XClose

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Menu

Reshaping the Monolith: how to develop state capacity in the digital era

11 May 2023, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

Reshaping the Monolith: how to develop state capacity in the digital era

Join us at UCL IIPP for a talk by David Eaves and Beatriz Vasconcellos.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All | UCL students

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

IIPP Comms

This event is open to IIPP's students only

Hosted at UCL IIPP on Thursday 11th May 2023 from 13:00 - 14:00 (GMT) on Zoom for a talk by David Eaves and Beatriz Vasconcellos. 

Policymakers are asking many questions on how to do digital transformation. These are not the right questions. Digital transformation in government is not about how governments use technology. It is the starting point to rethink and reshape how public administration can generate more public value and capacity in the digital era. And this is an agenda of the present, not the future. The questions policymakers should ask are about how public administration changes in the digital era. Reshaping the Monolith offers a unique approach to help policymakers navigate this complex terrain. Drawing on David's work at Harvard and UCL, we provide a novel articulation of where governments are heading and explore different models to move toward that destination. Rather than focusing on how governments use technology, we emphasize the need to develop new state capacities to fulfill society's expectations and redefine public value in the digital age. Specifically, we explore how governments can move away from paper-based systems and office buildings' siloed logic to reflect how digital-enabled practices and infrastructure work.
 
The talk is being organised as an enrichment event as part of an IIPP MPA module led by Prof Rainer Kattel. Students who would like to be notified of other events in the future can sign up by emailing IIPPComms@ucl.ac.uk.

  • David Eaves, Associate Professor in Digital Government, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Beatriz Vasconcellos, Programme Manager for Public Sector Innovation, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
 

About the Speakers

David Eaves

Associate Professor in Digital Government at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

david_eaves_350x350.png
Previously a lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School where he taught and wrote on digital era public administration, digital transformation and the governance of digital public infrastructure, David has co-founded Teaching Public Service in a Digital Age, which has sought to bring together faculty from around the world to co-design and share an open licensed curriculum to teach the minimum needed digital competences for future public leaders. These materials are now used by dozens of faculty members in over 20 universities around the world David has partnered with Public Digital to co-hosts an annual convening of digital government leaders from around the world. He has also taught policy analysis in the MPP core curriculum and ran a highly successful Executive Education program on Digital Transformation.

In addition to his work at HKS David co-founded and served as CEO of a civictech start up that successfully grew to serve over 400 governments across North America. He’s advised on governance and collaboration strategies for open source communities such as OpenMRS, Drupal and Mozilla and provided training to almost every cohort of Code for America fellows, White House Presidential Innovation Fellows and Code for Canada fellows.

David is also proud of his work as a negotiation adviser to numerous tech organizations, governments and environmental groups. He served as negotiation advisor to a coalition of Canadian environmental government organizations during two years of negotiations with the Forestry Products Association of Canada (FPAC) which helped cement the ground-breaking Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. More about David Eaves

Beatriz Vasconcellos

Programme Manager for Public Sector Innovation at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)

Beatriz
Beatriz is a hands-on idealist who strongly believes in the government’s capacity to lead better societal outcomes. She works at the Transformative Governance team at Demos Helsinki, where she collectively tackles the challenge of making governments more resilient, and agents of systemic change. Her work work Ranges from reimagining new pathways and narratives regarding the future, to experimenting, learning and building long-term state capacity. She is the person to call if the challenge requires using the mind, heart and hands.

Prior to joining Demos Helsinki, Beatriz worked within the private and public sectors at local and national levels to co-develop and implement innovative governance approaches. She has accumulated experience in the design and delivery of long-term capacity building programs, grassroots engagement, and policy design and delivery. This diverse background reflects the ethos she brings to her work: a respect for local particularities and knowledge, and a systemic approach to the multiplicity of channels for public impact.

Her curiosity drives a range of interests inside and outside of Demos, particularly on the topics of digital governance, experimentation, inclusive prosperity, organizing movements, and the environment. Beatriz holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

Beatriz has very recently joined IIPP as a Programme Manager for Public Sector Innovation. More about Beatriz Vasconcellos