DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
12 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL POLICY REFORM
In their own words
Nelia Bane’ Agbon
It rewired my brain. Policy reform work goes beyond technical- it is relational and political.
Eli Sabinay Jr.
Development Entrepreneurship transformed me from being an NGO worker to a Development Worker, experimenting with innovative tactics that I didn’t know before. I’ve gained confidence - I used to write down minutes but now I’m talking with high-ranking officials. I’ve learned to choose my battles. Ma’am Grace Jamon taught me, “when the stars aline… Strike!”
Doris Obena
Development Entrepreneurship has made me think strategically in all of my engagements. It has always made me more open to working with ‘elephants’ (the elite) so that ‘ants’ like me can leverage our limited resources.
Meet Our Instructors
Strategic Advisor, Coalitions for Change
Jaime Faustino
Jaime Faustino works at The Asia Foundation Philippines. Since 1993, he has worked with leaders and coalitions to produce policy reforms that have significantly improved the lives of millions of Filipinos - including in civil aviation, property rights, taxation, internet access, mobility, education, and disaster risk reduction. Through those experiences it emerged that leaders were implicitly practicing a set of principles that increased the likelihood of successful development interventions. Development Entrepreneurship is part of an ongoing collective effort to distill effective principles and practices to foster positive outcomes.
Director, Governance - The Asia Foundation
Nicola Nixon
Dr. Nicola Nixon is Governance Director at The Asia Foundation. Based in Hanoi, she supports governance programming across the 18 countries in which The Asia Foundation works.
She has worked for international development and academia including governance issues for 20 years.
Country Representative, The Asia Foundation - Indonesia
Sandra Hamid
Sandra is a cultural anthropologist and development specialist, with an interest in political participation and civil society; and in the nexus of religions, politics and democracy. She is the Country Representative of The Asia Foundation, Indonesia.
Program Leader, Coalitions for Change
Erika Geronimo
Erika has worked on both sides of TAF-DFAT partnership in the Philippines. For 22 years she worked with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), where she managed project portfolios that included the Coalitions for Change program. In May 2020, Erika signed on as Program Leader of the Coalitions for Change. In this role, she oversees the operational aspects of this highly adaptive program.
Country Representative, The Asia Foundation - Mongolia
Mark Koenig
Mark Koenig has held the position of the Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia since January 2018. He oversees the Foundation’s office in Mongolia, including programming on good governance, urban governance, environmental management, and social inclusion. Mark has been working on governance issues across Asia for 10 years, most recently as the Deputy Director and Urban Governance Specialist for the Foundation’s Program Specialists Group. He is the Country Representative of The Asia Foundation, Mongolia. Mark oversees programs on good governance, urban governance, environmental management and social inclusion.