Oxford Policy Pod

Latest Episodes:

Mychailo Wynnyckyj on higher education reform in Ukraine, and overcoming resistance and implementing changes Feb 01, 2024

Show notes

Erik Kucherenko talks with Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine responsible for higher education reform.

We discuss best practices in the domain of higher education, compare different higher education systems and their advantages. We examine the details of Mr. Wynnyckyj’s and his team’s reform agenda, ranging from merger of universities to harnessing economic methods to incentivise high-quality education and research.

Mr. Wynnyckyj also talks about his decision to move to Ukraine after his studies in the University of Cambridge. We discuss his background as well as his decision to join the Ministry of Education and Science in 2023.

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Mriya Aid: a trailblazing NGO helping Ukraine demine its land Jan 28, 2024

Show notes

Erik Kucherenko talks with Lubomyr Chabursky, Lesya Granger, Mark Paine, founders of Mriya Aid, a Canadian NGO that has provided close to $10 million of non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.

In the first part of the conversation (00:00-1:01:03), we discuss how Mriya Aid has succeeded in winning trust of its donors and of the Canadian government, how it evolved in the last 2 years and how it manages to develop expertise and operate in a highly complex area of non-lethal military aid. Our guests provide practical advice on running an NGO, building organisational resilience, managing communication crises, and delivering despite all the difficulties on the way.

In the second part (1:01:03-1:12:32), we discuss broader geopolitical outlook related to the unlawful Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finally (1:12:32-1:22:39), our guests share their advice and reading tips for current and future policy-makers on creating a balanced lifestyle, preserving mental health, and fulfilling one’s mission in life.

Follow Mriya Aid Substack newsletter: https://news.mriyaaid.ca

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Grace Fox on the Seminole Nation and Indigeneity, American History, and Finding Purpose and Happiness Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with Grace Fox, a student of the Master of Public Policy at Oxford University, about her personal story, the history of the Native American Seminole Nation, her family, identity, and belonging. Grace also reflects on her work with the US Department of the Interior in the Bureau of Indian Education in Native American policy, and her wider work in education, equity, and social justice, and what her hopes for the future are in her life and career.

***

Grace is from Edmond, Oklahoma, and an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. She recently graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Ethnicity and Race Studies (Indigenous Studies). Through non-profit management, policy creation, and community-centered organising, Grace plans to work directly with Native American communities worldwide as an aspiring education activist.

Grace has worked for the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Bureau of Indian Education as a recipient of the esteemed 2023 Udall Congressional Internship Program. Grace is excited to continue her education in Oxford and proudly work towards creating a better future for the generations to come, ensuring the success and well-being of her future ancestors.

Grace is an Eisenhower Scholar.

Dr. Paul Monk on Democracy, the Classical World, Geopolitics, and Finding One's Purpose Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Nick Fabbri and Dr. Paul Monk discuss the crises facing the liberal democracies today, and the lessons that the Roman Republic and Greek democracies may hold for the 21st century. We cover Paul's recent papers delivered to the Institute of Law and Strategy, and his tours of Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia discussing the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and the broader geopolitical situation.

Dr Paul Monk is a writer, poet, and highly regarded Australian public intellectual with a background in security, intelligence, and consulting. His writing regularly appears in the Australian press, and he has written an extraordinary range of books, from Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty, to reflective essays on the riches of Western civilisation in The West in a Nutshell, to a prescient treatise on the rise of China in Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China.

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Ema Grajcarová on Slovakia, mental wellbeing, gender policy, and reflections on the MPP Nov 29, 2023

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Erik Kucherenko talks with Ema Grajcarová, a Master of Public Policy student student from Slovakia. In this episode, Ema talks about her personal and academic journeys, from studying at LSE and working on the use of European Union funds in Slovakia, to studying the Oxford MPP.

The conversation traces the internal evolution of Ema's interests and goals, discussing in detail her research in gender mainstreaming policies, her impressions from the first term in the Blavatnik School of Government, and advice for future applicants.

Follow Oxford Policy Podcast on Instagram: @oxfordpolicypod_

Shuab Gamote: An Unconventional Educational Journey Nov 22, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to another season of the Oxford Policy Podcast. This is our first episode of the academic year 2023-2024. It is also the start of a new series called “People of the Master of Public Policy”.

In this first episode of this series, we have Shuab Gamote as our guest. Shuab is a current MPP student and a passionate advocate for educational equality. This episode is about Shuab’s personal story of growing up in Manchester, experiencing a sometimes failing school system and making it his own political mission to promote quality education. You will also learn about what brought Shuab to the School of Government and what advice he will give to future applicants.

Unlocking the social value of employment through Social Employment Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

We are back from follow-up from our last episode on youth employment policy. We have Dr. Kate Philip again to discuss more in-depth Social Employment as a policy. Dr. Philip is the lead of the Presidential Employment Stimulus in South Africa, and the programmes she leads have employed more than 300.000 youth as social workers.

As we deep dive in the concept of Social Employment, Dr. Philip discusses what constitutes a robust Social Employment programme and how governments can make such programmes scalable through leveraging civil society and partnerships. We also discuss how employing Youth in Social Work unlocks the social value of labour and also brings advantages to the private sector.

The idea for this episode was by Dr. Philip, it was produced by Vitor Tomaz and edited by Paul Austin.

The Government Outcomes Lab: Researching new models of collaboration for better social outcomes Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Governments worldwide face major challenges such as homelessness, education access, and healthcare support and there is wide recognition that governments can’t tackle these issues alone. Governments need to work effectively with non-profits, with social enterprises, business, and philanthropies to achieve better social outcomes. In recent years, outcomes-based partnerships (cross-sector partnerships whereby funding is contingent on the achievement of measurable outcomes) have emerged as a promising way to enable more effective and more impactful public-private collaboration. However, do these approaches live up to their promise? And how can we ensure that these partnerships are designed and managed as effectively as possible, building on existing evidence, data and best practice?

Our hosts, Nikki Lucenario and Gloria Wawira, are joined by Andreea Anastasiu, the Executive Director of the Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab) at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford to discuss how outcomes-based partnerships are becoming a useful tool for governments around the world.

Founded in 2016 by the Blavatnik School and the UK to deepen the evidence around the use of innovative outcomes-based partnerships. Their work promotes an inclusive and responsive approach to generating evidence and seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice by curating opportunities for knowledge exchange for scholars, policymakers and practitioners around the world.

This episode is produced by Paul Austin.

Follow more of the GO Lab’s work at https://golab.bsg.ox.ac.uk/

INDIGO Dataset: https://golab.bsg.ox.ac.uk/knowledge-bank/indigo/

GO Lab’s Social Outcomes Conference 2023: https://golab.bsg.ox.ac.uk/community/events/soc23/

How to employ 300,000 youth - the story of South Africa's Presidential Employment Stimulus Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

In a country with 55% of the youth unemployed, the pandemic was simultaneously a threat and an opportunity. The Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) of South Africa encompassed several programmes to create and protect jobs against the effects of closures and lockdowns. One of those programmes employed as many ass 300.000 youth as social workers in school in South Africa and continues to expand.

In this episode we received Dr. Kate Philip, lead of the PES . Dr. Philip the programmes in the stimulus, discusses how social employment can be leveraged at scale to solve simultaneously the problem of youth unemployment and other social challenges.

The idea for this episode was by Dr. Philip, it was produced by Vitor Tomaz and edited by Paul Austin.

Policy in Action: A Conversation with UK Council Members Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Continuing with the mini-series of the Masters of Public Policy public servants, two British council members join the Oxford Policy Pod. James Small Edwards, councillor for the City of Westminster, and Charlie Hicks, councillor for Oxfordshire County join our host, Annelisse Escobar.

In this discussion, the council members share their experiences and challenges of youth political participation, innovation, and their vocation for service. Charlie and James compare their experiences as one of the youngest on the job. This has led them to take valuable academic knowledge at Oxford to their constituencies in policy issues like transport, housing, and coalition building.

This episode is conceptualised by Annelisse Escobar, and edited by Paul Austin. To keep up with our latest episodes, follow us on Instagram @oxfordpolicypod_.

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