A boost for managing cities
The incessant public drumbeat that “government is broken,” or at least inefficient and ineffective, has long been a popular and politically expedient way to justify ideologically driven policy shifts and budget cuts, or simply to discredit new ideas. As partisan gridlock at the federal level continues to stymie efforts to accomplish much of anything of national import, state and local governments have embraced the idea that government should identify new tools and solutions that can enhance and expand the way it delivers results for its citizens and improves people’s lives. The stumbling block is often getting the proper training and finding the necessary money and political will to implement change. To prove that government can, in fact, work and be a positive force, Harvard and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable foundation of businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, M.B.A. ’66, today announced a trailblazing new collaboration to develop and further...