MIT/GOV Lab Innovation Bootcamp

MIT GOV/LAB + DSTI Governance Innovation Bootcamp

CALLING GOVERNANCE INNOVATORS IN SIERRA LEONE

A two-week course for government officials who want to create effective and innovative governance solutions.

The global pandemic has underscored the importance of citizen trust and government accountability in service delivery, particularly on issues centered around health care, social welfare, and education. Even with well-intentioned policies and creative tech solutions, low trust levels in service providers can undermine the best scientific efforts and impede the success of effective policy mechanisms. How then might we improve accountability and enhance service delivery outcomes?

In a bid to advance the frontiers of creative problem-solving strategies, the Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation (DSTI) in collaboration with MIT Governance Lab (MIT GOV/LAB) has designed a Governance Innovation Bootcamp for government officials who want to apply an innovation methodology to their work and spark a culture of governance innovation within their teams.

OVERVIEW

The bootcamp is a two-week intensive course (10 working days) with 7 hours of instruction per day (70 hours total). The bootcamp will instruct participants on the MIT Gov/Lab Methodology, guiding teams through four phases of innovation: identifying a problem of focus, generating unbiased insights into the root causes, developing concepts to address these insights, and refining design concepts into implementable solutions.

The bootcamp will be facilitated by accredited experts and qualified practitioners from MIT and Sierra Leone. The course will focus on applied skill-based learning by having participants apply the tools and concepts they learned to a project of their choice. Furthermore, an evaluation of the exercise involves the marking of participant work folders, an assessment of progressive work samples, a participant survey to determine learning experience and satisfaction.

The course culminates in a pitch event where participants present proposals to government leaders for an opportunity to get mentorship, resources and institutional support from GoSL and MIT.

KEY DATES

March 22 | Application Opening Date
April 22 | Application Closing Date
May 7 | Selected Participants announced
May 17-28 | Bootcamp Starts

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

We are looking for partners who are determined to shift the status quo toward more collaborative models of governance.

Send an email to dsti_govbootcamp.dsti.gov.sl with your expressions of interest so we can keep you in the loop.

IDEAL CANDIDATES

This course is open to all government officials in Sierra Leone who are avid problem-solvers and are motivated to transform Sierra Leone into a prosperous and innovative nation.

Ideal candidates are:

Ready to dedicate a minimum of 7 hours per day throughout the 2-week program.
Interested in harnessing creative skills to refine existing attitudes towards problem solving.
Able to propose a project of focus for the class aligned with their everyday responsibilities.
Currently working in an organization/department where innovation is encouraged.
Early- or mid-career professionals with experience working in the public sector in Sierra Leone.

Note: All participants are expected to attend live sessions and complete all assignments by the assigned deadlines.

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