Ideas wanted: The future of the Public Impact Fundamentals

Magdalena Kuenkel
Nov 7 · 3 min read

In 2016, the Centre for Public Impact launched the Public Impact Fundamentals (PIF). The PIF is a powerful framework that helps decode the drivers of effective policy making. Focusing on nine elements that are critical to achieving policy success, the PIF is an easy-to-use tool that allows policy makers of all levels to assess the likely impact of an initiative.

The PIF has been a success — we’ve used the framework with well over a thousand practitioners in governments across the world and we can’t help but be a little bit proud and excited that we have developed what we believe is one of the few (if not the only!) frameworks that takes into account all relevant dimensions of policy making.

As our organisational focus is shifting from thinking about effective policy-making to thinking more broadly about how governments can be more effective and legitimate, we are keen to explore new ways of sharing the Fundamentals with the world.

The Fundamentals remain an important part of this story — but they are just one part. But what do you do when much of your website, materials, and public reputation is so connected to a specific idea?

We are sharing these thoughts that are on our mind in the spirit of “working in the open” and would appreciate your thoughts or advice. What would you do if you were in our position?

What would the best “home” for this sort of framework look like? Which institutions and organisations might be best placed to “host” it? How might we make it available to the largest number of civil servants around the world?

We are convinced that the Public Impact Fundamentals framework continues to add value to the policy debate — in fact, we were just out on the Isle of Man last week to deliver a series of PIF-based workshops and have sent Public Impact Starter Kits to more than 95 policy makers in 20 countries over the past few weeks! However, we are keen to find an alternative, and possibly less resource-intensive way that ensures the PIF “stay alive” and continues to be used by civil servants around the world.

Do let us know what you think by getting in touch with us by emailing Lena (magdalena AT centreforpublicimpact DOT org) or Danny (danny AT centreforpublicimpact DOT org) — we’re open to all ideas.

For those of you particularly curious about the Public Impact Fundamentals, here is our PIF hall of fame:

  • Since launching the report in 2016, we have continuously developed our framework, working with policy practitioners to design tools that can help them in their day-to-day work. All teaching material is publicly available — take a look yourself here
  • The PIF have been taught workshops at more than 30 leading universities and have influenced decision-making of several hundred civil servants.
  • CPI’s Public Impact Observatory now includes almost 350 policies from more than 80 countries — all analysed using the PIF. The Observatory case studies regularly get picked up and referenced by newspapers and magazines. Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, Business Insider, and Vice are just four examples.
  • Academics at policy schools, such as the Hertie School of Governance have included the PIF in their course curricula; and we are feverishly anticipating the publication of a new public policy textbook authored by Prof. Don Kettl and published by SAGE Publishing that will also include the Public Impact Fundamentals.
  • The PIF are also featured in the recent Oxford University Press volume “Great Policy Successes: How Governments Get It Right in a Big Way at Least Some of the Time”

Centre for Public Impact

The Centre for Public Impact is a not-for-profit founded by Boston Consulting Group. Believing that governments can and want to do better for people, we work side-by-side with governments — and all those who help them — to reimagine government, and turn ideas into action.

Magdalena Kuenkel

Written by

Centre for Public Impact

The Centre for Public Impact is a not-for-profit founded by Boston Consulting Group. Believing that governments can and want to do better for people, we work side-by-side with governments — and all those who help them — to reimagine government, and turn ideas into action.

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