Harvard Kennedy School seeks solutions
We address public challenges in real time through path-breaking research and policy solutions.
Featured Research
Can receptive language help news media win back readers’ trust?
Recent studies from Harvard Kennedy School and Georgetown have shown that conversational receptiveness (using language that demonstrates engagement with opposing views) can help defuse conflict between individuals.
Legalized gambling is exploding globally. What policies can limit its harms?
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Malcolm Sparrow and a global public health commission predict that gamblers could lose up to $700 billion annually by 2028, creating a serious global public health concern.
How emotion science may help solve the world’s leading cause of preventable death
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Jennifer Lerner, a decision scientist who studies emotion, and Vaughan Rees, the director for the Center for Global Tobacco Control at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, say their research involving smokers in the lab shows that sadness can induce people to smoke more.
An HKS field lab works with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to help push critical legislation across the finish line
For the last 20 years, students in Professor Linda Bilmes’ “Greater Boston Applied Field Lab” course at Harvard Kennedy School have been all over Massachusetts applying their classroom skills to real problems. As Governor Maura Healey signed an infrastructure funding act into law, students felt pride, a sense of accomplishment, and faith in public service.
How AI can affect productivity in public service delivery
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Stephen Goldsmith and Data-Smart City Solutions researcher Juncheng “Tony” Yang, find that Artificial intelligence, and particularly Generative AI technology, has the potential to create responsive, and accountable public administration systems.
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Public Leadership Credential
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Mapping HKS
Harvard Kennedy School is one of the University’s most international schools, welcoming students from around the globe each year. This year, students join us from 96 countries and territories, not including the United States.