The Tessa Jowell Fellowship, named in honor of the late Baroness Tessa Jowell, a founding member of the Harvard Ministerial Program Advisory Board, is annually awarded to a doctoral-level student whose research focuses on policy-related questions of priority to Ministers participating in the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program. Applicants should intend to conduct most of their … Read more

What competencies do teachers require to implement a 21st century curriculum in Zimbabwe? What are effective strategies for curriculum delivery in a classroom with high teacher-pupil ratios in Kenya? Which social determinants have the biggest impacts on maternal mortality in the Gambia? What are the root causes of drug stock-outs in eSwatini? This past academic … Read more

Education reform is always challenging mainly because of the deeply vested interests of stake holders, such as teacher unions and professional associations, as well as parent-teacher associations. Because education is something most people care about, it is also a political hot button issue. This is true of Ghana and successive presidential administrations over the past … Read more

Like most others, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program had to rapidly recalibrate in March when the University, the United States and most of the rest of the world shutdown. The core strength of the Ministerial Program is the opportunity for person-to-person networking and experiential learning it offers Ministers during their time at Harvard. With in-person … Read more

Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program Advisory Board member, Baroness Valerie Amos has been appointed Master of University College, Oxford University. Baroness Amos will be the first female Master of University College, Oxford and the first black head of any Oxford college. Baroness Amos is currently the Director of University of London’s School of Oriental and African … Read more

The Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program’s Virtual Implementation Platform (VIP) is a unique component of the Program’s follow-up support to Ministers after they participate in the Ministerial Leadership Forums at Harvard. The VIP is an online program of technical assistance and capacity development designed to support implementation by senior ministry leadership of the Minister’s primary policy … Read more

BOSTON, March 5, 2020 – The Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program is pleased to announce that Brenda Nyanchama Onguti has been selected as the 2020 Tessa Jowell Research Fellow.  With the support of this Fellowship, Brenda will conduct research to identify practices that facilitate or hinder provision of quality antenatal care in Zambia and generate actionable strategies that can … Read more

“Our women ministers will disprove the old adage that women can’t lead.” In October 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced his decision to appoint women to half of his government’s ministerial posts establishing equal gender representation in the Ethiopian government cabinet for the first time. This move was not just symbolic. Ethiopia is an … Read more

The traditional silo structures of most governments are not well suited to advancing progress in human capital development. Tackling human capital priorities requires a multi-sectoral approach necessitating government to work collaboratively across ministries. These were key points of discussion when 25 currently serving ministers of education, health, finance and economic planning who are all “alumni” … Read more