Study Groups

Rethinking Government: Not Bigger or Smaller but Smarter (Offered Spring 2013)

Esko Aho invites students to a series of three Friday-morning sessions "to rethink government" and analyze how Europe and the United States can restore their competitiveness by fully exploiting the potential of technology and innovation. To apply, please send your CV and one-paragraph statement of interest to Jennifer Nash by Friday, February 1.

Esko Aho has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the private sector and government service. Since 2008, he has led Nokia's government and public affairs function, overseeing the company's global policies and activities regarding sustainable development and social responsibility. He has been a member of the Nokia Leadership Team since 2009, stepping down from that role on August 31, 2012. Mr. Aho was prime minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995. He was elected to Parliament in 1983 and served on several key committees. He also served on the Nordic Council and the Finnish Delegation to the Council of Europe, is a former vice chairman of Liberal International, and was President of the Finnish Innovation Fund, SITRA, from 2004 to 2008. Currently, Mr. Aho is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) World Council and vice chair of ICC Finland, as well as a board member of the Technology Academy Finland. He also serves as a board member of Terveystalo and is vice chairman of the board of Technology Industries of Finland. He holds a master's in social science from the University of Helsinki. As a senior fellow, Mr. Aho will pursue research on the changing role of the state in maintaining welfare and global competitiveness.

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The Global Interface of Medicine, Business, and Government (Offered Spring 2013)
This study group explores the complex interface of medicine, business, and government. These entities, while often studied separately, are closely intertwined. This group is an effort to capture the full context. We will explore some of the assumptions about global health care in relation to governments and business, why we make them, and how they hinder progress. Participants are encouraged to think of solutions that may not reflect the current reality, but may offer a new direction for action. Chaired by Timothy Christian, MD, MPA, Senior Fellow at M-RCBG.

Interested students should email Dr. Christian at timothy_christian@hks.harvard.edu, copying Jennifer Nash jennifer_nash@harvard.edu, to join the group.

Tim Christian is Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the University of Vermont (UVM) and senior fellow at the center exploring the intersection of medicine, business, and government. He is currently involved in research that explores new approaches to medical fee structures, incentives, and insurance reimbursement strategies. He was a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic for many years before joining the faculty at UVM. He has published extensively in all aspects of medicine, ranging from basic science to clinical trials to editorials. He is a long-time teacher and clinician in addition to his career in research. Dr. Christian received his MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2011 where he focused on the global economics of health care. He received his medical degree from the Albany Medical College and undergraduate degree from Boston College.

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Benefit-Cost Analysis in the Real World: Assessing Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulations (Offered Spring 2013)
In the U.S. and an increasing number of other countries, government agencies are required to assess the costs, benefits, and other impacts of major regulations before they are promulgated. However, analysts face many difficult questions about how to best perform these assessments, given data gaps, limited time and resources, and changing policy goals. This study group will explore the conduct of these analyses, addressing their strengths as well as major controversies and areas in need of improvement. Students interested in preparing such assessments will develop a better understanding of how to best design and implement them; students interested in regulatory development and reform will improve their ability to interpret the information provided.

Interested students should email Ms. Robinson at lisa_robinson@hks.harvard.edu to join the group.

Lisa A. Robinson is a Senior Fellow in Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. She has 30 years of experience in assessing regulatory impacts, developing related methods, and drafting guidance. Much of her recent work focuses valuing improved health and longevity. She has also explored the implications of behavioral economics for the conduct of these analyses, and is now investigating options for enhancing the assessment of employment impacts and distributional effects. Ms. Robinson is also a Research Associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. She has worked at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and taught in the Harvard Economics Department and Center for the Environment. She was previously a Principal at Industrial Economics, Incorporated; the Director of Policy, Planning, and Budget for an independent federal agency; and an analyst at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. She received her Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

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The Call for Tri-Sector Leadership (Offered Spring 2013)

This two-part study group will explore the value of tri-sector leadership in addressing the most pressing challenges facing business, government, and society today. Group learning will focus on the analysis of two cases where students will dissect tri-sector issues and demonstrate the unique leadership characteristics required to address the problems at hand. Chaired by Nick Lovegrove, Senior Fellow at M-RCBG.

Nick Lovegrove is Executive Chairman of Tri-Sector Forum, Senior Director of Albright Stonebridge Group, and Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company. Mr. Lovegrove holds an MPP degree from Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from INSEAD, and an MA degree in Modern History from Oxford University. As a Senior Fellow at M-RCBG, he is exploring how new approaches to long-term capitalism will create the need for new cross-sector skills, mindsets, and behaviors.
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Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and Bikes): Current Issues in Transportation Policy (Offered Fall, 2012)

The speaker series, co-sponsored by the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government, explores ongoing issues in transportation policy. The series is open to all in the Harvard Kennedy School, Graduate School of Design, Harvard Business School and MIT communities. Click here for the Fall 2012 schedule.
email: john_foote@hks.harvard.edu.

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Public-Private Partnerships (Offered Spring 2012)

What makes a complex public policy problem eligible for a multi-stakeholder solution? An increasing number of solutions throughout the world employ the techniques and structures associated with public-private partnerships. Through paticipation in this study group, students acquire a robust analytical framework for understanding public-private partnerships. Emphasis is on stakeholder analysis, financial motivations, and skills-based and capacity-based considerationsas well as risk management and on the private sector’s role in the partnership’s structure and mission. Chaired by Alan Trager, Senior Fellow at M-RCBG.

Alan M. Trager was previously an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy whose research and teaching focused on the role of public-private partnerships (PPP) in addressing complex public policy problems. He is regularly invited to teach international executive education programs, is Chair of the Public-Private Partnerships Study Group and participates in PPP symposiums and seminars from Ankara and Amman to Beijing. He most recently served as the PPP guest lecturer at the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Ha Noi, Vietnam and at the Mason Fellows Program at HKS as well as a panelist at the USAID Alliance Builders Forum in Washington D.C. and the Russian Energy Conference at Harvard. Prior to joining the faculty, he served as Senior Advisor to the Dean for Executive Education. His practitioner involvement in partnership issues is extensive and far-reaching. He is currently advising the MDR-TB Partnership in China supported by Eli Lilly. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of Pathways, a USAID partnership in Bulgaria. In 2008-09, he served as a Commissioner of the New York State Commission on State Asset Maximization. Approximately fifty percent of his professional experience and academic interests have involved non-US locations and issues. He has researched and written case studies on public-private partnerships involving a variety of countries, all in affiliation with the Center for Business and Government. His newest area of interest is water partnerships. In February 2011, Trager taught a three hour long class titled “Water Infrastructure Investment, Finance, and Management” at MIT Sloan as part of The Business of Water Seminar. He also moderated a panel on international development at the HBS Social Enterprise Conference. His private sector experience includes founding and chairing AMT Capital Management, a private investment firm, and creating and managing ventures for Morgan Stanley, where he was a managing director. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he was manager of planning for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Trager is a graduate (MPA 1972) of the Kennedy School. Early in his career, he was a VISTA Volunteer in Texas and worked for mayors in New York City, New Haven, and Boston.
email : alan_trager@hks.harvard.edu; mariya_krasteva@hks13.harvard.edu

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Creating Shared Value: Concept and Applications (Offered Fall 2011)

This study group introduces the concept of shared value as described in the article “The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value” by Michael E. Porter and Mark Kramer (2011, Harvard Business Review). Chaired by Mark Kramer, Senior Fellow at M-RCBG.

Mark Kramer is a senior fellow working with Professors John Ruggie and Jane Nelson at the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. Mr. Kramer is currently Managing Director and Founder of the Foundation Strategy Group, LLC in Boston, as well as Chairman and Founder of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Inc. in Cambridge. He has numerous publications, including several with the Harvard Business Review and Chronicle of Philanthropy. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance.

This study group is co-sponsored bythe B&G PIC, the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, and M-RCBG.
email: jennifer_nash@harvard.edu

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