Why I enrolled in IIPP’s MPA — and what I expect from the year

By Luca Kühn von Burgsdorff

This blog is a contribution from one of IIPP’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) students. To find out more about the course, click here.

It’s not often that you find yourself studying at an institute that boasts the likes of Mariana Mazzucato, Tim O’Reilly, and Hilary Cottam. All three are pathfinders and pioneers, pushing the boundaries of ideas and actions in their respective realms of expertise — be it economics, innovation, or social entrepreneurship.

The UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) is, however, more than just a congregation of high-profile academics and practitioners. It’s a movement, and as with any notable movement IIPP does three things particularly well. Firstly, it offers a convincing critique of how things are being done and a radical vision of what can be done better. Secondly, IIPP has actively and organically added a wealth of experienced thinkers and doers into its ranks. Lastly, it has cultivated an expansive and strategic network of institutions and governments to work alongside and apply its new and provocative ideas.

That’s why I’m proud to join the second cohort of IIPP’s Innovation, Public Policy and Public Value MPA programme. As one of the Institute’s new — albeit temporary — members, allow me to meditate on my expectations for the year and, in doing so, outline what I think makes IIPP and its MPA so unique.

The ideas

First of all, excuse the historical romanticism, but when I think about some of the great schools of thought throughout modern history, a few stand out: the Austrian School at the turn of the 20th century, the Frankfurt School during, and on either side of, the Second World War, and the Chicago School, which has dominated much of the economic literature since the 1980s. Each of these movements began on the peripheries, slowly shifting their contemporary Overton windows, and eventually bringing their ideas to the mainstream.

With its heterodox views on economics, innovation, and public administration, IIPP remains an outsider. But its emphasis on educating a future generation of policymakers isn’t a bad place to start. Each of the four core modules challenge prevailing narratives and bring a new policy making toolset to the table. It’s not often that you find a course provocatively titled ‘Creative Bureaucracies’.

Additionally, both terms will be supplemented by an eclectic mix of enrichment lectures by high-profile experts and practitioners, including Erik Reinert and Tim O’Reilly. But a movement needs more than just ideas — it needs the people behind them pushing them forward.

The people

Mariana Mazzucato, Stephanie Kelton, Carlota Perez, Hilary Cottam, and Francesca Bria all have more than one thing in common. Yes, they’re all thought leaders in the domains of economics and social entrepreneurship. More importantly, however, they’re all part of the IIPP community, using the institute as a platform to propose radical new ideas on a host of issues, ranging from data stewardship to a 21st-century welfare state.

This is a group of thinkers and doers that Kate Raworth has termed a “sisterhood of renegade innovating economists.” As an MPA student at IIPP, I not only take pride in learning from these renegade economists. I also cherish the potential opportunity to work alongside them as a research assistant or otherwise.

IIPP’s attractiveness to expert researchers and practitioners is not only testament to Mazzucato’s undeniable Italian charm. It also speaks to the power of the Institute’s ideas and their piecemeal implementation at organizations and governments globally.

The network

IIPP’s Mission-Oriented Investment Network (MOIN) is composed of a diversity of global actors, ranging from municipal and national governments, to digital and innovation agencies, and international organizations. The Institute works with many of MOIN’s members on specific issues in particular depth, including innovation policy, green economy, and industrial strategy.

Potentially the most exciting piece of the MPA is the placement that is offered in the third term. The placement will no doubt allow us to benefit from seeing key ideas from the four core modules put into practice. It’s precisely this constant friction between theory and praxis that makes the MPA, and IIPP more generally, such a unique movement to be a part of.

Throughout all three of these areas — ideas, people, and network — the Institute encourages student engagement and contribution. This year’s cohort of 40 students brings together no less than 20 nationalities and a wealth of public and private sector experience.

So even if I don’t get to personally meet all the celebrities at IIPP, I’ll certainly have a community of peers, professors, and practitioners that can offer me a special and exciting purpose for the next year.