Deepen your understanding of all aspects of strategic planning in preparation and execution of a megaevent.
Evaluate operational, security, and coordination risks associated with megaevents.
Identify opportunities in legacy planning.
Develop frameworks and strategies for managing risks and opportunities.
Acquire critical skills in strategy execution.
Major Events: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges is a 4-day, on-campus executive education program designed for public and private sector leaders to help navigate the challenges and opportunities of hosting or sponsoring a major event.
These large-scale, one-time events are characterized by their high costs, high attendance, and transformative potential from infrastructure development to elevating a city’s profile on the international stage. They also come with significant challenges, from the risk of denying economic opportunities to small and local businesses to the potential for harm due to terror, crowd crush, or weather. As one-time events built for short durations, they present the convergence of traditional and new policies and choices, while the pressures on all levels of government, private sector hosts, cosponsors and community leaders are public and time-sensitive.
Led by Juliette Kayyem, a renowned leader in homeland security and crisis management, this program will draw on Harvard Kennedy School’s expertise in transportation, economics, planning, cities and security to equip leaders with the technical, strategic, and policy foundations necessary to confront and manage these challenges.
Program Curriculum
Major Events: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges will guide you through three primary areas of consideration: dual-use infrastructure and transportation planning, event planning and safety coordination, and stakeholder engagement. Through faculty presentations, case studies, and a simulation exercise, you will learn to assess and manage the risks and opportunities presented by megaevents in each area.
In addition to Professor Kayyem’s extensive expertise as a security advisor to governments, international organizations, and private companies, this program features insights and expertise from world-renowned Harvard faculty and expert practitioners on transportation, dual-use infrastructure projects, and public-private partnerships.
