Transformation & Reform


How regions, countries, and localities have confronted and overcome their own challenges is instructive for leaders and citizens facing challenges today. Drawing on both historical analysis and lessons from its work advising leaders, ISE continues to document a diverse set of cases of transformation and reforms. These cases provide insight into how leaders and citizens developed a reform agenda, the policies and institutions advanced reforms, how the market and citizens were engaged, and what communications strategies were employed. Explore the Country Transition and Transformation paper series for our analysis of successful transformations.

Country Transitions and Transformations


The Country Transitions and Transformations series charts how regions, countries, and localities have confronted and overcome the challenges of statebuilding. The case studies explore the economic, social, and political dynamics of large-scale transformations, offering key insights into “what works” for tackling the pressing issues of today. Cases range from the making of Turkey’s modern state to state-level reform in India and Finland’s consensus-building citizenship model. View the entire series here.

Asset Maps

Rooted in its experience and expertise in state institutions, ISE has developed asset maps as a reframed perspective in which a country’s assets and opportunities are recognized as tools of progress, not static demonstrations of…

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Participatory Development: The Case for Substantive Facilitation

Afghanistan’s Citizens’ Charter program is national in scope, which means that the core model of facilitation must be able to adapt to a tremendously broad range of socioeconomic environments. This is particularly important as the…

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Afghanistan’s Citizens’ Charter and Inclusive Development: Afghanistan’s Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Kuchi Population in the Citizens’ Charter

Afghanistan’s nomadic and semi-nomadic populations are highly vulnerable and are generally excluded from development interventions. The Citizens’ Charter aims to work with this population to provide key services. This brief sets out key areas that…

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The Citizens’ Charter: Contributions to Poverty Reduction

This brief discusses various aspects of the Citizens’ Charter approach to poverty reduction. These include incorporating a deeper understanding of poverty dynamics into the program’s architecture, engaging provincial and district level authorities and programs, promoting…

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Lessons from Peacebuilding and Reconstruction Experience

The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya have caused untold levels of damage, resulted in significant loss of life, decimated the physical assets of the countries, and ripped apart social fabrics. Under the most…

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