# Alicia Harley, PhD ![Alicia Harley](/sites/g/files/omnuum5711/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Screenshot%202025-03-25%20at%203.27.45%20PM.png?itok=7USWg6Un) Alicia Harley is a senior research fellow in the [Sustainability Science Program](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustainability-science-program) at Harvard Kennedy School. She received her PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University in 2018. Her 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. She 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. Dr. Harley leads the [Capacity Building for Sustainable Development (C4SD)](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustainability-science-program/capacity-building-sustainable-development) research project at the Sustainability Science Program and is working on a book integrating insights from scholars and practitioners examining what it takes to build and maintain the capacities necessary to foster sustainable development in the face of uncertainty and powerful interests intent on maintaining the status quo. ![Capacities for Sustainable Development: to measure, to adapt, to transform, to advance equity, to govern, and to link knowledge with action](/sites/g/files/omnuum5711/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/C4SD_main_small-thumbnail.jpg?itok=MLf_-phE) Vignettes of six capacities necessary for the pursuit of sustainable development: i) capacity to promote equity; ii) capacity to adapt to shocks; iii) capacity to transform development pathways; iv) capacity to govern cooperatively; v) capacity to measure progress; iv) capacity to link knowledge with action. She is currently running a bi-weekly virtual seminar series [Building Capacity for Sustainable Development ](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustainability-science-program/c4sd-seminar-series)highlighting lessons from leading practitioners on how to strengthen strategic capacities to advance sustainable development goals. The seminar is open to the public and all videos of previous seminars are available online. Those interested in joining can register for individual events on the seminar series's webpage. Dr. Harley's 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. She also has an ongoing empirical project looking at the tensions between adaptation and transformation in the US Virgin Islands. Dr. Harley is also co-editor of the website [sustainabilityscience.org](https://www.sustainabilityscience.org/) which is a nascent effort to make teaching material and scholarship in sustainability science open and accessible to a wide audience. **Selected Publications:** Harley, Alicia G. and William C. Clark. 2025. [Building Capacity to Measure Sustainability: Lessons from scholarship and practice](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustsci/files/Measurement%20Capacity_SSP%20Working%20Paper.pdf). *Sustainability Science Program Working Paper* *25-01.* Harley, Alicia G. and William C. Clark. 2025. [Building Capacity to Adapt Development Pathways to Protect Human Well-being in the Face of Shocks.](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustsci/files/Adaptation%20Capacity_SSP%20Working%20Paper_FINAL.pdf) *Sustainability Science Program Working Paper* *25-02.* Harley, Alicia G. and William C. Clark. 2025. [Building Capacity to Transform Unsustainable Development Pathways into Sustainable Ones.](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustsci/files/Transform%20Capacity_SSP%20Working%20Paper_Final.pdf) *Sustainability Science Program Working Paper* *25-03.* Harley, Alicia G. and William C. Clark. 2025. [Building Capacity to Promote Equity within and among Generations.](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/programs/sustsci/files/Equity%20Capacity_SSP%20Working%20Paper.pdf) *Sustainability Science Program Working Paper* *25-04.* Clark, William C and Alicia G. Harley. 2020. [Sustainability Science: Towards a Synthesis](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-043621). *Annual Review of Environment and Resources* 45:331-386. Harley, Alicia G. 2018. [Why does technology fail to benefit the poorest farmers? A sociotechnical approach to the study of innovation and poverty.](http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:40050010) Doctoral dissertation. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. You can read a brief summary of the dissertation [here](https://aliciaharley.com/s/Harley_2018_Dissertation-Summary.pdf). Anadon, Laura Diaz, Gabriel Chan, Alicia G. Harley, Kira Matus, Suerie Moon, Sharmila L. Murthy, and William C. Clark. 2016.[ Making Technological Innovation Work for Sustainable Development.](https://www.pnas.org/content/113/35/9682) *PNAS* 113 (35): 9682-9690. **Contact:** Email: [Alicia\_Harley@hks.harvard.edu](mailto:Alicia_Harley@hks.harvard.edu) LinkedIn: Personal website: [www.aliciaharley.com](https://prod-harley.drupalsites.harvard.edu/www.aliciaharley.com)