTSTAMP:20260425T082902 CREATED:20160927T002200Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T175417Z UID:14941-1475840700-1475845200@growthlab.hks.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Lunch Seminar - Can Government Promote Evidence-based Innovation in Development? DESCRIPTION:  Speaker: Anne Healy (MPA/ID ’12)\, Managing Director of Development Innovation Ventures (DIV)\, USAID Anne leads Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) at USAID\, the Agency’s evidence-based social innovation fund. She has worked across the private\, public\, and social sectors on evidence and innovation in government and international development. As a consultant at McKinsey & Co.\, she advised Fortune 500 companies\, federal and state government entities\, multilateral organizations\, and philanthropies on strategy\, organizational change\, and operations\, with a focus on economic development and crisis response and recovery. Anne was part of the senior leadership team that established the Innovations for Poverty Action operation in Kenya\, where she also oversaw randomized controlled trials in the water and sanitation sector with leading development economists from Harvard and Berkeley. Most recently\, as Senior Advisor at the State Department\, Anne advised Deputy Secretary Heather Higginbottom on global health security and innovation in Department operations and management. DIV recruits graduate student summer interns\, so this would be a useful opportunity for students starting to consider internship options to hear about an exciting opportunity in the public sector. URL:https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/event/lunch-seminar-can-government-promote-evidence-based-innovation-in-development/ LOCATION:Perkins Room (R-415)\, 4th Floor Rubenstein\, HKS CATEGORIES:Speaker Series END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR