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მარტი 14, 2023 Application intake for Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) Program

Application intake for Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) Program

What is Leadership Academy for Development (LAD)?

The Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) is an executive-level training program which trains government officials and business leaders from developing countries to help the private sector be a constructive force for economic growth and development.

The Leadership Academy for Development (LAD) teaches carefully selected participants how to be effective reform leaders, promoting sound public policies in complex and contentious settings. A driving principle of the LAD curriculum is that policy reform is not like engineering or other technical fields that have discrete skills and 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.

Who is leading LAD Training Program?

LAD was co-founded by Stanford University`s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The LAD Program in Georgia will be implemented jointly by CDDRL and the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
The LAD Program in Georgia will be led by Stanford University Professors Francis Fukuyama, Erik Jensen, Roger Leeds, and Kathryn Stoner. In addition, the LAD Program in Georgia will have distinguished international speakers from academic and business sectors from all over the world, who will enrich the program with their perspectives by holding keynote speeches at the LAD Program.

What does the LAD Program envision?

The LAD Program in Georgia – Development: the Roles of the State, the Private Sector, the Rule of Law, and Civil Society– will offer an intensive, five-day, executive-level training program and will teach selected participants – from Georgia and other developing countries where democracy is not firmly established – how to be effective reform leaders, promoting sound public policies in complex and contentious settings.

Participants benefit from lectures and interactive teaching exercises led by an accomplished team of international scholars and 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 program targets promising mid-career government officials, private sector and CSO leaders from developing countries who have technocratic responsibilities and knowledge about private sector development issues, but must operate in politically charged environments. The program also works to provide a platform for networking and knowledge-sharing among the program`s alumni after the program has concluded.

LAD courses are based on case studies which are specially 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.

What is the curriculum of the LAD program and how it is developed?

The Academy has developed a unique, multidisciplinary curriculum. It uses cases studies that are tailor-made to illuminate the challenges associated with enhancing private sector performance in emerging economies. The cases 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.

Who is eligible to participate at the LAD Program in Georgia?

LAD Program in Georgia will have 30 participants – from Georgia and other developing countries where democracy is not firmly established. The participants should be mid-career practitioners, with at least eight and ideally ten years or more of working experience, from public and private sectors or CSO sector.

When will LAD Program take place in Georgia?

The sixth cohort of LAD program in Georgia will be held on April 24-28, 2023
For more information about the LAD Program in Georgia, please contact
Mrs. Nino Evgenidze, Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) at [email protected]

Requirements for application