SOLVING
PUBLIC PROBLEMS

How to take advantage of technology, data and the collective wisdom in our communities to design powerful solutions to contemporary problems.

"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society.” –The Late Member of Congress John Lewis

In this time of great challenges, our democracies urgently need to produce citizens who can move from demanding change to making it. But the skills for doing so are not innate, they are learned.

This twelve-part program trains participants in the equitable innovation skills needed to become more effective and legitimate changemakers.

With a combination of video tutorials, readings, self-assessments, interactive exercises and worksheets, this course combines the teaching of quantitative and qualitative methods with participatory and equitable approaches for tapping the collective wisdom of our communities to solve public problems.

You will learn how to break intractable issues into manageable problems to tackle and how to use data and collaboration to understand those problems. You will learn techniques for conducting rapid evidence reviews and mobilizing people to identify what works. You will also learn how to design experiments, pilots and partnerships to implement a shared solution more effectively and legitimately. The program includes practical advice on how to persuade the many people who need convincing along the way as one crosses the chasm from idea to implementation.

What we will cover

COURSE FORMAT

First-of-its-kind course on public problem solving

Combines quantitative and qualitative methods

Emphasizes people-centered and data-driven ways of working

Free online course

Flexible and self-paced

Lectures, interviews, readings, and self-assessments

Approximately 12 hours to complete

Optional GovLab Certificate upon completion (for a small fee)

Learning Objectives

  1. Give you methods and tools — new ways of working — to become a catalyst for change.
  2. Introduce you to the latest tools and technologies for designing and implementing mission-driven projects
  3. Ensure that you know how to use big data, collective intelligence and behavioral insights to solve problems more efficiently and effectively.
  4. Help you learn to combine subject matter expertise and problem solving skills to address real world problems.
  5. Introduce you to leading social and public innovators who are passionate about real world change.

Learn from leading changemakers

Each session features interviews with problem solvers from government agencies, non-profits, schools, and community organizations, all working to change the world.

Reuben Abraham

CEO, IDFC Insitute, India
BIO

Rudi Borrmann

Deputy Director, OGP Local/Former Undersecretary of Public Innovation, Argentina
BIO

Casey Box

Executive Director, Land is Life
BIO

Xavier Briggs

Professor, NYU/former White House and Ford Foundation
BIO

Richard Buery

CEO, Achievement First
BIO

Ali Clare

Founder, Re:Coded
BIO

Kumar Garg

Schmidt Futures/former White House
BIO

Elizabeth Gerber

Founder, Design for America
BIO

Carl Gombrich

Founder, London Interdisciplinary School
BIO

Cyrus Habib

former Lt. Governor, Washington State
BIO

Jeremy Howard

Professor/Masks4All
BIO

Tom Kalil

Schmidt Futures/former White House
BIO

Ashwin Mahesh

Founder, Centre for Public Problem Solving
BIO

Maurice Mitchell

Co-Founder, Movement for Black Lives
BIO

Beth Simone Noveck

Director, The GovLab
BIO

Sheila Oliver

Lt. Governor, New Jersey
BIO

Jen Pahlka

Founder, Code for America
BIO

Sarah Pearson

Founder InnovationxChange and Cadbury
BIO

Sam Pitroda

Former advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Technology Missions
BIO

Chris Sarra

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Queensland
BIO

Sonal Shah

Founder, Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation
BIO

Achim Steiner

Administrator, UNDP
BIO

Audrey Tang

Digital Minister, Taiwan
BIO

Irving Wladawsky-Berger

MIT Sloan School/MIT Connection Science Initiative/Former IBM
BIO

Connie Yowell

Senior Vice-Chancellor, Northeastern, Founder, LRNG
BIO

About the GovLab

The GovLab's mission is to improve people's lives by changing the way we govern using new technology. The GovLab's goal is to strengthen the ability of public institutions and people to work more effectively and legitimately to make better decisions. We measure the success of Solving Public Problems, not by the number of people who sign up, but by your downstream success helping others. 

**Please note that Solving Public Problems does not earn NYU course credit.

Team

Beth Simone Noveck

Professor and Director
BIO

Anirudh Dinesh

Research Fellow
BIO

Jason Williams-Bellamy

Research and Communications Intern
BIO

Sam DeJohn

Research/Comms Fellow
BIO

Stephan Schmidt

Digital Producer
BIO

Frederico Levy

Research Assistant
BIO

Henri Hammond-Paul

Research Fellow
BIO

Caitlin Gebhard

Research Intern
BIO