William Clark

William Clark is the Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Trained as an ecologist, his research focuses on sustainability science: understanding the interactions of human and environmental systems with a view toward advancing the goals of sustainable development. He is particularly interested in how institutional arrangements affect the linkage between knowledge and action in the sustainability arena.

At Harvard, he currently co-directs the Sustainability Science Program. He is co-author of Pursuing sustainability: A guide to the science and practice (Princeton, 2016), Adaptive environmental assessment and management (Wiley, 1978), and Redesigning rural development (Hopkins, 1982); editor of the Carbon dioxide review (Oxford, 1982); coeditor of Sustainable development of the biosphere (Cambridge, 1986), The earth transformed by human action (Cambridge, 1990), Learning to manage global environmental risks (MIT, 2001), Global Environmental Assessments (MIT, 2006) and The global health system: Institutions in a time of transition (Harvard, 2010); and co-chair of the US National Research Council’s study Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability (NAP, 1999). He serves on the editorial board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Clark is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a recipient of the MacArthur Prize, the Humboldt Prize, the Kennedy School’s Carballo Award for excellence in teaching, and the Harvard College Phi Beta Kappa Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Selected Publications

Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles

• Collins, Ross D., Noelle E. Selin, Olivier L. de Weck, and William C. Clark. "Using Inclusive Wealth for Policy Evaluation: Application to Electricity Infrastructure Planning in Oil-Exporting Countries." Ecological Economics 133 (January 2017): 23-34.
• Diaz Anadon, Laura, Gabriel Chan, Alicia G. Harley, Kira Matus, Suerie Moon, Sharmila L. Murthy, and William C. Clark. "Making Technological Innovation Work for Sustainable Development." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113.35 (August 2016): 9682-9690.
• Clark, William C., Lorrae van Kerkhoff, Louis Lebel, and Gilberto C. Gallopin. "Crafting Usable Knowledge for Sustainable Development." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113.17 (April 26, 2016): 4570–4578.
• Clark, William C., Thomas P. Tomich, Meine van Noordwijk, David Guston, Delia Catacutan, Nancy M. Dickson, and Elizabeth McNie. "Boundary Work for Sustainable Development: Natural Resource Management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113.17 (April 26, 2016): 4615–4622.
• Clark, William C., Thomas P. Tomich, Meine van Noordwijk, David Guston, Delia Catacutan, Nancy M. Dickson, and Elizabeth McNie. "Boundary Work for Sustainable Development: Natural Resource Management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (August 15, 2011): published online.
• Moon, Suerie, Nicole A. Szlezák, Catherine M. Michaud, Dean T. Jamison, Gerald T. Keusch, William C. Clark, and Barry R. Bloom. "The Global Health System: Lessons for a Stronger Institutional Framework." PLoS Medicine 7.1 (January 2010): e1000193.
• Reid, R.S., Nkedianye, D., Said, M.Y., Kaelo, D., Neselle, M., Makui, O., Onetu, L., Kiruswa, S., Kamuaro, N.O., Kristjanson, P., Ogutu, J., BurnSilver, S.B., Goldman, M.J., Boone, R.B., Galvin, K.A., Dickson, N.M. & Clark, W.C. "Evolution of Models to Support Community and Policy Action with Science: Balancing Pastoral Livelihoods and Wildlife Conservation in Savannas of East Africa." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (November 2009).
• Kristjanson, Patti, Robin S. Reid, Nancy Dickson, William C. Clark, Dannie Romney, Ranjitha Puskur, Susan MacMillan, and Delia Grace. "Linking International Agricultural Research Knowledge with Action for Sustainable Development." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106.13 (March 31, 2009): 5047-5052.

Books

Matson, Pamela, William C. Clark, and Krister Andersson. Pursuing Sustainability: A Guide to the Science and Practice. Princeton University Press, 2016.

Edited Volumes

• Mitchell, Ronald B., William C. Clark, David W. Cash, and Nancy M. Dickson, eds. Global Environmental Assessments: Information and Influence. MIT Press, 2006.
• Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim, Paul J. Crutzen, William C. Clark, Martin Claussen, and Hermann Held, eds. Earth Systems Analysis for Sustainability. MIT Press, 2004.
• Clark, William C., Jill Jäger, Josee van Eijndhoven, and Nancy Dickson, eds. (Social Learning Group) Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks, Vol. 1: A Comparative History of Social Responses to Climate Change, Ozone Depletion and Acid Rain. MIT Press, 2001.

Outside Professional Activities