Publications

Program

Public Education Leadership Project

with other administrators and educators from across the country, your team of eight leaders from your district will refine your management model, develop new improvement strategies, and learn how to serve your students more effectively.... View Details

02 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity

Do companies with reputations for acting in socially responsible ways receive public goodwill when unpleasant news hits? The question of how much (or even if) corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies benefit companies beyond the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

19 Jan 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Engaging Community to Create Proactive, Equitable Public Safety

Keywords: Re: Mitchell B. Weiss; Public Administration

13 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Diagnosing the Public Health Care Alternative

onto patients. To work, a public plan must be regulated and have independent governance, and, if it is well-designed, it might inspire competition from private insurers—leading to better value for patients. Regina E. Herzlinger, The Nancy... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

October 2006 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (A): Revenues

Describes the revenue structure of U.S. public education. Covers funding by federal, state, and local governments. Examines in detail two federal education laws: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act... View Details

Keywords: Education; Revenue; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

August 2017
Case

Boston Public Schools' Long Term Financial Plan

By: C. Fritz Foley, Victor Wu and F. Katelynn Boland

In the fall of 2016, the senior leadership team of Boston Public Schools prepared a report indicating that costs were expected to grow faster than revenues for many years to come. They faced questions about whether the projections would be believed and about how to... View Details

Keywords: Financial Planning; Education Reform; Education; Budgets and Budgeting; Corporate Finance; Public Administration Industry; United States; Boston

November 2006 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (B): Expenditures

Describes the cost structure and spending policies of U.S. public school districts. View Details

Keywords: Spending; Education; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Joel Klein and Leadership in the NYC Public Schools

By: Christopher Marquis, Doug Guthrie, Richard Arum and Abby Larson

Reviews the work of the New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein and his attempt to create a Leadership Academy in order to better train principals to lead New York City public schools. Assesses what leadership skills and strategies are necessary for Klein to create... View Details

Keywords: Education; Training; Leadership Development; Management Skills; Organizational Design; Performance Improvement; Education Industry; New York (city, NY)

April 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Transformation of Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002

Investigates the reform of the Seattle Public Schools from 1995 to 2002. To initiate reform in 1995, the district hired John Stanford, an Army general, and Joseph Olchefske, an investment banker, as the district's superintendent and chief financial officer,... View Details

Keywords: Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Organizational Structure; Education; Business Strategy; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; Seattle

Find at Harvard

January–February 2021
Article

Food and Drug Administration Guidance Documents and New Medical Devices: The Case of Breast Prostheses

By: Rachel E. Weitzman, Ariel Dora Stern and Daniel B. Kramer

As pressure mounts on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed its review process for novel devices, and budgetary pressures further strain its resources, the critical role of guidance documents in assuring consistent, rigorous, and scientifically grounded... View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices; FDA; Health Care and Treatment; Government Administration; Information; Standards

Read Now

October 2006 (Revised August 2023)
Background Note

Note on Student Outcomes in U.S. Public Education

By: Stacey M. Childress, Stig Leschly and John J-H Kim

Surveys educational outcomes among public school students in the United States. Educational outcomes are categorized as achievement outcomes (measured primarily by students' performance on standardized test results) and attainment outcomes (measured primarily by... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Education; Outcome or Result; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

April 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Rebuilding the New Orleans Public Schools: Turning the Tide?

After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Public School System is faced with rebuilding from the ground up. The challenge is enormous, as is the opportunity to remake the lowest performing public school system in Louisiana and one of the lowest performing in the nation.... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Natural Disasters; Urban Development; Education; Infrastructure; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; New Orleans

November 2005 (Revised December 2005)
Case

County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze and Minu Ipe

The anthrax attacks of 2001 exposed serious inadequacies in the response of the U.S. public health system to meet such grave threats. The public health infrastructure required rebuilding to respond to any type of large-scale health emergency. The Public Health... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Change Management; Crisis Management; Health Care and Treatment; Infrastructure; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

Web

Publications - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Health Care Health Care Value-Based Health Care Health Care Courses Fast Facts Value-Based Health Care Value-Based Health Care Cases & Teaching Notes Key Concepts Key Stakeholders Publications Team Work With Us Presentations View Details

05 Aug 2015
News

Mobilizing the Public to Fight Corruption

building a database of corruption by having volunteers rate different government services offices, including logging the office conditions and the bribes being demanded for various services. It’s like “a Yelp for government services,” he says. Bantay also educates the... View Details

2021
Book

We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems

By: Mitchell Weiss

The huge public challenges we face are daunting. At the same time, many of us have come to accept the notion that government can't do new things or solve tough challenges—it's too big and slow and bureaucratic. Not so. Entrepreneurial savvy in government is growing,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Government and Politics; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Innovation Leadership; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry