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Mission-oriented policy and state building for the Global Majority

19 March 2024, 5:30 pm–7:00 pm

In conversation with Damon Silvers, Carolina Alves, João Braga, Mariam Zaqout, Nai Lee Kalema and Tue Anh Nguyen

Listen to our expert panel discuss mission-oriented policy-making and state-building for the Global Majority.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

IIPP Comms

Location

University College London
11 Montague Street
London
WC1B 5BF

Watch here
 

YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArebV28IvVs

 

About this talk:

This panel discussion will look at mission-oriented policy-making and state-building for the Global Majority, exploring how issues of race, empire, class and coloniality intersect with IIPP founder Prof. Mariana Mazzucato’s framework for economic development laid out in ‘The Entrepreneurial State’.

The panel will ask what it means to bring the histories, perspectives and voices of the Global Majority to the forefront across the social sciences - particularly in a context of increased geopolitical fragmentation, complexity and interdependence, and identify the key challenges in implementing the concept of ‘The Entrepreneurial State’ across the geographically and politically diverse Global South. 

Building upon IIPP Visiting Professor Damon Silvers’ 2023 lecture series ‘The Pre- and Post-History of Brexit: Race, Class and Finance In the Making of British Economic Strategy’, the panellists will showcase examples of mission-oriented policy approaches that seek to deal with challenges faced across the Global South such as climate change and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Following the panellists’ remarks, the event will open up to both the online and in-person audiences for a Q&A session.

For this talk, the term  "global majority" is used to denote the over 80% of the global population of people living in or with heritage from developing countries. This terminology is used as a more expansive alternative for thinking beyond the Global South-Global North binary.

For more reading on the topic: Khan T, Abimbola S, Kyobutungi C, Pai M. How we classify countries and people-and why it matters. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Jun;7(6):e009704. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009704. PMID: 35672117; PMCID: PMC9185389.

Meet the panel:

  • Host: Carolina Alves | Associate Professor of Economics at UCL IIPP
  • Panellist: João Braga | PhD candidate at UCL IIPP
  • Panellist: Mariam Zaqout | Postdoctoral Researcher (Economics of Water) at UCL IIPP
  • Panellist: Nai Lee Kalema | PhD candidate at UCL IIPP
  • Panellist: Tue Anh Nguyen | Research Fellow in Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy at UCL IIPP
  • Discussant: Damon Silvers | Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation at UCL IIPP
  • Discussant: Julius Mugwagwa | Professor of Health Innovation and Public Policy; and  MPA Programme Leader at the UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP)

Read more about IIPP Conversations 2023-24

About the Speakers

Carolina Alves

Associate Professor of Economics at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Carolina Alves
Prof Carolina Alves is Associate Professor in Economics at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Carolina joined IIPP from Girton College at the University of Cambridge, where she was the Joan Robinson Research Fellow in Heterodox Economics and a College Teaching Officer at the Faculty of Economics. At Cambridge, she led teaching in macroeconomics, political and social aspects of economics, and history and philosophy of economics while also being the Director of Studies for Economics for second-year undergrads and a member of Girton’s College Council responsible for the stewardship of the College. Carolina is the co-founder of Diversifying and Decolonising Economics – a network of economists working to promote inclusiveness in economics in both the academic content and the field’s institutional structures. She is a member of the Rebuilding Macroeconomics Advisory Group - a research initiative aimed at re-invigorating macroeconomics and bringing it back to the fore as a policy-relevant social science, as well as being the co-editor for the Developing Economics blog, which takes a critical approach to creating discussion and reflection in the field of economics. She is also a board member of the Progressive Economy Forum Council (PEF) and Positive Money.    More about Carolina Alves

Damon Silvers

Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)

Damon Silvers
Damon A. Silvers a Visiting Professor in Labour Markets and Innovation at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). He is on sabbatical from the AFL-CIO where is has served as the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. He joined the AFL-CIO as Associate General Counsel in 1997.

Mr. Silvers is a Senior Fellow for the Roosevelt Institute. He is a member of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Investor Advisory Group. Mr. Silvers is also a member of The Century Foundation’s Board of Trustees and is a member of the board of the investor coalition CERES. 

Mr. Silvers received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School. He received his M.B.A. with high honors from Harvard Business School and is a Baker Scholar. Mr. Silvers is a graduate of Harvard College, summa cum laude, and has studied history at Kings College, Cambridge University. 

More about Damon Silvers

Julius Mugwagwa

Professor of Health Innovation and Public Policy and MPA Programme Leader at UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP)

Julius Mugwagwa
Prof Mugwagwa is an interdisciplinary academic whose passion is research and teaching on the governance and development implications of technologies and innovations. His most recent research endeavours - which included developing and deploying concepts such as 'policy kinetics', 'policy gridlocks', 'innovative spending', 'syndemic theory', 'social determinants of health', 'political economy analysis', among others - have focused particularly on technologies and innovations in health care in low and middle-income settings and countries. He serves as the Global Health Thematic Director for UCL's Global Governance Institute (2019 - date) and Convenor for STEaPP's Health Research Cluster. He holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology and Business Administration from the University of Zimbabwe and a PhD in Technology (Biotechnology) Innovation and Regulation from The Open University, United Kingdom. Before joining STEaPP, Julius researched 'cross-national technology governance' in Africa with a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship, 'innovative spending in health' with an ESRC Future Research Leaders Fellowship, and served as a Lecturer in Development Policy and Governance at The Open University. An avid and creative innovation systems scholar, Julius is the Leader of the STEaPP MPA in Science, Engineering and Public Policy Programme (2021-2023). He also co-leads the STEaPP MPA pathways in Development, Technology and Innovation Policy & Health, Technology and Public Policy. He also leads the elective module Health Innovation and Public Policy and the MPA Group Project Module. More about Julius Mugwagwa

João Pedro Braga

PhD candidate at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Joao Pedro Braga
João Pedro Braga is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) under the guidance of Dr. Carolina Alves and Dr. Josh Ryan-Collins. João, A Brazilian economist with work experience in development finance in Brazil. Is deeply committed to the field of sustainable development. His research centres on addressing global disparities within the context of the climate crisis. Specifically, his PhD work revolves around the imperative of financing a 'just transition' in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest, aligning closely with IIPP's mission to redefine the practice of public value and the global effort to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Prior to joining the IIPP, João's academic journey began at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), where he specialised in development economics, with a particular focus on sustainable finance within the BRICS+ countries. His dedication gave him the opportunity to join multiple diverse academic environments, such as the ones in Rio, Shanghai, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Paris, broadening his understanding of sustainability in development finance. João also holds a Master's degree in Economic Policies for the Global Transition (EPOG+). He also supplemented his academic endeavours with hands-on experience at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and the French Development Agency (AFD). More about João Pedro Braga

Mariam Zaqout

Postdoctoral Researcher (Economics of Water) at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Marium Zaqout
Dr. Mariam Zaqout research focuses on improving water and sanitation access in low- and middle-income countries and the political economy of basic services, including water and sanitation. In 2022, Mariam worked for the Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme to support five city councils in West Yorkshire, involving the co-production of research by promoting multi-stakeholder engagement from the five city councils, charities, consulting firms, and national government institutions. In 2023, Marium joined IIPP to support Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s work as a co-chair for the UN Global Commission on the Economics of Water. Mariam researches the current water innovation in technology and governance both in the Global South and North to assess opportunities and challenges to scaling them in different contexts and apply the IIPP new economic thinking, such as market and innovation shaping in different contexts. Before IIPP, Mariam was a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds at the School of Civil Engineering and the School of Politics and International Studies. Mariam's PhD thesis focused on the political economy of sanitation services, specifically the sanitation stakeholders’ incentives to fund/allocate resources across the various sanitation services, covering cases in Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Palestine. Before pursuing her master's degree at Leeds University in 2017, Mariam worked in environmental and urban studies consulting in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Mariam research on Global South sanitation workers was featured by the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation. More about Mariam Zaqout

Nai Lee Kalema

PhD candidate at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Nai Kalema
Nai Lee Kalema is a PhD student in Innovation and Public Policy at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP). Nai’s research is supervised by Professor Rainer Kattel, Professor of Innovation and Public Governance, and Dr Kate Roll, Associate Professor in Innovation, Development and Purpose. At UCL IIPP, Nai serves as a PGTA for the UCL IIPP’s Digital Transformation module led by Dave Eaves, Associate Professor in Digital Government, and Mike Bracken, Visiting Professor of Practice and founding executive director of the UK Government Digital Service (GDS).

Priorly, Nai was a PGTA for the UCL IIPP’s Transformation by Design module led by Rowan Conway, Visiting Professor of Strategic Design, and Dan Hill, Professor of Design and Director of Strategic Design for Vinnova (The Swedish Government’s innovation and research agency) (fmr). Finally, Nai served as an RA for the UCL Urban Lab with Ben Campkin, Professor of Urbanism and Urban History.

Nai gained meaningful experience at Harvard Medical School (HMS), MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and the National Innovation Service (NIS). Her work experience has centred on cultivating global innovation networks, public-sector innovation, and public-sector design. Also, Nai was a co-instructor for the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine (DGHSM) at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Nai also volunteers for Public Health Pathways, a UK public health charity that uses co-design, co-learning, and community-led interventions to promote health equity.

Nai holds a Masters concentrating in International Relations and a Postgraduate Certificate in Social Justice from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts from George Washington University. Also, Nai performed university coursework at Howard University and graduate coursework at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

More about Nai Lee Kalema

Tue Anh Nguyen

Research Fellow in Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Tue Anhh Nguyen
Dr. Tue Anh Nguyen is a Research Fellow in Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purposes at UCL. She is currently investigating industrial policies and the role of the state in public services and agencies. Her research forms part of the research agenda for the Mission-Oriented Innovation Network (MOIN) in the USA. She is also co-principal Investigator of the Open Society Foundation-funded research on 'Narratives in Public Spending in Low and Middle-Income countries', focusing on understanding global, regional and national narratives around public service budgets and provision. Recently. she published a series of reports for Public Services International (PSI) on COVID-19's impact on public systems in 2020-2021 and previously on energy outlooks in Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Nguyen obtained her PhD and MA at the University of Greenwich with full Vice Chancellor’s scholarships. She was awarded Best Postgraduate Dissertation in 2012 for her master's thesis and received the award for ‘Student of the Year’ in  2016. Her PhD, titled 'The Impact of Electricity Liberalisation on Ownership and Investment’, investigates the investment environment in the electricity sector and the impact of market liberalisation policies in developing countries. She was a Visiting Scholar at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford (2018-2021) and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School (2017-2018).  Nguyen’s research interests include energy policy, public services, industrial policies, market liberalisation, international financial institutions, and structural reforms More about Tue Anh Nguyen