Harris Alumni use Policy Training in Response to COVID-19

Our alumni have been sharing their stories about how they’re addressing policy challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and we wanted to share their experience as an inspiration to incoming students.

Carolina Rojas, MPP’06, Vice Minister of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the Republic of Colombia, shares some of the difficult decisions her country is facing and how her policy training is enabling her to respond in timely and efficient ways to this unprecedented challenge.

I have been the Vice Minister of Mines in Colombia since August 2018, and I can say that managing the COVID-19 pandemic is the most challenging policy issue that I have faced during my almost 20 years working in the public sector.

In a nutshell, this challenge consists of limiting the growth of the pandemic while protecting the jobs and incomes that the mining sector generates. Mining represents 1.6% of total Colombian GDP but accounts for approximately 20% of exports and Foreign Direct Investment. It also is a main source of income and jobs in many impoverished provinces of Colombia. The Colombian mining GDP consists of 60% coal that has had serious price decreases in the past few weeks. Our coal is mostly exported and produced by major international companies.

In second place, gold (around 20% of mining GDP) is a commodity whose price has increased in this economic cycle as an asset of preference during crisis, but it is produced mostly by small and artisanal miners whose capacity to comply with COVID-19 standards is limited. 

The situation is challenging, especially in a Middle Income Country with a mostly informal labor force that is affected by the country-wide lockdown that Colombia is experiencing for the first time ever. In the end, our goal is to protect the people that work in the industry and the communities where mining takes place, while enabling companies to confront these difficult times and to contribute to economic recovery in the medium-term.

I use my public policy training every day at my job, and now is no exception.

Cost benefit analysis, understanding incentives, and budgeting, have proven useful every day, but strategy and prioritizing have been my most valuable skills. This unprecedented situation has also introduced a lot of policy innovation, for example using technology to reach to citizens in faraway places, sending resources, food and equipment, and having to think on one’s feet to help and contribute. Crises often show where bureaucracy needs to be cut and where we, as public servants, have to be more efficient.

Do you have an experience to share working to respond to COVID-19 challenges? Contact us at harrisadmissions@uchicago.edu. Also check out our recent blog post: UChicago Researchers Respond to COVID-19.

Want to learn more about the work our alumni are doing with their Harris degree? Register here to join us for a Virtual Alumni Career Panel.