NEWS

Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) in partnership with the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) organized the Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) – “The Role of Public Policy in Private Sector Development”, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia, between October 22-27, 2018.

The Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) is an executive-level training program that trains mid-level government officials and business sector leaders from developing countries to help the private sector be a constructive force for economic growth and development. LAD is a leadership program of Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).

The LAD Program in Georgia started in January 2016, the course for the third cohort took place in October, 2018 and was implemented jointly by CDDRL and the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC). “The Role of Public Policy in Private Sector Development” workshop is an intensive, five-day, executive-level training program that teaches selected participants how to be effective reform leaders, promoting sound public policies in complex and contentious settings. The LAD Program in 2018 was be led by CDDRL Director, Francis Fukuyama of Stanford University.

A driving principle of the LAD curriculum is that policy reform is not like engineering or other technical fields that envisage possession of discrete skills and availability of clear, optimal solutions. Instead, successful reformers must be nimble and weigh a broad range of factors that influence policy outcomes. They must have a solid grasp of country-specific economic, financial, political and cultural realities.

Most importantly, they must have a sense of how to set priorities, sequence actions and build coalitions. LAD provides participants with an analytical framework to build these abilities and operate effectively under adverse conditions. LAD courses are based on case studies that 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.

The case studies show how these leaders address technical obstacles while simultaneously taking into careful consideration the political, cultural and social constraints to reforms. Also, the performance of the private sector and its role as either a catalyst or an obstacle to economic growth is closely connected to how well or badly government policies are designed and implemented. LAD provides participants with an analytical framework to build these abilities and operate effectively under adverse conditions.

The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University engages in research, training, teaching, and organizes intellectual and policy dialogues aimed at increasing public understanding of economic and political development. Founded in 2002, CDDRL has collaborated with scholars, policymakers, and practitioners around the world to advance collective knowledge about the linkages between democracy, sustainable economic development, human rights and the rule of law.

The Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) is a think-and do-tank that was founded in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2002. EPRC is created to build a contemporary economic research capacity in Georgia, to enhance economic decision making and to be an important voice in economic and policy discussions. EPRC is striving to enhance the quality of economic policy-making in Georgia by fostering high quality, policy-relevant economic research, and disseminating it widely to decision-makers in the public and private sectors. Throughout the past decade, EPRC has earned a reputation of an objective, reliable and non-partisan source of information on the issues related to economic, financial and social policies.

The Bank of Georgia University was established in 2013 by the country’s leading financial institution, the Bank of Georgia. The university seeks to provide greater access to high quality education. Since it’s establishment the university has managed to become one of the fast-developing leading higher education institution in Georgia. All students, external clients and employees of Bank of Georgia University are offered a wide range of high level, certified, professional and educational programmes. The university also promotes start-ups through its School of Business, its Centres of Financial Education, Certified Training and Professional Education and its Support Centre for Start-Up Businesses. Bank of Georgia University offers its students the unique opportunity of receiving full scholarships which will cover the entire cost of their education.

The University was founded by The Knowledge Fund (KF) in 2007, which is a non-profit, charity organization founded by Kakha Bendukidze. KF is the largest endowment in higher education in Georgia. Free University is one of the leaders in tertiary education in Georgia. The university stands out with its high quality of education, modern learning environment and high employment level of graduates. At all three levels of tertiary education, Free University Programmes are based on the principles of liberal education, with the aim of developing creative and critical thinking, as well as practical skills of the students. Over the years, high quality of education at Free University has been manifested in high demand and in high employability of graduates – immediately after graduation, 94% of graduates are employed in their professional occupation.

As a result of a highly competitive selection process, LAD’s Program in Georgia invited up to 30 participants from private and public sectors.

LAD is a program of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law

For more information about LAD, please see: http://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/research/the_leadership_academy_for_development