Quantum Governance
What does development mean ? How does progress happen ? What drives civilisational change, from the first urban settlements in Mesopotamia to the creation of the first green smart cities ? From the first agricultural exploitations to the knowledge economy ? How did we, as a human community, build the world as we know it and what will define the next steps of our journey on earth ?
Asking fundamental questions has long gone out of fashion for individuals in general and let alone in the policymaking sphere; questions without easy solutions; questions that are too big to answer; questions that are too subversive to normalise. Dismissed by some for being foolish and by others for being impossible to answer. And yet, they shape every aspect of our lives and concentrate an incredibly large amount of power. Answers are a finite game; they are played within the boundaries, rules and expectations. But questions, fundamental “why” questions, they play with the boundaries, they define them.
They say crisis offer a window of opportunity; a small time-bubble during which people are collectively drawn to understanding what went wrong, asking what is it that brought us here. If there ever was an optimal moment to initiate this long overdue process of asking and reflecting on the questions that matter, today, in the middle of an unprecedented crisis, is it.
Join Whiteshield in this common journey to distill a new way of approaching the fundamental challenges of our world and a new way of doing public policy.
Revisiting fundamental questions led us to the conclusion that we need a new policy framework.
One that is not strained by a reductionist approach to the world segregating realities into artificial dichotomies and abstract silos: the economy, the private sector, the civil society, education policy, innovation policy… One that is aligned with real world complexity and one that takes the individual as the main unit of analysis and action.
We believe in the power of the quantum unit of the social world: the citizen.
For far too long, we have been relying on a misleading vision of human beings, portraying them as simple atomistic agents. We need to bring back the individuals in their full complexity to the change formula. For any social organisations is nothing else but a network of interacting individuals and no public policy can deliver impact or progress in development goals without an impact on individuals lives. People are the key conversion factor.
Key Concepts
The Quantum Equation of Development
Development performance is function of Energy (E) and Quantum learning (Q). The Energy input is itself a function of a society or country’s policy mix (P), its legitimacy (L), its administrative efficiency (A) and its narrative (N). The Quantum input is a function of individual meaning (I) which relates to the abilities, aspirations and motivations of individuals as conditioned by their background and their unique quality and community (C) which includes the core values, beliefs and norms common to the individuals of a community as part of the collective consciousness
Experience Curve
assesses the policy mix by mapping policies according to their level of influence on the network of policy goals and their level of dependence or connectedness to other policies.
Periodic Table of Public Policy
gives us insights on patterns of impact associated to each policy. In the periodic table of elements, the classification in groups and families is based on shared properties between elements, those properties indicate how the elements will “behave” in a reaction. Effectively what we are doing with public policies in the real world is no different than a chemical reaction: we are mixing different policies to achieve a certain objective and need to understand how policies are expected to “behave” in this mix
The Balance of Policy
is a statement that summarises your inputs and outputs. The left entry gives policy outputs, this is simply how you perform in your set of development goals. The right
entry gives the inputs, and these are the variables identified in the right side of the development equation: your energy (and its subcomponents) and your quantum learning (and its subcomponents). The two entries need to balance out, they ultimately lead to the same number following the logic that “nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed”. There is no output that can emerge without a transformed energy or quantum input.
Latest Insights
Explore the Quantum Learning (Q), the building block of the Equation of Development.
Building block of development Quantum Learning (Q) and the ability of individuals to absorb public interventions and convert them into achievements and benefits
The Energy (E) block of the Equation of Development & what it means for Governments to be effective
Our Quantum Governance book explains the Energy (E)=(PxLxAxN) block of the Equation of Development (D= Energy(E) x Quantum Learning(Q) as a function of a country or society’s policy mix (P), its legitimacy (L), its administrative efficiency (A) and its narrative (N).
The Equation of Development: A framework for policymakers aiming to impact individuals’ lives.
Our Quantum Governance book introduces the Equation of Development: D=(E)x(Q) where the (E)=Energy & (Q)=Quantum Learning(Q) are the two main components of the Quantum Governance framework! Start learning with Fadi Farra, one of the book’s authors, how policymakers can design policies that are tailored to each individual.
Whiteshield announces publication of ‘Quantum Governance’ book
Whiteshield, a global public policy and strategy advisory firm, has announced its publication ‘Quantum Governance’ at a live stream soft launch event that took place yesterday in London and attracted a wide range of policymakers, academics, and industry professionals.