Indiana Minto, rapporteur in one of the study groups comprising the Taking Responsibility Project.
AS A student at the University of the West Indies, Indianna Minto made a powerful impression on her teachers. So it came as no surprise to them that when she finished her master's degree in public administration, she was quickly recruited into the doctoral programme at the London School of Economics. One of her teachers remarked that as much as Jamaica could have used her talent, the competition for her was always going to be stiff.
Still, if gone, she was not forgotten. Nor has this Montegonian girl forgotten her home. So when she was offered the prospect to return and make her contribution to her country, she did not hesitate to take it. As a cutting-edge specialist in public-sector reform, Indianna was recruited as the rapporteur in one of the study groups comprising the Taking Responsibility Project. Her group's task was to critically assess the role of the public sector in the country's development.
PROJECT'S UNIQUENESS
What attracted her was the project's uniqueness. In Kingston recently to present the interim report on the research being conducted by her group, she commented that the project "offers an opportunity for young Jamaican academics to become involved in the main debate and research taking place within the island."
Specifically, her group, under the leadership of Dr. Eris Schoburgh of the University's Department of Government, is assessing whether the country's public sector has been meeting the demands of managing the country's development. Despite the free-market hype that has sometimes surrounded discussions on development in recent years, few scholars doubt that development can occur without the supportive role of a strong public sector.
The study group, made up of both academics and senior public servants, is investigating several questions. It is looking into whether the public sector Jamaica inherited at its independence really had the tools needed to manage a young country's development. Critically, it is also trying to determine whether the institutional framework needed for development a viable regime of property rights and contract enforcement, for instance has been effectively developed. Finally, and most importantly, it is looking at the road ahead, with a goal to making recommendations as to what kind of administrative and institutional framework will be needed to put Jamaica's economic development on track.
INTELLECTUAL ASPECT
The scholarship is quite fascinating. However, as the engaging but modest Miss Minto confesses, it is not just the intellectual aspect of the project that has excited her. It is the coming together of Jamaican minds from around the world. "Like me," she points out, "a sizeable portion of the young researchers involved in this project are studying outside of Jamaica." And while the brain-drain from UWI is oft-lamented in Jamaica, Indianna's experience shows there is another way to regard it. "This fact is in no way an indictment on our education system or capabilities. Rather, it is a testimony to the skills and resilience with which we have been equipped by our local alma mater."
Turning apparent weaknesses into strengths has been one of the operational principles of the Jamaican Economy Project. Rather than relying solely on talent close to home, the project has taken advantage of Jamaica's intellectual diaspora. In the process, it has activated a virtual university of sorts. Exploiting modern communications technologies, from the Internet to teleconferencing, the project has succeeded in uniting Jamaican scholars around the world with those at home, around a shared commitment to bring their knowledge to bear on the country's future.
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
Moreover, continues Miss Minto, the experiences of other researchers like her young, still a bit idealistic, and solidly rooted in Jamaica though they work and live abroad offers a unique perspective on old problems. "Our eyes," she points out, "have not been clouded by the entrapments of politics and political affiliation. As such, our present location in foreign lands has allowed us to fly free of the nets of politics, to speak as independent and empowered individuals who are able to view our nation more objectively."
Indianna Minto's future looks bright. In the final stages of her doctoral dissertation, she has already landed herself work at Oxford University's Said Business School. Yet she hopes that she can bring some of that same optimism to bear on her country. She reflects, "No Jamaican, by virtue of youth or country of residence, should absolve himself of the responsibility to help in his country's advancement. By participating in this project I am acknowledging this fact and in so doing, making a small but what I hope will be a significant contribution to Jamaica."
The Jamaican Economy Project is an independent research body dedicated to charting a way forward for Jamaica by conducting a detailed and objective study of the country's economic history. It is in the midst of an 18-month comprehensive and inter-disciplinary study, which is drawing together dozens of the leading researchers on Jamaica, both at home and around the world. You can send your comments to
takingresponsibility@gmail.com
