I am a senior research l fellow in the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard Kennedy School. I received my PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University in 2018.
My research looks at the capacities necessary for the pursuit of sustainable development. This work stems from the premise that the complex adaptive dynamics of nature-society systems are inherently unpredictable and subject to deep uncertainty. I focus on a set of six strategic capacities that enable collaborative efforts to foster sustainable development in the face of deeply uncertain futures. These capacities are: 1) the capacity to promote equity; 2) the capacity to measure progress; 3) the capacity to adapt to shocks and surprises; 4) the capacity to transform development pathways; 5) the capacity to govern cooperatively; and 6) the capacity to link knowledge with action.
My empirical research on the capacity to promoting equity in agricultural innovation systems in South Asia looks at the complex dynamics of technology and institutional design and how the socio-technical characteristics of innovation systems can be re-oriented to ensure the poorest and most vulnerable farmers benefit from agricultural technology. Related projects include a multi-village study of the drivers of technology access by small farmers in Bihar, India; a cross-state comparison of drip irrigation policy in India, and a cross-national comparison of solar irrigation policy in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
My work has been published in Annual Review of Environment and Resources and Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS).
Reference
William Clark: william_clark@hks.harvard.edu
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”