Police-Mental Health Collaborations: Lessons on Scaling and Leadership

Publication Date: August 17, 2023

Scaling public programs is a challenging task that requires thoughtful planning and purposeful leadership. Pilot programs often result in astounding outcomes that leave stakeholders excited and eager to expand the initiative. However,...

Israel's Quest to Combat Racism Against Israelis of Ethiopian Descent

Publication Date: August 16, 2023

This case focuses on the Israeli government’s efforts to address complaints of institutional racism and discrimination against Israelis of Ethiopian descent. The case describes a series of mass protests in Israel against racism that...

Valerie Jarrett and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

Publication Date: August 9, 2023

 On April 20, 2010, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, was sitting in her office in the West Wing. The split screens on her muted television in her office...

Shoring Up Child Protection in Massachusetts: Commissioner Spears & the Push to Go Fast

Publication Date: July 13, 2023

 In January 2015, when incoming Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker chose Linda Spears as his new Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, he was looking for a reformer. Following the grizzly death of a child under DCF...

A User-Centered Design Process for Data-Driven Policymaking

Publication Date: August 22, 2023

Well-conceived, user-friendly data visualizations have the potential to bring fresh perspectives derived from analyzing, visualizing, and presenting data to inform evidence-based policymaking. This case uses the Metroverse project from the...

Addressing Racial Disparities at the Massachusetts Probation Service

Publication Date: July 12, 2023

What does it take to bring about meaningful change that produces good results where racial disparities are concerned? If we want institutions to be responsive and equitable, what will it require? This multimedia case study examines the efforts...

Evelyn Diop

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

 Evelyn is a seasoned nonprofit fundraising professional with roots in the corporate world, who thrives when faced with a strategic challenge. While she had been successfully leading change as a chief development officer (CDO) at...

LasTesis and the New Feminist Anthem: Performing against Moral Violence in Chile and Beyond

Publication Date: November 17, 2022

In 2019, over ten thousand women took the streets in Chile to engage in a collective performance called Un Violador en Tu Camino (“A Rapist in Your Path”). Similar to a flash mob, the crowds chanted and moved in sync, demanding an...

Confronting the Unequal Toll of Highway Expansion: Oni Blair, LINK Houston, & the Texas I-45 Debate (A)

Publication Date: April 6, 2023

 In this political strategy case, Oni K. Blair, newly appointed executive director of a Houston nonprofit advocating for more equitable transportation resources, faces a challenge: how to persuade a Texas state agency to substantially...

Making Place for Migrants: Housing Asylum Seekers in the Netherlands

Publication Date: November 7, 2022

 Mid-2015, hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Near East sought asylum in the European Union. At the spike of the influx, over 4,000 asylum seekers, most from war-torn Syria, were landing in the Netherlands each week. The Dutch...

Conflict Minerals: Influencing the Supply Chain for Public Purpose (Postscript)

Publication Date: November 2, 2022

This postscript accompanies HKS Case Number 2248.0. Gold, tungsten, tantalum, and tin are essential to a wide array of today's products. Industries ranging from electronics to health care to defense rely on these minerals. A sizable portion of...

Conflict Minerals: Influencing the Supply Chain for Public Purpose

Publication Date: November 2, 2022

Gold, tungsten, tantalum, and tin are essential to a wide array of today's products. Industries ranging from electronics to health care to defense rely on these minerals. A sizable portion of these minerals are sourced from Democratic Republic...