About the Initiative
As one of ten priority initiatives that it would undertake during the remainder of the decade, the National Academy of Public Administration decided in late 2004 to try to distill lessons learned from successful and failed international assistance efforts. At almost the same time, researchers at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and Bobst Center decided upon a related initiative. Recognizing that they could bring complementary strengths to the undertaking, the two institutions agreed to collaborate.
An Unmet Need: Operationally Useful Information
"Due diligence" interviews and workshops through mid-2005 determined that numerous efforts already were underway to assess lessons learned from past experience with international assistance. However, it soon became apparent that a major need was going unmet: many individuals and organizations directly engaged in trying to build effective institutions and procedures of governance in difficult and post-conflict conditions were frustrated by their inability to quickly access the practical information they needed. At several workshops with practitioners, scholars, and leaders from international organizations, it was agreed that, while filling the need for experienced-based, operationally useful information about institution building in difficult and post-conflict environments would be exceedingly challenging and complex, it warranted urgent attention.
Trial Runs
But how to do it? During the remainder of 2005 to mid-2007, the Academy and Princeton each embarked on "trial runs" of various methods to develop the kind of information for which institution-builders were asking.
The Academy agreed to concentrate on matters of straightforward public administration, tapping the experience and expertise of its more than 600 Fellows, supplemented wherever necessary by international practitioners. It began to try and distill “lessons learned” based upon existing case studies of international experiences with civil service reform.
Princeton incorporated its trial runs into its regular educational and research programs, often drawing upon the insights of experienced practitioners. Much work on the topic of "Drafting and Adopting Constitutions" had been completed at Princeton’s Bobst Center prior to starting the trial runs. As part of its Policy Workshop program, Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School formed practitioner-led teams of MPA students and sent them out to do field research for specific "real world" clients (such as the UN, US Department of State, Government of Ghana, etc.) in fragile states. The teams dealt with such topics as: "Building a Police Force", "Integrating Former Combatants Back Into the Community", "Managing Resource Windfalls", "Managing Elections", "Re-building Education Systems "and "Strengthening Legislatures for Conflict Management."
Changes Based on Trial Runs
As a result of experience during these trial runs, major changes were made in the original goals and objectives for the Initiative—
- Creation of a "hub" web site, as originally planned, proved to be unaffordable, impractical, and unnecessary. Instead, full advantage will be taken of the worldwide web's open architecture. Instead, the websites will be integrated into web networks already established by the UN and World Bank.
- It proved unnecessary to survey all country experiences on every topic, as originally intended. The process proved too expensive, time consuming and labor-intensive. Instead, teams of practitioners who are expert on a topic will identify specific country experiences and innovations likely to have greatest relevance to the needs of institution-builders in other countries.
- Neither the demands on their time, nor visa procedures, make it practical to attempt to convene international practitioners at workshops to distill lessons learned. Yet the insights of these practitioners, who seldom have the time to record them, are essential if the initiative is to generate "how to" information for users. "Oral Histories" secured by trained interviewers from practitioners on the ground are the alternative. These histories can be used for training and educational purposes, as well as provide fertile ground for research aimed at producing operationally useful data.
Implementation of the Initiative: An International Collaboration
Based on the modified goals and objectives, the Academy and Princeton began to fully implement the Initiative in July 2007 in collaboration with the Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth Initiative based at Oxford University and the London School of Economics. With some overlap, Princeton and the Academy will focus upon institution building for governance; the Oxford/LSE Initiative will focus upon institutions and strategies for economic growth in countries caught in one or more of the “traps.”
The Academy’s Role
- Based upon extant case studies, distill lessons learned from past experience in building public administration in fragile and post-conflict countries;
- Provide easy access through the website to such information;
- Provide convenient and systematic access to other websites where operationally useful information on governance-building topics can be found.
- Facilitate a worldwide “virtual community” of practitioners through the website;
- Empanel teams of Fellows and international practitioners to identify possible solutions to “intractable” problems identified during Princeton’s field interviews with practitioners.
Princeton’s Role:
- Field research, “natural experiments” (in partnership with Oxford), and oral histories to build up a base of knowledge about institution building experience, practice, and innovation useful to practitioners in fragile and post-conflict states;
- Quick access to this information through its website;
- Increased scholarly research on these issues; and—
- Train and educate young professionals and scholars for work in this field.
In addition to information posted on the website, Princeton will produce case studies based upon the Harvard Business School model, audios and audio-visual materials for education and training, and reports, monographs, manuals and books.