In the 1990s, New Zealand suffered a major epidemic of meningococcal disease. It resulted in nearly 250 deaths and left many of the survivors with serious disabilities. In 2004, the country’s Ministry of Health began an immunisation programme using a… Read more
Archives: Public Impact Fundamentals
New Zealand’s rheumatic fever prevention programme (RFPP)
Rheumatic fever is a serious illness than can lead to permanently damaging heart disease. It often results from a throat infection, and Māori and Pacific children are particularly susceptible. In order to reduce incidence of the disease, the New Zealand… Read more
Universal free admission to the UK’s national museums
Charging for entry to national museums has been a contentious issue since the 1960s. Successive governments have changed the policy, with Labour governments in favour of universal free admission and Conservative governments opposed to it. The Labour government of 1997… Read more
Tackling Methamphetamine in New Zealand
In 2009, New Zealand had a particular problem with abuse of the drug methamphetamine, best known as “crystal meth”, with its user rates being triple the global average. The government introduced its methamphetamine action plan, a multi-agency initiative to address… Read more
London’s Cycle Hire Scheme
In 2007, London was suffering from major traffic congestion and its consequences, such as high levels of pollution and slow journey times. In 2010 it followed Paris and Brussels in introducing a cycle hire scheme, which enabled cyclists to hire… Read more
Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund
i3 is one of the many initiatives that were introduced under the umbrella of the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It aims to encourage pupils from public schools to complete secondary education and progress to college,… Read more
Gross National Happiness & policy screening tool in Bhutan
Bhutan has only recently opened up to the international community, a process that reached a climax when the UN held its 2013 climate change conference in the country. The UN has also sought to learn from Bhutan’s most exportable political… Read more
Reforming Moroccan family law: the Moudawana
In 1958, newly-independent Morocco adopted the Moudawana, a traditional code of family law that legitimised practices like polygamy and forced marriage and contributed to the subjection of Moroccan women. Led by l’Union de l’Action Féminine, a reformist movement took shape… Read more
Race To the Top (RTT): reforming education in key American states
President Obama took office in 2009 with the intention of reforming several areas of the economy and civil society. Central to these was RTT, an initiative to bring innovative reforms to schools through competitive grants to selected states. RTT’s goals… Read more
London’s congestion charge
As the new millennium began, London’s traffic was becoming increasingly slow-moving and environmentally harmful. For forty years, local and national government had analysed and debated the issue of a charging scheme for private vehicles in central London. When Ken Livingstone… Read more