It is widely recognized that (i) private sector performance is a key factor driving any country’s growth and development, and that (ii) government policies and programs can either stimulate or inhibit sustainable growth in the private sector. Long underappreciated, however, has been the importance of the individuals who design those policies and programs: the local government officials, international development specialists and members of the private sector making the decisions that frame the business environment. Across the public-private spectrum, the capacity and leadership ability of these individuals are essential to strengthening private sector performance. These leaders must have technical knowledge and analytical skills. But they also must be capable of executing reforms in difficult political, cultural and economic environments. Technocratic training is not sufficient to prepare these leaders to succeed. To teach them to make a lasting difference, training must take a multidisciplinary approach that anticipates the complexity of the challenges they face.
The LAD course is designed as an intensive, off-site, executive-level training program that occurs in partnership with a collaborating host institution. It ranges in length from three to five days. Participants benefit from lectures and interactive teaching exercises led by an accomplished team of international scholars and locally-based experts. As part of the course, participants are given assignments that require them to apply the ideas and skills they have gained to specific challenges they are facing in their professional duties.
The training programs target promising, mid-level government officials and private sector practitioners from developing countries who have technocratic responsibilities and knowledge about private sector development issues, but must operate in politically charged environments. The participants are generally from a common geographical region (e.g. Central America, Southern Africa, etc) and play prominent roles in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that affect the behavior of the private sector in their home countries. The program also works to provide a platform for networking and knowledge-sharing among the program’s alumni after the program has concluded.
LAD has developed a unique, multidisciplinary curriculum and multiple course offerings. Our basic course uses case studies that are tailor-made to illuminate the challenges associated with enhancing private sector performance in emerging economies. The cases and lectures address a wide range of issues – from the risks and opportunities of attracting private sector expertise and financing for high priority infrastructure projects to the nuances of creating a good investment climate. But they are ultimately rooted in real-world stories: specific policy reforms that have taken place in developing countries. Rather than serve as examples of “best practices” or “how-to” guides, the cases are designed to encourage participants to think critically about the key decisions that have led to policy reforms. They are written from the perspective of decision-makers who have designed or executed specific policies and they demonstrate how effective public officials think and act strategically. They show how these leaders address technical obstacles while simultaneously taking into careful consideration the political, cultural and social constraints to reforms.
The LAD cases describe specific public policy initiatives in countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and former Soviet Union countries. They are grouped into four important themes of private sector development:
In addition to general leadership instruction, LAD offers tailored courses. Participants can, for example, receive training in a defined sector or technical area, allowing them to clearly see the career-related added value of the training, and help them justify the time and/or tuition cost to their employers. In addition, LAD also offers two other workshop courses. One focuses on case teaching and case study writing for faculty in policy-focused universities and training programs aimed at developing interactive and participant centered teaching and case-writing skills. The second, a course focused on implementing policy reform, examines the various challenges and barriers inherent in the reform process, as well as possible routes to overcoming those barriers. The final course offering draws on various disciplines (including social psychology, law, behavioral economics, etc.) in order to decipher the best methods for promoting behavior change among a population.
Videos of student testimonials and certain case study sessions are available via YouTube.
Instruction: LAD has identified and worked with capable partners in the developing world to co-teach the training course mentioned above. LAD is primarily responsible for the instruction of the core curriculum. The partner institution is responsible for providing the regional perspective as well as the sector-specific or technical component of the course. An important LAD goal is to gradually transfer responsibility for the LAD program to these local, collaborating institutions.
Recruitment: The partner institution is primarily responsible for finding and recruiting the appropriate participants in the course. Both LAD and the partner institution are involved in the application and matriculation processes to ensure that the most suitable candidates are accepted to participate.
Funding: LAD needs to provide significant scholarship assistance as most participants are government officials who are unable to pay the full cost of tuition. Once the format, focus, and cost of the program are specifically defined, LAD works closely with the partner institution on fund-raising to cover the cost of the course.
