Hacking Bureaucracy: Reimagining California’s Food Stamp Program in the Digital Age

Publication Date: December 23, 2016

In 2014, three former Code for America fellows embarked on a one-year skunk works journey to use technology to improve the enrollment process for California’s SNAP (food stamp) program, CalFresh, to increase the number of residents...

Unlocking Social and Economic Growth: The Delivery Approach to Government Performance

Publication Date: December 6, 2016

In June 2001, after winning the UK general elections by a landslide, which gave him a second term, Tony Blair invited Michael Barber (case protagonist) to establish and lead the Prime Minister Delivery Unit (PMDU): a small, dedicated performance...

Lesotho Hospital and Filter Clinics: A Public-Private Partnership Sequel

Publication Date: October 17, 2016

This sequel accompanies case number 1999.0. This case looks at a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Health Ministry for the government of Lesotho and a private consortium headed up by Netcare, a South African company, to build and...

Lucinda Creighton and the Irish Abortion Bill Vote

Publication Date: August 18, 2016

On June 16, 2013, the Irish government sponsored the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, which proposed to allow abortions when doctors determined the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother. The bill was introduced in...

The Mosquito Network: Collaborative Entrepreneurship in the Fight to Eliminate Malaria Deaths (A)

Publication Date: July 28, 2016

“The Mosquito Network” describes the appointment and work of Ray Chambers, a retired private equity entrepreneur, as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Malaria. The A case covers the modern history of efforts to combat...

Hero or Traitor? Edward Snowden and the NSA Spying Program (Sequel)

Publication Date: June 22, 2016

This sequel accompanies HKS Case Number 2018.0. On June 5, 2013, a London newspaper reported that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in the U.S. The story was...

'Fixing Our Politics', One Vote at a Time: Public Policy Graduates Aim to Boost Turnout with TurboVote

Publication Date: June 20, 2016

This case, about creating a startup with a social mission, is designed to help students think through the strategic alignment of public value, legitimacy/support, and operational capacity in a simple context. Together with an in-class video...

Hubway (B): Note on the Critical Fractile

Publication Date: May 23, 2016

In the summer of 2014, Alta Bicycle Share, Inc had just won its second contract to operate the Hubway bike sharing system in the cities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville in Eastern Massachusetts. Emily Stapleton, Hubway’s...

Hubway (A): Bike Sharing in Boston

Publication Date: May 23, 2016

In the summer of 2014, Alta Bicycle Share, Inc had just won its second contract to operate the Hubway bike sharing system in the cities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville in Eastern Massachusetts. Emily Stapleton, Hubway’s...

New York City’s Teen ACTION Program: An Evaluation Gone Awry

Publication Date: August 29, 2016

This video-based case explores how an impact evaluation for a promising after-school program in New York City went awry. In 2006, New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg created the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO). Designed as an...

Pricing Carbon: The Birth of British Columbia’s Carbon Tax (Sequel)

Publication Date: April 14, 2016

In 2008, British Columbia became one of the few jurisdictions in the world to successfully implement a comprehensive carbon tax. The architect of the tax, Premier Gordon Campbell, championed the broad-based carbon tax that applied to nearly all...

Pricing Carbon: The Birth of British Columbia’s Carbon Tax

Publication Date: April 14, 2016

In 2008, British Columbia became one of the few jurisdictions in the world to successfully implement a comprehensive carbon tax. The architect of the tax, Premier Gordon Campbell, championed the broad-based carbon tax that applied to nearly all...