Thank you for visiting the Pan-African School of Policy Innovation (PASPi). 

Policy capacity remains a key driver of public policy innovation – and given how decades-long structural and institutional barriers have undermined Africa’s development prospects – nowhere is policy innovation more compelling than on the continent.  

Many contemporary policy challenges cannot be solved through traditional, linear channels. A core political economy issue in the growth literature is how to structure the relationship between the public and private sectors to ensure optimal outcomes. While conventional arguments on the ability of the private sector to intrinsically generate efficiency gains remain valid, governments’ traditional role of providing an enabling environment to foster private risk-taking for capital accumulation is no less important. Policy education in Africa needs retooling.

The increasingly complex nature of society and the non-linear nature of policymaking – under rapid digitization and a tightly interconnected global economy – significantly limit the ability of traditional policy frameworks, devices, and analytical approaches to drive the formulation and implementation of effective policies. And nowhere is this more evident than in Africa. Harnessing the policy-market nexus to advance policy innovation – through public-private policy partnerships – is key in addressing persistent poverty and income inequality across the continent.

PASPi was established with an overarching objective – to bring a multi-stakeholder approach to policy innovation by harnessing the perspectives of key actors across academia, industry, government, and civil society. PASPi is a non-profit graduate, professional school fostering an entrepreneurial environment in the public policy development process.

Africa is home to a dynamic and growing digital ecosystem, and PASPi is taking full advantage of technology and emerging opportunities to retool policy education to serve the needs of the continent’s rising digital economy.

Together, we can pioneer novel solutions by reimagining and redefining policy innovation in Africa. While there is no one-size-fits-all prescription, the need for policy reforms and public-private policy partnerships capable of spreading beneficial social innovations on the continent cannot be overemphasized. From local communities and NGOs to African governments and international development agencies, PASPi is working with key actors in the policy cycle to devise sustainable solutions.

We look forward to building a robust policy innovation ecosystem and forging new alliances in the years ahead.

Together, we can make a difference. We hope you will join us.

Sincerely,

Fred Olayele, PhD
Founder & President