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Articles

Public Narrative Image

Organizing People through Storytelling: Public Narrative as a Leadership Development Practice

Why do some words move people to action while others are quickly forgotten? A new study supported by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative proposes “public narrative” as a key form of leadership development in organizations and communities. 

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Public Narrative Image

Organizing People through Storytelling: Public Narrative as a Leadership Development Practice

Why do some words move people to action while others are quickly forgotten? A new study supported by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative proposes “public narrative” as a key form of leadership development in organizations and communities. 

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City Leaders
Articles
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Leading Change
Mondawinin Urban Green Space

Using Big Data for Local Decisions: Which Demolitions Reduce Gun Violence Most?

Which abandoned properties should rise to the top of the demolition list? Since workloads often exceed and outpace government resources, prioritizing work strategically is a critical capability. A new study demonstrates how combining satellite imagery and police data can help inform how to allocate resources in code enforcement.

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Mondawinin Urban Green Space

Using Big Data for Local Decisions: Which Demolitions Reduce Gun Violence Most?

Which abandoned properties should rise to the top of the demolition list? Since workloads often exceed and outpace government resources, prioritizing work strategically is a critical capability. A new study demonstrates how combining satellite imagery and police data can help inform how to allocate resources in code enforcement.

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City Leaders
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Data & Evidence
Tarana Burke

Keeping Your Eyes on the Horizon: The “Four Ps” Framework for Strategic Leadership

How do you lead strategically? Moving an organization forward requires paying attention, simultaneously, to multiple dimensions of a team’s experience—like a pilot constantly scanning the dials on a plane’s dashboard during flight. A new paper offers a framework for executing strategic leadership while balancing competing demands.

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Tarana Burke

Keeping Your Eyes on the Horizon: The “Four Ps” Framework for Strategic Leadership

How do you lead strategically? Moving an organization forward requires paying attention, simultaneously, to multiple dimensions of a team’s experience—like a pilot constantly scanning the dials on a plane’s dashboard during flight. A new paper offers a framework for executing strategic leadership while balancing competing demands.

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Scholars & Educators
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Leading Change
Engaging Employees in Strategic Work

All Minds on Deck! Engaging Employees in Strategic Work

In a networked world, employees at every level of the organization need to navigate complex issues and act strategically—not only at the top layer. How can leadership and human resources best engage and support employees?

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Engaging Employees in Strategic Work

All Minds on Deck! Engaging Employees in Strategic Work

In a networked world, employees at every level of the organization need to navigate complex issues and act strategically—not only at the top layer. How can leadership and human resources best engage and support employees?

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City Leaders
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Strategic Leadership
Assessing Distributed Strategic Capacity in Public-Sector Organizations

All Minds on Deck? Assessing Distributed Strategic Capacity in Public-Sector Organizations

Networked governance requires public managers to think and act strategically across their organization. Leaders need to be able to assess their strategic capacity to do this work well.

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Assessing Distributed Strategic Capacity in Public-Sector Organizations

All Minds on Deck? Assessing Distributed Strategic Capacity in Public-Sector Organizations

Networked governance requires public managers to think and act strategically across their organization. Leaders need to be able to assess their strategic capacity to do this work well.

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Scholars & Educators
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Eight Types of Power City Leaders Can Use When Negotiating

Eight Types of Power City Leaders Can Use When Negotiating

Do you know your full arsenal of power moves when you’re at the negotiating table? Here is how city leaders can better understand power in public negotiations.

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Eight Types of Power City Leaders Can Use When Negotiating

Eight Types of Power City Leaders Can Use When Negotiating

Do you know your full arsenal of power moves when you’re at the negotiating table? Here is how city leaders can better understand power in public negotiations.

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City Leaders
Articles
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Negotiation
house inspection notice on door

More than the Sum of the Parts: Integrating Housing Inspections and Social Services to Improve Community Health

Housing inspectors often witness hidden and serious threats to public health yet lack the tools and training necessary to respond. Integrating referrals for social services within home inspections could be one solution.

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house inspection notice on door

More than the Sum of the Parts: Integrating Housing Inspections and Social Services to Improve Community Health

Housing inspectors often witness hidden and serious threats to public health yet lack the tools and training necessary to respond. Integrating referrals for social services within home inspections could be one solution.

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City Leaders
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Data & Evidence
Strategic triangle of legitimacy and support, public value, and operational capacity

Making Sense of It All: Using Analytical Tools in Everyday Work

Thinking and acting strategically is central to effective public management. Public Value Theory offers analytic tools to help public managers guide inquiry and shape decisions.

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Strategic triangle of legitimacy and support, public value, and operational capacity

Making Sense of It All: Using Analytical Tools in Everyday Work

Thinking and acting strategically is central to effective public management. Public Value Theory offers analytic tools to help public managers guide inquiry and shape decisions.

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City Leaders
Articles
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Adaptive Leadership
man inspecting house

Further Inspection: Integrating Housing Code Enforcement and Social Services to Improve Community Health

City housing inspectors witness hidden and serious threats to public health. In this article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, we explore integrating a novel Social Service Referral Program within the Inspectional Services Department in Chelsea, MA.

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man inspecting house

Further Inspection: Integrating Housing Code Enforcement and Social Services to Improve Community Health

City housing inspectors witness hidden and serious threats to public health. In this article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, we explore integrating a novel Social Service Referral Program within the Inspectional Services Department in Chelsea, MA.

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Data & Evidence
Two people writing on a whiteboard

Instruments of Value: Using the Analytic Tools of Public Value Theory in Teaching and Practice

The tools of public management – such as public value and the strategic triangle – are increasingly used by scholars and practitioners alike. At the same time, some confusion remains about how to use them effectively. This article in Public Management Review analyzes these tools to help explore and structure different dimensions of public management.

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BHCLI_Sense_0000PG.pdf
Two people writing on a whiteboard

Instruments of Value: Using the Analytic Tools of Public Value Theory in Teaching and Practice

The tools of public management – such as public value and the strategic triangle – are increasingly used by scholars and practitioners alike. At the same time, some confusion remains about how to use them effectively. This article in Public Management Review analyzes these tools to help explore and structure different dimensions of public management.

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Adaptive Leadership
United States Capitol Building

Tackling Big, Thorny Problems by Building the Capabilities Your Organization Needs: A New Approach Placing the Right Partners, Data, and Solutions at the Center

Bringing partners together around complex social issues and sustaining a joint effort demands capabilities that are often underdeveloped in public organizations. A new study outlines how investing in collaborative, analytical, and reflective capabilities can help governments solve problems more effectively.

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United States Capitol Building

Tackling Big, Thorny Problems by Building the Capabilities Your Organization Needs: A New Approach Placing the Right Partners, Data, and Solutions at the Center

Bringing partners together around complex social issues and sustaining a joint effort demands capabilities that are often underdeveloped in public organizations. A new study outlines how investing in collaborative, analytical, and reflective capabilities can help governments solve problems more effectively.

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City Leaders
Articles
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Collaboration, Data & Evidence
Ariel view of city traffic

State Capabilities for Problem-Oriented Governance

Social problems are often so large and multifaceted that various organizations and sectors need to work closely together to solve them. Governments face the challenge of effectively bringing parties...

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Ariel view of city traffic

State Capabilities for Problem-Oriented Governance

Social problems are often so large and multifaceted that various organizations and sectors need to work closely together to solve them. Governments face the challenge of effectively bringing parties...

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Scholars & Educators
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Data & Evidence
Skyscraper buildings

Saving Lives, Time, and Money: Using Data to Find Unsafe and Unhealthy Buildings Faster

Is it possible to save lives, time, and money, all at once? Could you use data that you already have to do it? A new study shows that machine learning can help housing inspectors identify risky...

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Skyscraper buildings

Saving Lives, Time, and Money: Using Data to Find Unsafe and Unhealthy Buildings Faster

Is it possible to save lives, time, and money, all at once? Could you use data that you already have to do it? A new study shows that machine learning can help housing inspectors identify risky...

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City Leaders
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Data & Evidence
Pedestrians walking across a cross walk

Why Your Innovation Workspace Matters: Designing an Environment for Creating New Policy Solutions

Complex social issues cannot be solved by individual organizations. Yet cross-boundary collaboration is by no means a simple or easy process. So what can you do to innovate across organizational silos effectively?

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Pedestrians walking across a cross walk

Why Your Innovation Workspace Matters: Designing an Environment for Creating New Policy Solutions

Complex social issues cannot be solved by individual organizations. Yet cross-boundary collaboration is by no means a simple or easy process. So what can you do to innovate across organizational silos effectively?

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City Leaders
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Innovation
Group of colleagues standing at a whiteboard

When Innovation Causes Conflict: Ostrich, Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies in the Public Sector

Public sector innovation often involves disputes over what is most important. All too frequently, these “value conflicts” can undermine or even derail the new policy, tool, program, or process...

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Group of colleagues standing at a whiteboard

When Innovation Causes Conflict: Ostrich, Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies in the Public Sector

Public sector innovation often involves disputes over what is most important. All too frequently, these “value conflicts” can undermine or even derail the new policy, tool, program, or process...

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City Leaders
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Innovation
City skyline

Teaming Up to Tackle Crime: Making Multi-Agency Collaboration Happen in Cities

Cross-boundary collaborations typically face three types of challenges: substantive problem-solving challenges, accountability challenges, and teaming challenges. This article in Public Manage...

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City skyline

Teaming Up to Tackle Crime: Making Multi-Agency Collaboration Happen in Cities

Cross-boundary collaborations typically face three types of challenges: substantive problem-solving challenges, accountability challenges, and teaming challenges. This article in Public Manage...

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City Leaders
Articles
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Collaboration
Black and white image of an office entrance

Managing Value Conflicts in Public Innovation: Ostrich, Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies

Value conflicts are inherent in public innovation. This article in the International Journal of Public Administration argues that responsible and effective innovators should pay at least as much...

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Black and white image of an office entrance

Managing Value Conflicts in Public Innovation: Ostrich, Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies

Value conflicts are inherent in public innovation. This article in the International Journal of Public Administration argues that responsible and effective innovators should pay at least as much...

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Innovation
Man behind glass in office conference room

Leading with Intentionality: The 4P Framework for Strategic Leadership

The ability to exercise leadership effectively requires skills and capacities that must be developed. Mostly, leadership is non-heroic and involves painstaking work, paying attention, and being able...

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Leading with Intentionality: The 4P Framework for Strategic Leadership

The ability to exercise leadership effectively requires skills and capacities that must be developed. Mostly, leadership is non-heroic and involves painstaking work, paying attention, and being able...

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Leading Change
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Map Grid Graphic - Gray

Building Cities' Collaborative Muscle

The most pressing social problems facing cities today require multi-agency and cross-sector solutions. We offer tools and techniques to facilitate the process of diagnosing and solving problems...

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Building Cities' Collaborative Muscle

The most pressing social problems facing cities today require multi-agency and cross-sector solutions. We offer tools and techniques to facilitate the process of diagnosing and solving problems...

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City Leaders, Scholars & Educators
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Collaboration
Man signing papers

Sources of Power in Public Negotiations: A Framework Applied to Public‐Public and Public‐Private Negotiations

Negotiators are often left wondering how to identify and leverage various sources of power. This article in Negotiation Journal presents a new structure for analyzing power in the public sector...

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Man signing papers

Sources of Power in Public Negotiations: A Framework Applied to Public‐Public and Public‐Private Negotiations

Negotiators are often left wondering how to identify and leverage various sources of power. This article in Negotiation Journal presents a new structure for analyzing power in the public sector...

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Negotiation
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Map Grid Graphic - Gray

Mapping the Five Genes of an Innovative City Hall

One innovation doesn’t change things. A culture of innovation does. This article on Apolitical examines what makes innovative municipal organizations innovate effectively and repeatedly.

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Mapping the Five Genes of an Innovative City Hall

One innovation doesn’t change things. A culture of innovation does. This article on Apolitical examines what makes innovative municipal organizations innovate effectively and repeatedly.

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City Leaders
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Innovation
Photo of museum in Bilbao

Bilbao Was Built on Innovation—Can It Repeat the Miracle?

For the city’s next chapter, Bilbao can look to its past. This article on Apolitical examines the architecture of collaboration that helped Bilbao revitalize its economy.

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Bilbao Was Built on Innovation—Can It Repeat the Miracle?

For the city’s next chapter, Bilbao can look to its past. This article on Apolitical examines the architecture of collaboration that helped Bilbao revitalize its economy.

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City Leaders
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Collaboration
Government Buildings

The Art of Governing Through Questions

Dealing with the problems public leaders face requires knowing how and what to ask. This article in Governing examines various ways in which thoughtful and focused inquiry can be used as a leadership tool.

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Government Buildings

The Art of Governing Through Questions

Dealing with the problems public leaders face requires knowing how and what to ask. This article in Governing examines various ways in which thoughtful and focused inquiry can be used as a leadership tool.

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City Leaders
Articles
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Leading Change
Homes in a neighborhood setting

Using Integrated City Data and Machine Learning to Identify and Intervene Early on Housing-Related Public Health Problems

Housing inspection ensures minimum health and safety standards in rental housing. This article in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice shows how machine learning can help inspectors...

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Homes in a neighborhood setting

Using Integrated City Data and Machine Learning to Identify and Intervene Early on Housing-Related Public Health Problems

Housing inspection ensures minimum health and safety standards in rental housing. This article in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice shows how machine learning can help inspectors...

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Data & Evidence
Aerial view of bystanders walking through a cross walk

Designing Environments for Experimentation, Learning and Innovation in Collaborative Governance

Working across organizational silos is a highly challenging endeavor, and success depends on the attention and support given to the act of collaboration itself. This article in Policy and Politics...

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Designing Environments for Experimentation, Learning and Innovation in Collaborative Governance

Working across organizational silos is a highly challenging endeavor, and success depends on the attention and support given to the act of collaboration itself. This article in Policy and Politics...

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Scholars & Educators
Articles
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Innovation
Engaging Communities
Negotiation
Data & Evidence
Innovation
Collaboration
Moral Leadership
Adaptive Leadership
Strategic Leadership
Crisis Leadership
Leading Change