Global Network

Our Global Network is a worldwide community of leaders dedicated to effective government and public service. Members include individuals and partner institutions from government, non-profit organizations, the media, the business sector, and academia. Its online platform, the Government Innovators Network, provides a dynamic means of supporting members through online events and best practice archives. In collaboration with partner institutions, the network convenes regional, thematic, and global conferences to unite the theory and practice of innovation in democratic governance. Learn more about joining the Global Network Click here.

Frontiers of Innovation: Conference in Review

Designed by Harvard Kennedy School faculty for senior managers, elected officials, and non-profit leaders, this bi-annual conference, held March 31-April 2, 2008, hosted participants from more than 50 countries to highlight how governments can be more effective at solving problems and improving the lives of their citizens through innovation. The conference included cross cutting themes such as anti-corruption reforms, successes in engaging citizens in democracy, and 21st century models of governance. In addition, participants learned how successful innovations in global health, disaster management, and social justice are used to solve pressing public policy issues. Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, and Fazle Abed, BRAC’s founder and chairperson, delivered keynote addresses.

Recorded versions of the following panel discussions will be available shortly:

  • Innovations in Governance: Ethics and Accountability in the Public Sector (mp4) (rm)
  • Innovations in Participation: Citizen Engagement in a Deliberative Democracy (mp4) (rm)
  • Innovations in Global Health: New Approaches to Neglected Diseases (mp4) (rm)
  • Roundtable: Government Innovation and Social Justice (mp4) (rm)
  • Innovations in Emergency Management: Making Governments Flexible and Responsive (mp4) (rm)
  • The Future of Innovation: 21st Century Models of Governance (mp4) (rm)

Member Spotlight

Edward Kadunc serves as the executive director of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, a partner of the Global Network's March 2008 Frontiers of Innovation conference. He is a highly experienced international manager with a 40-year successful career in Latin America and Eastern Europe as a senior U.S. government official. He is skilled in policy formulation and strategic planning and has successfully negotiated with private and public decision makers at the highest levels to achieve priority corporate and political goals.

In the health area, Kadunc has advised governments and the private sector on prevention and education issues regarding tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and planning and management of public health and primary health care programs. While serving as the AID mission director in Mexico, he oversaw health initiatives along the US-Mexico border; the partners included medical centers, state and municipal health authorities, and universities. He has also worked with the private sector on corporate social responsibility programs, particularly in the areas of health and education. Additionally, he has led a major program of university partnerships between some 90 U.S. and Mexican universities. He has also been involved in government reform and modernization activities and post-war reconstruction programs.


Global Network News
Ideas and Insights
Ideas and Insights
Press Releases
Press Coverage
Liaison Group for Innovations in Governance and Public Action

Following the pioneering work of the Innovations in American Government Program, the Ford Foundation sponsored the creation of government innovation awards programs in Brazil , Chile, China, East Africa (as the Mashariki Innovations in Local Governance Awards Program), Mexico, the Philippines (under the auspices of the Galing Pook Foundation), Peru, South Africa (as the Impumelelo Awards Trust), and the Native American tribes (as part of the Honoring Nations project) in the United States.

While each of these initiatives is adapting the innovations approach to local concerns and priorities, they all share a strong allegiance to the core idea that government can be improved through the identification and dissemination of examples of effective solutions to public-sector problems. The Liaison Group is currently convened by Peter Spink (Spink@fgvsp.br), Director of Gestão Publica e Cidadania (Public Management and Citizenship) Program at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo. It is managed by Gestão Publica e Cidadania Program Administrator Jacqueline I. Machado Brigagão (Jacqueline.Brigagao@fgv.br).


Join Our Global Network

Join our network and you will receive our monthly newsletter which includes information about upcoming events and resources. In addition, as a network member we encourage you to submit articles, information about your events for our calendar, and overviews of publications and research that would be useful to other members.

To join, click here to download a registration form and email it to globalnetworknews@ksg.harvard.edu.


International Awards
Liaison Group for Innovations in Governance and Public Action

Search all awards from our global sister programs.

IBM Innovations Award for Transforming Government

This international award, launched in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Innovations in American Government Awards, honors government programs from around the globe that are making a difference in the lives of citizens they serve.


Global Network Workshops

January 17, 2008
Visit of Ugandan Delegation on Muslim Life in the United States

The Ash Institute hosted a delegation of 10 Muslims from Uganda on January 17, 2007. US State Department selected this delegation which included representatives from academia, government, not-for-profit, and religious social service organizations. Participants were especially interested in the Institute's work on Muslim Integration in the US with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. They asked a variety of questions about religious tolerance and political involvement of Muslims in the US. Nearly 12 percent of Uganda's population is Muslim; these knowledge building events prove invaluable for sharing the challenges and opportunities of unique groups.

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