Methodologies

Each Cambridge Policy Boot Camp is designed to strengthen the thinking capacity and reasoning of the participants in a short burst of time. This is to help them to endure and appreciate the challenges related to driving policy and systems level change. By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders in the decision-making process, the Cambridge Policy Boot Camp is a co-creation forum for improved understanding about how to create solutions.

To find out more on the Cambridge Policy Boot Camp

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge

The Cambridge Policy Simulation Lab (CPSL) is designed to offer ‘lifelike experience’ to leaders from public, private, and civil society to learn powerful new strategies for creating high impact policies to address key challenges. The lab uses system dynamic and design thinking methodologies such as Cambridge Value Mapping tools and Institutional Feasibility Study to catalyse engagements between stakeholders, to create solutions that are sustainable, socially relevant, and economically viable. We are currently building national capacities for policy simulation in seven countries.

Cambridge Policy Simulation Labs offer policymakers a tool to apply systems thinking tools to rapidly simulate potential policy outcomes in a safe and controlled environment, prior to policy approval and implementation.

The CPSL focuses on understanding the nature of the perceived leverage points and the potentially complex dynamics within the policy systems. In the laboratory environment, participants undertake multiple exercises that creates opportunity to destroy and recreate the current system. By doing so, participants start to create new frame of reference for their institutional analysis.

To find out more, please click here.

For more Cambridge Policy Simulation Lab related articles, please click here.

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge.

The Cambridge Country Consultation (CCC) method applies systems thinking with political economics theories to collect data directly from the representatives of the governments, citizens and multilateral agencies relevant to the policy challenge on how unmet needs are missing out on positive multiplier effects due to unmatched enabling conditions, existing policies and capabilities.

The Cambridge Country Consultation method helps to improve country level investigation on how to capture communication on unmet needs and unmet demands by the governments and representatives. Government of countries are continuously struggling and addressing unmet needs and demands of their respective constituents. These needs and demands are no longer boundary specific, for example, Maldives as a Small Island Developing countries is one of the major protectors of the Coral reefs of the world, and also the steward of the future generation since 40% of its citizen are below 25 years old. Through this method, representative from the countries along with experts and actual beneficiaries such as the youth and the institutions looking after the nature, are able to develop potential solutions. The potential solutions consciously take advantage of exiting global enabling conditions, national exiting institutions and local dynamism while engages with questions such as indirect risks. The method applies systems thinking approach with political economics theories and experiential risk assessments to connect global, national, and local capabilities to improve overall understanding of the question at hand.

To read more about our latest Cambridge Country Consultation workshop please click here.

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge

Content coming...

Content coming...

The Creative Ideas Studio provides a safe environment where individual world leaders can invent the future. It takes the best and most useful elements from board level international executive leadership coaching, psychology and strategy consulting and mixes them with creative thinking theory to support leaders as they tackle the biggest issues facing them. The Creative Ideas Studio delivers an outcome where difficult issues are redefined; where different ideas are discussed and developed and where potential new approaches are identified and tested. Often, what seemed impossible becomes possible because a new approach and context have been created. Our expert facilitators ensure the process remains focused on the individual leader’s desired outcome and there is access to relevant, multi-disciplinary expertise as needed.

All rights reserved © Nazia M Habib and Steve McCauley, University of Cambridge

This is an event which leverages multidisciplinary experts and relevant knowledge for one country at a time. It brings cross-sectoral leaders together to tackle multiple challenges so they can interact with top scholars in relevant fields, using innovative methods of inquiry. The challenges can be set at country, industry, or sector level. For example, what options does country X have in seeking to transition its economy to a low carbon environment? At the event, we address key programme implementation issues, focussed on capacity building for mid-level professionals to enhance their skills in, project management, public policy, and stakeholder negotiation to deliver short term impact without jeopardizing the future sustainability principles. To date we have delivered five country programmes.

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge

Content coming...

CERT is a peer review and a co-creation process. The methodology helps with designing the experimental political economics study on policy systems. PE is a study that understands the role of entities in power positions and their impact on multiple areas on which a policy-whether made for the public or private sector has an influence on. CERT is a methodology to design complex policy system studies.  A complex systems study needs critical insights from the practitioners and experts on the ground to define boundary conditions, power dynamics, and multiplier effects that the researchers need to study. This method will collectively help the research or inquiry team to identify three critical areas for investigation namely: 

1. Boundary condition to delineate the bounds of analysis
2. Shifting power dynamics
3. Multiplier effect capturing

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge

IFS is a tiered analytical framework to study the complex and nested systems of a primary commodity and the connected regulatory framework within which the vertical global value chain develops over time and over spatial distribution. Primary commodities (agriculture, fishery, forestry products) are bottom heavy with poor producers mainly from developing countries. Each layer of the global value chain is interlinked not only by price but also by its interactions with horizontally placed institutions.  Globalization and sustainable development transcend the temporal and spatial limitations of the global production system.

To read more about the application of IFS please click Here.

All rights reserved © Dr Nazia M Habib, University of Cambridge