National governments are struggling to be strategic in the late 2020s. This briefing note argues that this is not mainly a leadership flaw; it is an institutional design problem in the centre of government. The paper looks at current and past examples of strategy teams in governments and proposes designs for future ones.

The world has long depended on public institutions to solve problems and meet needs. A practical guide to designing, testing and evolving institutions, the playbook is action-oriented, helping institutional designers move from ideas to implementation. It provides six guiding principles, and offers tools and insights.

Adaptability and agility, accuracy and accessibility should be the features of modern public procurement. These capabilities are especially urgent for public institutions to acquire while generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) develops exponentially into the next general-purpose technology. This paper proposes a framework for public procurement inspired by software architecture.