Harvard Kennedy School Plans Tech-Focused Shift in Preliminary 10-Year Plan

The Harvard Kennedy School is preparing to reposition itself at the center of the rapidly evolving relationship between government and technology, according to early details of a sweeping new 10-year strategic plan.

The draft plan, expected to be finalized this summer, calls for expanding technology-focused teaching and research, recruiting faculty in the field, and building a new master’s in public policy concentration in technology.

Together, the proposals, if implemented, would mark one of the most significant shifts in the school’s direction in decades.

The effort is the product of a yearlong review led by HKS Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein, who convened five task forces in December 2024 to chart the school’s future. Each body, composed of 12 faculty and staff members, sought input from across the school and presented their findings at a November faculty meeting.

Days before he took office in July 2024, Weinstein told alumni at a private gathering in San Francisco that the Kennedy School would, under his leadership, seek to become a leading voice on technology and governance — an area he argued was underserved in policy circles.

Now, after nearly two years of internal review, that ambition is beginning to take shape.

Beyond changes to curriculum and faculty hiring, the task force recommendations would push the school into more explicitly entrepreneurial territory. Among the proposals is the creation of an accelerator to incubate public-interest technology ventures, alongside efforts to build the school’s own capacity to design and test policy innovations.

Weinstein has spent much of his tenure laying the groundwork for the plan, consulting extensively with staff, students, faculty, and alumni. He has also been unusually active on the international circuit, visiting nearly two dozen cities across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to sell alumni on his vision for the school.

An HKS spokesperson called the ideation “an energizing, productive, and collaborative process” and said the final strategic plan would be released “in the coming months.”

“As a part of this ongoing work, our community members and advisory groups have submitted hundreds of recommendations,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently considering those ideas, and no decisions have been made at this time.”

Weinstein, who spent two decades at Stanford University before coming to Cambridge, has repeatedly emphasized the need to expand the school’s real-world impact — a priority reflected in the recommendations of a separate task force focused on research and policy outcomes.

That group proposed a series of steps to strengthen the connection between scholarship and practice, including targeted faculty hiring and funding to speed computation and data analysis.

Those ideas build on Harvard Impact Labs, an initiative launched last year to connect faculty research with governments and outside organizations testing policy solutions. Weinstein previously co-founded a similar program at Stanford.

A third task force, focused around leadership and public-service values at HKS, has concentrated on campus culture. Its recommendations aim to increase intellectual diversity and encourage more sustained engagement across political differences.

Early efforts include the American Service Fellowship, which supports public servants and veterans, and an HKS “Debate, Debrief, and Dessert” series — an initiative to bring students, faculty, and invited guests together for intimate conversations on hot-button topics.

The group also proposed creating visiting residencies for scholars with a wider range of political perspectives, echoing a broader University push to promote viewpoint diversity among faculty.

The leadership task force also suggested collaborations with the rebranded Office of Belonging, Community, and Connection. The OBCC hired its inaugural director, Ranya Brooks, in January.

—Staff writer Sophia E. Alcacer can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at sophiaalcacer.88. Follow her on X at @sophiaalcacer.

—Staff writer Jen L. Phan can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at jenphan.74. Follow her on X at @jenllphan.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.