Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, formerly known as the Ash Institute, was established in 2003 and is part of the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, in the United States. The Center's mission is to advance public discussion and public policy research on key issues of democratic governance worldwide, as well as recognize and promote innovations in government that are improving the lives of citizens. The center consists of three major programs: the Program on Democratic Governance, the Innovations in Government Program; and the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia.

History

In April 2001, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

announced a $50 million endowment to the

. This endowment was the largest single endowment ever made by the Ford Foundation at that time.

Susan Berresford Susan Vail Berresford (born 1943) is an American foundation executive. She was the president of the Ford Foundation from 1996-2007. Since November 2008 she has worked as a philanthropy consultant out of the offices of The New York Community Trust. ...

, then president of the Ford Foundation, explained that the endowment would enable much-needed recognition of numerous innovative government programs in the United States and worldwide. The grant enabled Harvard Kennedy School to launch the Innovations in American Government Awards in 1985 which recognizes and supports state, local, tribal, and territorial government initiatives. Many past award winners have been replicated around the country including: * CitiStat: As a 2004 Innovations in American Government Award winner, CitiStat was launched in 1999 as a tool for improving the performance of Baltimore's city government practices. The tool has quickly become an industry standard for driving down costs and improving citizen engagement initiatives: more than 11 U.S. cities have adopted the CitiStat model, including SomerStat in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, ProvStat in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and PerformanceStat in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. * Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative: Created by the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

in 1995, the initiative has allocated more than $500 million to leverage a total of $9.6 billion in cleanup funds, resulting in the assessment of more than 10,000 sites and the comprehensive development of nearly 200 sites that were previously condemned and vacant due to dangerous contamination. The program was a 2000 Innovations in American Government Award winner. * Competition and Costing: While Mayor of Indianapolis in the mid-1990s,

Stephen Goldsmith Stephen "Steve" Goldsmith (born December 12, 1946) is an Americans, American politician and writer who was the 46th List of mayors of Indianapolis, mayor of Indianapolis. He also served as the Mayor of New York City#Deputies, deputy mayor of Ne ...

spearheaded a program to privatize city services through managed competition, improving efficiencies and cutting unnecessary costs. “As a result of the recognition we received from the Innovations Award, we had more than 3,000 officials from around the country and beyond coming to see how we did it,” said Goldsmith. Mayor Goldsmith went on to serve as the director of the Innovations in Government Program, overseeing the Innovations Awards program. He later served as deputy mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Roy and Lila Ash

In 2003, Harvard Kennedy School received a substantial gift from benefactors Roy and Lila Ash. Designed to enhance the Innovations in American Government Awards Program by emphasizing the connection between innovation and democratic governance, the gift created the Ash Center.

Roy Ash Roy Lawrence Ash (October 20, 1918December 14, 2011) was the co-founder and president of the American company Litton Industries and director of the Office of Management and Budget from February 2, 1973 until February 3, 1975, during the administr ...

's own experience in the public and private sector made him aptly positioned to set the vision for the new Ash Center. Ash served as a cabinet member in two U.S. government administrations and is the founder of the modern

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

. “We have to consider the concept of democracy fragile and in need of real and constant hands-on care,” said Roy Ash. “The purpose of the Institute ow Ash Centeris to encourage thoughtful and focused attention to the nature, principles, functioning, and continued innovation and adaptations essential to a living and effective democracy."

Endeavors

The Ash Center offers grant funding and internship opportunities for students in the Harvard community. Support for field research in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, as well as other regions are also offered. Its Ford Foundation Mason Fellowship and Roy and Lila Ash Fellowship provide financial support to students studying at the

The Study of Democratic Governance

In November 2008,

announced a new initiative with the Ford Foundation to link innovative governance to the world's major social challenges. The Program on Democratic Governance includes research on democratic participation,

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

, and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in the developed and developing world. The Center now hosts the Seminar Series, bringing distinguished speakers to Harvard Kennedy School throughout the academic year to address critical challenges facing democratic governance. Its Democracy Fellowships program provides financial support for

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

and

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

students to pursue research related to democratic governance.

Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia

Under the leadership of Ash Center Director

Anthony Saich Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants ...

, Asia Programs, a school-wide initiative integrating Asia-related activities, joined the Ash Center in July 2008. The permanently endowed Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia consisting of Asia Programs was established on January 1, 2010, through support from the Rajawali Foundation in

. The new Institute is designed to bring together academics and practitioners from around the world to enhance research, teaching, and training on

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

and governance issues of critical importance in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The gift also established the HKS Indonesia Program, which promotes research, education, and capacity building in support of democratic governance and institutional development in

. Both the Institute for Asia and the HKS Indonesia Program are housed within the Ash Center. Other Institute for Asia programs include its China Public Policy Program, Vietnam Program, and HKS Singapore Program. The Institute also supports Rajawali Fellows, a host of academics and public practitioners with independent research projects relevant to

. Its annual China Goes Global Conference examines the impact of the internationalization of Chinese firms.

Innovations in Government Program

In addition to the Innovations in American Government Awards Program, the Innovations in Government Program includes five additional projects that work together to produce a cohesive marketplace for best practices and successful innovations in the public sector. These include the following projects: the Liaison Group for Innovations in Governance and Public Action; the Project on Municipal Innovation; the Forum on Networked Governance; the Social Innovation Project; Better, Faster, Cheaper—Smart Ideas for Government; and the Program on Crisis Leadership. In 2019, the

Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development The Project on Indigenous Governance and Development, previously named the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, also known as the Harvard Project, was founded in 1987 at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. It administ ...

joined the Ash Center, adding then nearly 33 years of research in determining what works for tribal nations in their pursuit of good governance, and wh

Data-Smart City Solutions

The Data-Smart City Solutions initiative at the Ash Center is supported by

Bloomberg Philanthropies Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environ ...

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation Harvard Kennedy School 2003 establishments in Massachusetts