Innovations for Successful Societies

NZ 🇳🇿 continues to be held up as a model for response.

Find out how they pulled off their swift and decisive pandemic defense in our latest case study, "Captaining a Team of 5 Million: New Zealand Beats Back COVID-19, March – June 2020" http://bit.ly/ISScovid

PM Ardern received due praise for her efforts, but that's not the whole story. Our case sheds light on the small cadre of civil servants and infectious disease experts who made policy recommendations to her, and the battalion of essential workers ready to implement the policies.

And behind them stood everyday New Zealanders—whom
Ardern referred to as “the team of 5 million”—who gave up
personal freedoms for the greater good during a mandatory
national lockdown.

After 5/1, the country went 102 days with no locally transmitted cases. However, a new outbreak in August plunged Auckland, NZ's largest city, back into lockdown and made clear that extreme vigilance was necessary to protect New Zealanders from the pandemic raging abroad.

Captaining a Team of 5 Million: New Zealand Beats Back COVID-19, March – June 2020 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF Download TXTTerms of Use Abstract  In early 2020, a novel coronavirus spread from Wuhan, China, to almost every corner of the globe. COVID-19 caused devastation in every country where it gained a foothold and was allowed to spread through the populat...

As health systems all over the world scramble to contain the outbreak, our series on the response in Liberia offers some helpful strategies

https://successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/focus-areas/ebola-response

image: Martine Perret / UNMEER / CC BY-ND

Our first case study of 2020 tells the story of how Liberia’s transitional unity government and its international partners maintained peace and led the country to democratic elections in 2005.

A Bumpy Road to Peace and Democracy: Liberia’s Power-Sharing Government, 2003–2005 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF Download TXTTerms of Use Abstract  In 2003, after 14 years of civil war and as many failed treaties, representatives of Liberia’s government, rebel groups, and civil society came together in Accra, Ghana, to negotiate a peace agreement. They chose ...

Our latest case study examines how overcame challenges of a decentralized federal system to link primary priorities to budget

Making Good on a Promise: Boosting Primary Health Care Funding in Nigeria, 2015 – 2019 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF Download TXTTerms of Use Abstract  During the first decade and a half after Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, the country struggled to adequately fund its primary health care system. Despite a nearly 10-fold increase in the size of the economy, ...

A new ISS case study explores how Tirana, Albania overcame public distrust & budgetary shortfalls to adopt new models for streets neighborhoods, redesigning them to serve the interests of infants, toddlers, and their caregivers.

Reconstructing a City in the Interests of its Children: Tirana, Albania, 2015 - 2019 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF (1.27 MB) Download TXT (155.96 KB)Terms of Use Abstract  When Erion Veliaj became mayor of Tirana, Albania, in 2015, he inherited a fast-growing city with unchecked construction and traffic that threatened the health and well-being of all citizens—...

A new ISS case study tells how the city of Tel Aviv made early childhood development a priority by expanding services, launching a digital platform for parents, & renovating public spaces.

City Hall Embraces Early Childhood Development: Reaching an Underserved Population in Tel Aviv, 2016 – 2019 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF (491.92 KB) Download TXT (178.9 KB)Terms of Use Abstract  In the early 2010s in Tel Aviv, parents with children under four years of age were mostly on their own when it came to finding the child care services and support they needed. Although the cit...

Read our case study on how the mayor of Boa Vista, Brazil focused on early childhood development to help narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Reducing Inequality by Focusing on the Very Young: Boa Vista, Brazil, Deepens Its Investment in Early Childhood Development, 2017 – 2019 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF (1.43 MB) Download TXT (163.62 KB)Terms of Use Abstract  Narrowing the gap between rich and poor was a top priority for Teresa Surita, five-time mayor of Boa Vista, Brazil. Surita had long viewed early childhood development services as crucial for im...

How should a society prepare for a high-consequence disaster of uncertain timing? Our latest case study explores Seattle and a potentially devastating earthquake.

Critical But Not Urgent: Seattle Prepares for the Big One, 2005 - 2019 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication  Download PDF (1.33 MB) Download TXT (147.29 KB)Terms of Use Abstract  In the early 1990s, scientists discovered that the city of Seattle faced far severer seismic hazards than previously known. Their findings showed that a devastating earthquake would occur—per...

Are you interested in working for ISS? We are seeking researchers to assist with the development of management case studies related to municipal government coordination, public financial management, and other topics.

We are particularly interested in people with knowledge of public finance and budgeting or municipal service provision. Practical experience in India, Turkey, Palestine, or Latin America and/or facility with Spanish, Turkish, or Arabic is valuable. Please visit our website for more information or to apply.

In 2009, South Africa's health-funding system teetered on the verge of collapse. This ISS case study explores how the national health department found ways to preserve priorities, linking them more effectively to the budget.

Staying Afloat: South Africa Keeps a Focus on Health Priorities During a Financial Storm, 2009-2017 | Innovations for Successful Societies Facebook Twitter Full Publication Download PDF (642.15 KB)Download TXT (184 KB)Terms of Use Abstract  In 2009, South Africa's health-funding system teetered on the verge of collapse. Despite the adoption of a transparent and credible budget framework in 1994, large parts of the public health syste...