Tech@hks final report 5.5.2015

The State of Technology at
Harvard Kennedy School
2015
Prepared by Alison Flint and Denise Linn
Co-chairs, Tech4Change
May 5, 2015

The State of Tech@HKS
Page 1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................................2
Summary of 2015-2016 Academic Year Recommendations ...............................................................3
The Current State of Technology at HKS......................................................................................................5
Defining Technology .......................................................................................................................................5
HKS Technology Evaluation.........................................................................................................................6
Technology Skills.........................................................................................................................................6
Technology Knowledge.............................................................................................................................7
Student Technology Survey ..............................................................................................................................8
Survey Findings ................................................................................................................................................9
The HKS Technology Summit........................................................................................................................ 13
Big Ideas for the Future .............................................................................................................................. 13
What the HKS Community Can Do Now............................................................................................... 14
Pictures from the HKS Technology Summit........................................................................................ 15
Recommendations for the 2015-2016 Academic Year........................................................................ 18
1. Offer introductory technology skills and policy classes............................................................ 18
2. Expand cross-registration access to technology classes........................................................... 19
3.
Begin
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
cohort .................................................................... 20
Appendix 1: Proposed Cross Registration Approval Framework................................................... 21
Appendix 2: Tech@HKS Survey Questions .............................................................................................. 22
Appendix 3: Full Tech@HKS Survey Results........................................................................................... 27
The curriculum for technology, policy, and civic engagement could be radically improved at HKS.
There are already great people working on important issues from Cybersecurity (Joe Nye) to digital
media (Nicco Mele), however, there's still a huge gap which HKS could easily and readily
fill. Everything from Civic technology and media, to open government, to broadband policy and its
implications for economics, social justice, and race, as well as Internet governance and policymaking
for speech, and more, there are huge gaps that leave HKS graduates under prepared for the digitally
immersive
world
they
are
entering
into.” - HKS Mid-career

Page 2
Executive Summary
We have a unique opportunity for the Kennedy School to become a leader in training
students to be effective 21st Century policymakers – it’s
time
to
act.
The importance of technology in government has been vividly displayed in recent public
policy debates over topics from cyber security and net neutrality to the failed Obamacare
website launch. As HKS seeks to train future public sector leaders, students increasingly
need to be technically literate, in fields ranging from education and health care to
international development and foreign policy.
This academic year, HKS students set out to quantify and articulate the demand for
technology-related offerings at the Kennedy School. During the fall semester, we conducted
a survey to understand student priorities. We found that 94% of students agreed or
strongly agreed that technology was important to their future career plans. However,
while a majority of students are interested in pursuing additional courses (68%) and
workshops (82%) to learn about technology policy and develop technical skills, 45% are
unsatisfied
or
extremely
unsatisfied
with
HKS’s
resources
in
this
area.
In response, we presented our findings to the HKS community including students, faculty,
administrators, research centers, and the Academic Affairs Committee. Working with the
support of more than a dozen student groups and research centers, we held an HKS
Technology Summit on February 27th, 2015. Students, faculty, administration and staff all
met together to discuss the results of the survey and come up with a plan of action.
This report is the culmination of our work over the last year to understand what
technology means to HKS students, the current state of technology at the Kennedy School,
and what we need to do to ensure that HKS becomes a leader in this area. Based on the
Student Technology Survey, conversations with faculty and administration, and the HKS
Technology Summit, we have developed a comprehensive action plan, including three
recommendations for the 2015-2016 academic year:
1. Offer introductory technology skills and policy classes
2. Expand cross-registration access to technology classes
3. Begin
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
cohort
“In
analyzing a social venture I would like to launch during my time here, I have realized that there is
a strong technology component. I will have to hire someone that can code (and likely take a coding
class
myself).” – HKS MPP1 joint degree

Page 3
Summary of 2015-2016 Academic Year Recommendations
Based on the Student Technology Survey, conversations with faculty and administration,
and the HKS Technology Summit, we propose three actionable recommendations for the
2015-2016 academic year:
Recommendation 1: Offer introductory technology skills and policy classes
We recommend that HKS offer two introductory classes that would provide students with
basic technical skills and digital literacy.
First, we recommend an introductory skills class that would train students to
be digitally literate, including both hard skills such as basic coding, data analysis,
and data visualization, as well as soft skills like web design, social media and
blogging. In addition to these topics, we would also recommend covering an
introduction to technology-related management including design thinking and
innovation, public entrepreneurship/lean startup, and product management for
government.
Second, we recommend an introductory technology policy class that would
provide a solid basis for understanding how to create effective policies. This
would include an introduction on the technical background of how the Internet
works, regulating new technologies, and the social effects of advancing technology.
The course should also cover key current issues like cyber security, privacy, digital
activism, and Internet access and equity. Finally, there should be an opportunity to
explore local, national, and international efforts in digital and data-driven
government.
Recommendation 2: Expand cross-registration access to technology classes
The faculty committee should create uniform, transparent and predictable processes for
approving technology-related courses. We propose the following specific protocols.
All CS courses at Harvard College should be automatically approved. If HKS
students are allowed to take languages for credit as it can help their policy career,
they should be able to take all languages. In the interim, as the faculty committee
gauges demand for such courses, CS classes can be automatically approved and be a
part
of
each
student’s
“language
allowance.”
The faculty committee should adopt a uniform, predictable framework for
approving non-CS technology courses at Harvard, MIT, and other partner schools.
This framework, or series of questions, should be publicized so students will know
how course approval works and gauge how likely their class of interest will count
for credit. We have included an example framework in Appendix 1.

Page 4
Recommendation
3:
Begin
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
cohort
Imagine a student using their PAE project as a policy whitepaper for their new social
enterprise, or running a Kickstarter campaign for a new water purifier as a part of a market
analysis of infrastructure challenges for the World Bank.
As the lines between policy and action blur, our final recommendation is for the Kennedy
school
to
explore
the
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
concentration.
We
believe
that

this is the type of innovative proposal which would allow the Kennedy School to attract
high-caliber public sector leaders from around the world and help define the future of
public policy.
This new concentration would support social entrepreneurs and technologists who want to
combine rigorous policy analysis with hands-on, tangible solutions. It would still require
finding a client, and writing a policy paper, however, the PAE would be framed around
developing action-oriented and policy-relevant solutions.
The
school
is
already
experimenting
with
group
PAE’s
and
other
models.
As
HKS
has
expanded its emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship in recent years, students with
these
interests
need
a
common
“home
base”.
By
bringing
students
together
in
a
special
PAE

“makers”
concentration,
students
could
learn
from
each
other,
practioners, and faculty in a
unique program that takes advantage of all the Kennedy School and the Boston area has to
offer.
There are several key steps that HKS should take to lay the groundwork for this cohort next
year. These include supporting pilot projects by students or teams of students, identifying
potential advisors, and recruiting support from research centers like CPL (Social Enterprise
+ Philanthropy), the Ash Center (Civic Tech), the Shorenstein Center (Data Journalism +
Social Media) or the Belfer Center (Cyber security).
Former US CTO and MPP’97 Aneesh Chopra speaks at the HKS Technology Summit

Page 5
The Current State of Technology at HKS
Defining Technology
We see technology as encompassing two main categories when we think about its current
existence and future existence within HKS.
The
first
category
is
composed
of
“skills”.
Many
students
come
to
the
Kennedy
School
to

learn more about economics, statistics, and other technical skills that have traditionally
been included under the umbrella of public policy.
Today, we believe that technical skills, including both hard skills like data analytics and
programming, as well as soft skills like managing technical teams and digital
communications, should be part of the core Kennedy School training.
We also note that technology is rapidly changing the core knowledge sets that public policy
professionals will need to be successful. We divide this body of knowledge into two
categories: Tech Policy, which includes new, tech specific topics ranging from Internet
privacy and governance to cyber security, as well as technology in different policy areas
such as education technology, telemedicine, or smart cities. These examples are just a few
of the many areas that technology will influence, and should not be seen as exclusive.

Page 6
HKS Technology Evaluation
We begin with a brief evaluation of the current state of technology opportunities in the
categories
we’ve
listed
at
the
Kennedy
School,
as
well
as
what
we
see
as
the
baseline

trajectory for what we expect in the future with no additional resources.
Technology Skills
Hard Skills
• What we mean: data analysis, programming/coding, engineering, operations
• Current State: limited access to data analysis and operations courses, extremely
limited for programming/coding and engineering
• Possible Future State: Better access to these opportunities --‐
whether
at
HKS
or

elsewhere at Harvard. These skills should be available to students and encouraged
by the faculty and administration. If it exists at HKS, it could be folded in to the
quantitative side of the core. If students want to cross register into these classes
elsewhere, they should be allowed to.
• Why: Technical skills like data analysis, basic coding and statistical programming,
GIS are increasingly expected in the workplace from policymakers, analysts, project
managers, and social entrepreneurs. HKS should make sure that at the very least -
they
allow
ambitious
students
to
take
a
deep
dive
in
these
“hard
skill”
areas.

Soft Skills
• What we mean: managing and collaborating with technical people, digital
communications (blogging, social media, open platforms, etc.), being technically
literate in general.
• Current state: good in social media, but limited for other soft skills, particularly now
that Nicco Mele is no longer teaching
• Possible Future State: HKS should work to fold these values/skills into the core
curriculum --‐
especially
the
management
component
of
leading
cross--‐disciplinary

teams. For example, the Oyster case in MLD-101 already includes a tech component,
which could be expanded with guest technology experts.
• Why: We
don’t
want
a
repeat
of
Obamacare.
Being
able
to
manage
technical
projects

and communicate with technical employees will be a key skill for future
policymakers, even if they never write a line of code themselves.

Page 7
Technology Knowledge
Knowledge of Technology Policy
• What we mean: Internet policy (access, adoption, infrastructure), privacy, security,
etc.
• Current state: fair, but not unified as a single policy area for students to rally under.
• Possible Future State: Better consolidation of these efforts as well as new events,
speakers, specialized courses, and faculty to meet increasing student demand.
• Why: HKS is attracting students who come from these fields and want to be leaders
in these fields, but without more resources, those students might choose to go
elsewhere.
Knowledge of Technology in Policy
• What we mean: civic technology/tools, technology in development, technology in
education policy, telemedicine, social entrepreneurship etc.
• Current state: varies by subject area, but generally limited in the curriculum
• Possible Future State: Faculty in specific policy areas should update cases, topics,
and courses, folding in timely tools and best practices as related to technology.
• Why: Students should enter the workforce knowing what the latest experiments and
technical advancements in their policy area are. Other policy schools are starting
cross-train
their
students
in
policy
and
technology
(ex:
UChicago’s
“Hack
Harris”
or

the
Heinz
School’s
“Big
Data”
track).
HKS
should likewise aim to produce a new,
advanced class of 21st century public servants.

Page 8
Student Technology Survey
This fall we set out to quantify the demand for technology opportunities at HKS through a
survey of all Kennedy School Students. In the following section, we present key findings
from the survey. We also include the questionnaire (Appendix 2), and a full report,
including comments and stories from more than 30 students (Appendix 3).
Methodology:
Last fall, we worked with a focus group of more than a dozen students to develop a survey
with three main goals:
Gauging the level of student interest in and career relevance of technology to the
HKS student body.
Identifying what technology knowledge (both tech policy and policy in tech) and
skills (hard and soft) students had and were interested in.
Evaluating the current levels of satisfaction of technology at HKS and how the school
should prioritize future efforts.
We sent the survey to every Kennedy School student through the HKS student government,
and also publicized the survey through numerous student groups and flyers around
campus.
We received more than 250 responses, more than a quarter of the school. Demographic
data suggest that our respondents include a diverse and representative mix of students by
gender, program, area of interest, graduation year, etc..
Following completion of the survey, we publicized its findings to the student body, as well
as presenting our findings to key stakeholders including:
Dean Ellwood
Dean Haigh
Dean Fung
Dean Cooper
Dean Weaver
The Academic Affairs Committee
The HKS Technology Summit

Page 9
Survey Findings
While the HKS Technology Survey provides a wealth of valuable information about student
views on technology and policy at HKS, we choose to highlight just a few key findings. We
include the survey text and full results in Appendices 2 and 3.
Our first finding is that technology overwhelmingly matters to HKS students. 87% agree or
strongly agree that technology is important to the future of their policy area, and 94%
agree or strongly agree that technology is important to their future career plans. No
student strongly disagreed that technology would be important to their future career.

Page
10
Second, we find that there is strong student demand for technology related opportunities at
HKS across a wide range of subject areas. Students are most interested in pursuing
technology-related opportunities in economic development, local government, and social
entrepreneurship, but there is also significant interest in international development,
education, and international relations.
Students are also interested in a wide range of technology policy topics. Nearly half of
respondents expressed interest in predictive analytics, managing the risks of new technologies,
and digital activism. Privacy and data ethics, cyber security, and broadband access are also
popular topics, with approximately 40% of students expressing interest.

Page
11
We also asked students about the skills that they have, and the skills that they wanted to
expand. Most students feel confident in social media, blogging, and data analysis, but have
strong interest in learning more about data visualization, coding, and data analysis.
Students were also particularly interested in web design, technical project management,
and media analytics. The biggest gaps between the skills students had, and the skills they
wanted to learn, were in data visualization and coding, but only in social media did more
students feel skilled than those that wanted to learn more.
We also feel that it is important to highlight the raw numbers that we found. While the
percentages are high (for example, 58% of respondents want to learn to code), this
translates into 145 individual students who want to learn to code – just among students
who took the survey.
Unfortunately, we find that the majority of students are unhappy with tech opportunities at
HKS, and that this is particularly true for hard skills. 45% of students are unsatisfied or
extremely unsatisfied with technology overall at HKS, and 64% are unsatisfied or
extremely satisfied with opportunities to learn hard skills (and many of them, 26%, are
extremely unsatisfied). There are many students who feel neutral about the opportunities
that HKS provides, but very few are satisfied – and only one student is extremely satisfied.

Page
12
However, the good news is that there are many opportunities to improve, and students
know what they want. 82% of respondents are interested in hard skills workshops, and
68% would be interested in more HKS technology courses. There is also significant demand
for soft skills workshops and embedding technology in existing courses.

Page
13
The HKS Technology Summit
On February 27th, 2015, students, faculty, staff, and administration gathered together at the
first HKS Technology Summit to brainstorm ways HKS can produce technology literate
policymakers – policymakers who will inevitably make decisions in a world with drones,
robotics, Internet governance issues, and digital government services. Dean Karen Jackson-
Weaver,
former
U.S.
CTO
Aneesh
Chopra
(MPP
’97)
and
former
U.S.
Deputy
CTO
Nick
Sinai

all spoke at the event.
The purpose of the Summit was to react to the Student Technology Survey and produce an
action plan to meet student demand. Across all Summit participants, there was a shared
attitude: we have a unique opportunity for the Kennedy School to become a leader in
training students to be effective 21st Century policymakers – and the time to act is
now.
Big Ideas for the Future
At the Summit, Hugo Zylberberg (MPP1), Nico Miailhe (MC/MPA), and JeeYoung Oh (MPP2)
led a breakout session on long-term goals. The breakout group – comprised of faculty,
fellows, students, and research center representatives – came up with a list of interesting,
innovative ideas that HKS could pursue. Some highlights include:
Develop
an
MPP
concentration
for
“makers”
which
would
allow
students
to
not
just

write a policy analysis exercise (PAE), but build something new – whether
it’s
an

application, digital service, or social enterprise.
Offer an introductory course summarizing the basics of technology policy,
technological trends, working with experts, and contracting with technical vendors.
Create a GovTech Lab at HKS. Much like what MIT has done with the Media Lab, a
future GovTech Lab could be a major convening force. Right now technology
resources and research is decentralized at HKS. A lab would also be a natural home
for student projects, workshops, talks, or hackathons.
Incorporate key technology topics into the core. For example:
o Incorporate basic data visualization into core statistics class
o Incorporate
“learn
to
code”
basics
into
core
economics
class,
applied
to
Stata
o Incorporate innovation and design thinking into core policy analysis
o Incorporate agile and lean startup methodologies into core management
class
o Include more technology-based cases, bringing in outside experts if needed

Page
14
What the HKS Community Can Do Now
Another breakout session was held to think of immediate, relatively easy changes that
could be made to meet student demand in the near-term. Chris Sommerfeld (MPA1), Loren
Newman (MPP1) and Carolyn Anderson (MC/MPA) led that discussion and came up with
the following action plan:
Make sure the next Dean of the Kennedy School recognizes the important, evolving
role of technology in public policy training – that future policymakers will make
decisions in a world with drones, robotics, Internet governance issues, and digital
government services.
Starting next semester, HKS can allow students to take technical courses for credit –
for instance, the College’s
CS-50
or
MIT’s
“How
to
Make
Almost
Anything.”

Students can create (and constantly improve) a centralized list of all technology
resources available in Cambridge.
With OCA, students can reach out to alumni to understand what technology-related
skills and knowledge HKS graduates need to succeed in various policy fields.
HKS can find ways to highlight technology in existing curricula and cases.
The Tech4Change PIC along with a partnered research center can conduct a
workshop on data visualization (or another skill) by the end of this year.

Page
15
Pictures from the HKS Technology Summit
The Summit was sponsored by the Ash Center, the Shorenstein Center, and the Belfer Center.
Supporting student groups include Tech4Change, the Future Society, the Cyber Security Policy
PIC, the International Security PIC, the Regional, State, Local & Tribal Government PIC, the
IDEV PIC, the EdPIC, EPPIC, the Crisis Management PIC, the Criminal Justice PIC, the Human
Rights PIC, and the Energy & Environment PIC.

Page
16
.
Tweets from the Summit:

Page
18
Recommendations for the 2015-2016 Academic Year
Based on the Student Technology Survey, conversations with faculty and administration,
and the conversations from the HKS Technology Summit, we propose three actions be
taken for the 2015-2016 academic year:
3. Begin
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
cohort
We recommend that HKS offer two introductory classes that would provide students with
basic technical skills and digital literacy.
First, we recommend an introductory skills class that would train students to be
digitally literate. As a broad framework, we suggest that this course could include the
following data-supported topics:
1. The Language of Technology
2. Coding 101
3. Data Analysis
4. Data Visualization
5. Web Design
6. Social Media + Blogging
7. Design Thinking + Innovation
8. Public Entrepreneurship + Lean Startup
9. Product Management for Government
Second, we recommend an introductory technology policy class that would provide a
solid basis for understanding how to create effective policies. This course would offer
a basic outline of key technology policy frameworks, as well as specific, in depth analysis of
several relevant issues such as:
1. How the Internet Works
2. History and Social Impacts of Technology
3. Tech Policy and Regulations
4. Cybersecurity
5. Privacy
6. Digital Activism
7. Broadband/Internet Access+ Equity
8. Digital and Data-Driven Government

Page
19
The faculty committee should create uniform, transparent and predictable processes for
approving technology-related courses. We propose the following specific protocols:
All CS courses at Harvard College should be automatically approved. If HKS
students are allowed to take languages for credit to help their policy careers,
they should be able to take all languages. In the interim, as the faculty committee
gauges demand for such courses, CS class can be automatically approved and be
a
part
of
each
students
“language
allowance.”
The faculty committee should adopt a uniform, predictable framework for
approving non-CS technology courses at Harvard, MIT, and other partner
schools. This framework, or series of questions, should be publicized so
students will know how course approval works and gauge how likely their class
of interest will count for credit. We have included an example framework in
Appendix 1 based on conversations with administrators on their key priorities.
One of the frequent concerns we have encountered is that classes counting towards HKS
degrees be policy relevant. To put this priority in perspective, we have created the
following chart:

Page
20
Courses
like
“How
to
Make
Almost
Anything”
(MIT)
and
CS50
(Harvard
College)
would

most definitely fit in the top right quadrant of having indirect policy relevance and being
technical and skill-based in nature. These courses have been denied cross-registration in
the past.
The chart above, however, displays a bias not in policy relevance, but in how technical the
class is. Negotiations, ethics, and speech are very popular subjects folded in to the fabric of
HKS – and all are arguably very indirect when it comes to policy relevance. It is therefore
only the technical courses that are denied credit worthiness. What does that say about HKS
and the 21st century policymakers it hopes to produce?
3.
Begin
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
cohort
Imagine a student using their PAE project as a policy whitepaper for their new social
enterprise, or running a Kickstarter campaign for a new water purifier as a part of a market
analysis of infrastructure challenges for the World Bank.
As the lines between policy and action have become increasingly blurred, exploring the
development
of
a
new
“makers”
PAE
concentrations
would
be
an
exciting
next step in
supporting the development of 21st Century policy and policymakers. This concentration
would support social entrepreneurs and technologists who want to combine rigorous
policy analysis with hands-on, tangible solutions. It would still require finding a client, and
writing a policy paper, however, the PAE would be framed around developing action-
oriented and policy-relevant solutions.
The
school
is
already
experimenting
with
group
PAE’s
and
other
models.
As
the
school
has

expanded its emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship in recent years, students with
these
interests
need
a
common
“home
base”.
By
bringing
students
together
in
a
special
PAE

“makers”
concentration,
students
could
learn
from
each
other,
practioners,
and
faculty
in
a

unique program that takes advantage of all the Kennedy School and the Boston area has to
offer.
The intersection of policy and action also has a long history, both within and outside the
Kennedy School. Over the last few years, several students have used their PAE’s
as

whitepapers to develop a strong policy foundation for their social enterprises. On a larger
scale, program-based organizations like City Year and Year Up have actively changed the
policy discourse around service learning and youth unemployment, in a way that would be
difficult to imagine had they focused solely on policy.
We believe that HKS should work to lay the groundwork for this cohort next year by
supporting pilot projects by students or teams of students, identifying potential advisors,
and recruiting support from research centers like CPL (Social Enterprise + Philanthropy),
the Ash Center (Civic Tech), the Shorenstein Center (Data Journalism + Social Media) or the
Belfer Center (Cybersecurity).

Page
21
Appendix 1: Proposed Cross Registration Approval Framework
Assumed Priorities:
An approved course must policy relevant – either directly or indirectly.
In certain circumstances indirect relevance should be supplemented with directly
relevant projects.
Any approved course must be rigorous.

Page
22
Appendix 2: Tech@HKS Survey Questions
Tech@HKS
The Tech@HKS Initiative unites students from all policy backgrounds interested in
influencing the Kennedy School's technology strategy. The goal of this survey is to measure
student interest and demand for technology opportunities at HKS. It should take about 5
minutes to complete. Please contact Denise_Linn@hks15.harvard.edu with any questions,
or if you'd like to get involved.
Background: When we think about technology at HKS, we recognize that technology
means different things to different people. For this survey:
Technology knowledge refers to technology policy like net neutrality as well as
technology in policy areas like smart cities or education technology.
Technology skills includes hard skills like data analysis and programming, as well as
soft skills like social media and managing technical teams.
For more information, read our handout: "What is Technology at HKS?"
Section 1: Demographic Information
What is your degree program at HKS?
MPP (1)
MPA (2)
MPA-ID (3)
Mid-Career (4)
Security Fellow (5)
Mason Fellow (6)
Ph.D. (7)
Other (8) ____________________
Are you in a joint degree program?
Yes (1)
No (2)
What year do you graduate?
2015 (1)
2016 (2)
2017 (3)
What is your gender?
Male (1)
Female (2)

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23
What is your age?
Under 25 (1)
25-29 (2)
30-34 (3)
35 and over (4)
Section 2: Technology Knowledge
What is your primary policy area of interest? Choose one.
Education (1)
International Relations (2)
International Development (3)
Housing (4)
Transportation (5)
Economic Development (6)
Social Entrepreneurship (7)
Regional, State, and Local Government (8)
Public Finance (9)
Environmental/Energy (10)
Human Rights (11)
Military/Security (12)
Electoral Politics (13)
Health Care (14)
Gender Equality (15)
Other (16) ____________________
I think technology is important to the future of my policy area.
Strongly Disagree (1)
Disagree (2)
Neither Agree nor Disagree (3)
Agree (4)
Strongly Agree (5)

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24
Technology in Policy: I would actively pursue more learning opportunities about
technology in these policy areas. Check all that apply.
Education (1)
International Relations (2)
International Development (3)
Housing (4)
Transportation (5)
Economic Development (6)
Social Entrepreneurship (7)
Regional, State, and Local Government (8)
Public Finance (9)
Environmental/Energy (10)
Human Rights (11)
Military/Security (12)
Electoral Politics (13)
Health Care (14)
Gender Equality (15)
Other (16) ____________________
Technology Policy: I would actively pursue more learning opportunities in the following
technology policy topics. Check all that apply.
Spectrum Policy (1)
Broadband Access/Infrastructure (2)
Leading Technical Teams (3)
Digital Activism and Organizing (4)
Privacy and Data Ethics (5)
Cybersecurity (6)
Nanotechnology (7)
Biotechnology (8)
Forecasting Technology/Predictive Analysis (9)
Managing Risks of New Technology (10)
Other (11) ____________________

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25
Section 3: Technology Skills
Check both categories if they apply - they are not mutually exclusive.
Skills I have (and am
comfortable listing on a
resume): (1)
Skills I want to develop or
expand: (2)
Coding (1)
HTML (2)
Web Design (3)
Data Analysis (4)
Social Media (5)
Blogging (6)
Social Media Analytics (7)
Technical Project Management
(8)
Data Visualization (9)
Engineering (10)
Other (11)
How important will technology be for your future career plans? Please answer for each
technology area.
Strongly
Disagree (1)
Disagree
(2)
Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
(3)
Agree (4)
Strongly
Agree (5)
Technology in general
(1)
Technology policy
(Internet policy,
cybersecurity,
biotechnology, etc.)
(2)
Technology in Policy
(technology in your
policy area of
interest) (3)
Hard skills (coding,
data analysis, etc.) (4)
Soft skills (technical
project management,
social media outreach,
etc.) (5)

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Section 4: Tech@HKS
How satisfied are you by the availability of technology opportunities at HKS? Please answer
for each technology area.
Extremely
Unsatisfied
(1)
Unsatisfied
(2)
Neutral (3)
Satisfied
(4)
Extremely
Satisfied
(5)
Technology in general (1)
Technology policy
(Internet policy,
cybersecurity,
biotechnology, etc.) (2)
Technology in Policy
(technology in your
policy area of interest)
(3)
Hard skills (coding, data
analysis, etc.) (4)
Soft skills (technical
project management,
social media outreach,
etc.) (5)
What solutions should HKS adopt to improve your access to technology opportunities?
Select all that apply.
More cross-registration approval (1)
Increase the number of HKS courses in technology (2)
Embedding technology topics in existing offerings/core options/cases (3)
Providing soft skills workshops (4)
Providing hard skills workshops (5)
Creating a technology course guide (6)
Hire faculty with backgrounds in technology (7)
Hire administration with backgrounds in technology (8)
Bring in more speakers/fellows in this area (9)
Provide more access to HKS alumni working in technology (10)
Form partnerships with outside organizations (11)
Expand career services resources for students interested in technology (12)
Other: (13) ____________________
Other (14) ____________________
Other (15) ____________________
Tell us a story about your experiences with technology at HKS. (Optional)

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Appendix 3: Full Tech@HKS Survey Results
My Report: Last Modified: 01/29/2015

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14. Tell us a story about your experiences with technology at HKS. (Optional)
Text Response
Operations Management (MLD 601) has some helpful cases regarding managing technology projects, and has
also taught me some "hard skills." API 505 also included a case on the Oyster Card, but our class discussion
could have focused more explicitly on the challenges managing IT procurement. The same goes for many MLD
101 cases.
Frustrated with the lack of courses on STS. Any course offered is very esoteric and has no real practical
application. Need folks with more "hard" skills on science and tech.
In analyzing a social venture I would like to launch during my time here, I have realized that there is a strong
technology component. I will have to hire someone that can code (and likely take a coding class myself) - I
would also like to think more broadly about technology as both a risk an opportunity in different policy areas.

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The career services in tech policy are not there. I've had to look for myself.
The computers are a joke. Absolutely pathetic. HKS obviously doesn't prioritize tech. If we did, we'd have
fancy Macs in all our libraries with Adobe and such to encourage us to use creative media to tell stories.
I really enjoyed Nicco Mele's Media, Politics, and Power course; without him on the teaching team next year, I
hope there is someone to teach a comparable course.
Workshops or extra-curricular courses with outside organizations (on data analysis, data science, data
journalism, data visualization) would be great.
HKS is not very tech savvy in a myriad of ways - administration, curriculum, course delivery should all be
reviewed through the lens of technology
The curriculum for technology, policy, and civic engagement could be radically improved at HKS. There are
already great people working on important issues from Cybersecurity (Joe Nye) to digital media (Nicco Mele),
however, there's still a huge gap which HKS could easily and readily fill. Everything from Civic technology and
media, to open government, to broadband policy and its implications for economics, social justice, and race,
as well as Internet governance and policymaking for speech, and more, there are huge gaps that leave HKS
graduates under prepared for the digitally immersive world they are entering into. And this is not only
relevant to those in the Global North. Technologies in developing countries and the Global South follow a
different path (often leapfrogging) and are often used in more sophisticated and different ways than they are
already designed. There is a huge amount of learning we can do from cases in the Global South, from
policymaking across the United States and the Global North, which can be incorporated into our education at
HKS. My interactions with Nicco and Joe have been incredibly positive, but HKS should invest in this area x5,
utilizing its existing faculty (Archon Fung, Calestous Juma, Joe Nye, etc) but also making a concerted effort to
really broaden it out.
Nicco Mele's departure will leave a hole in this area. consider replacing him. Micah Sifry is a great candidate
to approach.
I worked to implement new knowledge management and IT infrastructures with a large, global non-profit in
developing countries. I also worked in biotechnology and launched a few innovative data transmission pilots
in Zimbabwe that saved quite a few infant lives by providing faster test results.
I would love to have more opportunities to learn coding extracurricularly but through HKS.
I went to the career center because I was interested in finding opportunities related to segmenting voters
data to use for outreach and campaigns. We have some major hubs here in Boston (NGP/VAN) and a number
of alums who have worked in the field (Dan Wagner, and Obama campaign people), but the Career center had
no information for me. Nikko Melle gives the only course and its focused on social media. One of the reasons I
came back to school was to learn how to segment voters data to target advocacy/communications. However,
there are really not many (or any) opportunities for me to learn these skills in a hands on way.
I've been waiting for someone to ask me this question. This is truly the highlight of my week. Technology at
hks is unacceptable. It pains me to see hks think it's a professional school when it's core intranet is a terrible
as knet. Knet is one big sick sick joke. No one, from professors to students want to use it OR knows how to use
it. It is damn near impossible to upload an assignment. The course discussion page looks like the internet
looked the first day man had internet. Nothing is intuitive. Please please please fix this. Look at what other
schools have: amazing course interface pages, GMAIL, etc,- I can't believe that it's because of money that
everyone has to suffer like this. I am completely embarrassed when I'm at the business or law school or GSAS
to pull up knet on my computer if other people are around because I don't want them to ask if I'm getting an
associate's degree at northern Nebraska school of dentistry. Please bring knet and hks email into atleast the
early 2000s.
I would gladly attend seminars and workshops on hard and soft skills. I think this is easier to implement and
can be offered several times throughout the semester. Workshops can also be planned in series with
advanced workshops building on the knowledge of previous ones.
I do believe that technology is important. However, those who truly want a hard technology degree can chose
other programs or other schools for that. I would be a little bit concerned if the temptation to overemphasize
technology fads displaces other important professional and intellectual skills. Expand the technology-related
opportunities for those who want to supplement their policy training, but don't do it at the cost of
opportunities that are uniquely available at HKS. Partnering with outside organizations who have a core

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competency in technology sounds like a smart option.
I was interning at LinkedIn. I was surprised to see the top quality public policy work a tech firm is engaged in.
Surprisingly, the head of public policy arm of LinkedIn is HKS alum. I asked her why don't you recruit at HKS.
She said that the alumni office has treated her badly and has never followed up with her to forge any alliance
with HKS/LinkedIn. Our alumni base is the key, we can't take them for granted.
I don't know why in the world we're not learning Stata in our intro statistics course, especially when we're
being asked to do regression analyses for our final project. Stata is essential to anything more than the most
basic regression analyses!!
Many classrooms don't have enough power sockets. Hardly any study rooms with full multi-media
equipment. KNET / SPARK is crap - sort it out and stop laughing it off!! Few IT classes after Summer pre-term
(any??). All workshops should ALWAYS be filmed and easily available. Frankly, HKS is in the stone age and
this is deplorable. The one class on IT is a joke - telling people how to tweet etc - is that all? Is that all tech
means to HKS? Pathetic (as usual) ... and no one wants to hear, cares etc. Why should they? We just pay the
bills here (mirroring governments who don't listen to their citizens?).
Nicco Mele course - Exelent !! HKS needs urgently to fill this space !!
I have worked in high tech before coming to HKS and I am not looking for any courses related to tech at HKS.
We discussed the Oyster Card TfL case in both API 505 and MLD 601, but could have been more explicit about
the lessons learned for managing IT projects. It would also be easy to incorporate more of a focus on
technology into other MPP core classes such as MLD 101.
I am using a computer running a version of Linux as an Operating System (Kubuntu) and I refuse to use any
Microsoft software (Word, Excel or Powerpoint). This does not make my engagement with the IT department
impossible (I can access the wifi and do basic things from my computer) but it prevents me for instance from
printing on HKS computers - or Harvard computers for that matter. Another example is the use of Stata in our
Stats classes when there is an equivalent free software, R, being used for exactly the same purposes. As a
University caring about knowledge, I would have expected the technological environment at HKS and at
Harvard to be more oriented towards free and open source software, which promote the diffusion of
knowledge and skills to a far greater extent than the proprietary softwares that constitute the backbone of
the Harvard IT infrastructure. At the very minimum, I would have expected the IT department to at least
provide me with interoperability with their platform, but I went to the HKS IT department and I am
apparently the very first student who dared to ask such a question. That being said, I think there's only a very
little number of universities in the world where that's being done.
Applied for credit at MIT 6.00. Denied. Took the course anyway, not for credit - it was one of the most
rewarding I have taken since I arrived, although very tough to keep up with HKS courses as a result. This
semester I have been awarded credit for a DBMS course up at SEAS, which has been great but makes no sense
in the context of prior disapproval. My paper is on the chasm that currently divides policy from technological
potential.
Speaking on "The Responsive City" at an Ash Center, Susan Crawford memorably said, "We need to cross train
students in policy and technology." Not only is HKS not doing that, but I don't even think they know what that
phrase means. When I bring up technology to administrators or faculty, they assume that students want macs
in the libraries. That is their perception of how technology interacts with (and can interact with) this school
and public policy. It's very troubling - especially since those officials are the ones that stay when students
(many of whom are anxious for evolving curriculum) leave after a max of two years...barely long enough to
turn momentum into institutionalized change. I come from an Internet policy background. Once in my Econ
class, the professor brought up a "new" policy instrument called the spectrum auction. He didn't know much
about it, but I used to work in that office at the FCC. This was odd for several reasons. First, spectrum auctions
have been around for about two decades. Second, why is our classroom experience so far behind the
professional experience many of us have already gone through before entering HKS? Why isn't there a
stronger connection between practitioners and HKS administration/faculty? This goes beyond just
technology - though that subject is suffering most at the moment, in my opinion. This is a pre-professional
program. I assumed that the school would be making an effort to see how the list of skills and knowledge
needed of their graduates is changing with the times. I would love to learn how to code, how to work with
people that do code, and how to grapple with complex topics which might be regulated in the future

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(nanotechnology, robotics, etc.). Other policy schools like UChicago and Heinz are already folding in data
science into join degree opportunities, programs, and classes. HKS should be a leader, not a follower. There's
only a short window of opportunity here for the school to claim that role. Lastly, for students interested in
technology - whether that's information tech, civic technology, biotechnology, etc. - the burden to get the jobs
they want, get the research they want, and get the experiences they want at HKS is all on them. There is no
institutional support. Sometimes it's Ash...sometimes Belfer...sometimes Shorenstein. No one has ownership
over this space. Student groups like Tech4Change shouldn't be the "go-to," centralized resources and
information for students the same way research centers are in other policy areas. HKS should celebrate the
students who already see how policy is evolving as a result of changing times...not make their lives more
difficult or make them feel unwelcome.
I have just completed DPI-659, it was really valuable but now Nicco has left. What else is there?
I have had a great experience, but specifically because I've taken two courses with Sheila Jasanoff. I'm very
tech savvy, use tech in my private business, and know my way around these subjects. I'm frankly not terribly
interested in the hard/soft skills discussion, though I know it might be necessary for a wing of people at HKS.
I'm particularly keen to see more support for courses like Jasanoff's--ones that look at science and technology
the same way we might look at democratic theory, ethics, etc. Sheila's courses have taught me how to
navigate a world in which science and technology are pervasive and unevenly distributed with varying
purposes and successes. I think these needs greater emphasis school-wide. I don't think you need to know
how Reddit works to look at these things from the direction I'm suggesting and I think it would be a benefit to
offer more in this area as part of a well-rounded, comprehensive approach you seem to be suggesting with
your survey. Tapping the resources you already have with folks like Jasanoff will save you a fortune and give
you the ability to quickly implement large pillars of this plan.
Media Power and Politics in the Digital Age was a good, rounded program. Also good was study of cyber
issues in Great Power competition. IT Help Desk provides good support and Excel training was useful.
a lot can be done. bravo!
I would love more workshops on hard and soft skills, especially if they are can organized as a series with
successive workshops building on the skills or earlier ones.
I have had very little exposure to technology at HKS. I think there should be a much stronger focus on the
ways in which technology will affect all areas of policy in the future, in addition to a technology "boot camp"
and/or other hard skills training -- particularly for those students who don't have a background.
Knet is terrible.
KNET sucks. Poor design and integration with daily student life. Common things hard to do or find. Just
downloading course work is a pain. Why do I have to download each item. There should be a button to just
download the whole lot on one go. A package download.
From discussions with others, I feel that willingness to approve certain technology-related courses, for
example CS50 and a database course in FAS, has been lacking. I believe that MPP's should be given more
flexibility to craft a customized program if they can articulate compelling reasons that certain courses,
especially in technical areas, can enable them to forge a desired career path.
Statistic Value
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Tech@hks final report 5.5.2015

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