Managing crisis without resources: Developing nations brace for Coronavirus

Harvard Kennedy School Senior Lecturer Matt Andrews is helping public leaders in the developing world prepare as best they can to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. But how to do you order a shelter-in-place when 40 percent of your population is homeless?

Even during normal times, government officials in developing countries often feel overwhelmed by the problems they’re asked to solve. Now they are staring down the Coronavirus pandemic, which has already driven nations with sophisticated public health systems to the brink. To make matters worse, Andrews, who is the faculty director of the Building State Capability program at the Center for International Development, says the developing world is now basically having to go it alone fighting the pandemic. The outside aid workers and experts who usually fly in to help in a crisis like an earthquake or the Ebola virus have been grounded by travel restrictions.

Yet even though government leaders in developing countries may lack vital resources, Andrews says there’s still a lot they can do to empower, mobilize, and inspire their public sectors — and save as many lives as possible. Andrews and the BSC staff have created what they call “problem driven iterative adaptation” (PDIA) methodology, which is an intensive process of bringing teams of officials and stakeholders to identify complex problems and then break those problems down into smaller component problems. Instead of coming up with one grand plan, the group tackles those smaller problems, which are easier to grasp and less overwhelming. For the past 5 years, he’s been offering the class remotely via the internet, and now 1,500 graduates of the program are working in national, regional, and local governments and NGOs worldwide.

To respond to the current crisis, Andrews says he is hoping to use those graduates to build a network of trainers who can help officials develop better responses — despite the overwhelming odds.

Andrews has also created a “Public Leadership Through Crisis” blog, which distills down the lessons BSC has learned over the years about effective leadership in times of crisis in places where resources are scarce.

“Even if you don't have all those resources, there's an incredible amount that you can do by better authorizing people, by mobilizing and inspiring people,” Andrews tells PolicyCast host Thoko Moyo.