research and innovation as a force multiplier

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RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER:

RESEARCH, INNOVATION & PROJECTS ORIENTATION: PRECURSORS TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING DELIVERY

RAJ V. PONNALURI

Administrative Staff College of India


Ø Established in 1956 at the initiative of the Government of India and Industry

Ø ASCI is a College for practicing managers

Ø The College pioneers in post-experience management education in the country

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Mission

Let us be together, let us interact together and

may our mindscomprehend together

Rig Veda

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ASCI’s Vision� …develop HRD programmes which build

institutional capacities with R&I and nurture excellence in management and public admin

� … bring together leaders of government, NGOs, the civil society for better public interaction and understanding of issues

� … emerge as a think-tank on relevant issues especially with R&I in government

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Guiding Principles� Serve the nation, especially in delivering

INNOVATIONS in PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY� Its unique blend of management development,

consultancy, and research pursuits are structured to develop:¤ Strategic thinking, ¤ New policy initiatives, and ¤ State-of-the-art skills among practicing managers¤ Document R&I practices in government

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Former President of India, Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad6

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at ASCI7

Self-Governance, Autonomous

¨ The strategic direction of College is charted by eminent individuals who serve on its Court of Governors with the Chairman at the apex

¨ Court of Governors include -¤Co-opted members¤Ex-Officio members

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Centers of Excellence¨ Innovations in Public Systems – NEW Center¨ Economics & Finance¨ Healthcare Management¨ Human Development¨ Innovation & Technology¨ Management Studies¨ Poverty & Rural Development¨ Public Policy, Governance & Performance¨ Energy, Environment, Urban Governance & Infrastructure

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Management Development Programmes

¨ ASCI’s MDPs are structured nto develop strategic thinking nSensitize on leadership development needs

nstate-of-the-art skills among practicing managers

¨ Participants from industry, government and NGOs; over 200 MDPs are offered each year

¨ Programmes:¤ICTPs; Announced¤Area Programmes; Sector-focused

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Research & Consultancy / Projects¨ Research and Project Advice to industry, business and

government in general and functional/sectoral areas. ¨ Professional services to improve management practices in

organizations for better economic performance.

¨ College provided consultancy services in wide ranging areas, from the traditional organizational behavior and manpower studies to reform/ restructuring of institutions.

¨ Several prestigious assignments have been awarded to the College in competitive bidding in which International consulting organizations also participated.

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Collaboration with International Agencies

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Public Lectures with emphasis on R&Iü Pranab Mukherjee Current Finance Minister in the GoI

ü M S Swaminathan Farmer Director, Int. Rice Research Institute, Manila; Considered father of Green Revolution in India

ü Rahul Bajaj One of the top Industrialists

ü APJ Abdul Kalam Former President of Indiaü P.V. Indiresan Former Director of IIT Madras

ü J V Narlikar Farmer Vice Chancellor, Pune

ü Bimal Jalan Former RBI Governor, MP Rajya Sabha

ü C. Rangarajan Former RBI Governor, Former Governor of A.P.

ü Rajmohan Gandhi Former Governor, West Bengal

ü H.E. Sir Richard Stagg, High commissioner of the UK in India

ü Justice M N Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice, Supreme Court

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Our Faculty

¨ ASCI has a team of strong interdisciplinary faculty

¨ Our faculty include distinguished academics and innovators in their disciplines

¨ College also hosts a set of distinguished Guest Faculty, Visiting Profs, Advisors

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Alumni¨ Main strength: Strong Alumni spread across the globe

¨ Over 100,000 participants trained by the College¨ With wide international participation in the World Bank Progs.

Procurement Programmes and those of GMP for Senior Executives from 52 countries

¨ Trusted by the government and the business sector while it is independent of them

¨ Flexibility and responsiveness¨ Attracts good minds

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What is Research & Innovation ?

v Research: Knowledge creation

v Development: Application of knowledge

v Innovation: Something creative, something new, something of value to the recipient

v Does Public Service NEED Innovation?

v OF Course, YES!; People want change

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Whom are we Training ?

v They are’nt ‘students’ of Schools/Colleges

v These are working professionals

v They KNOW what they are doing

v So WHY DO THEY NEED YOU and ME?

v BECAUSE we are expected to KNOW MORE, ADD to their CEREBRAL CAPACITY

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Why are we Training ?

v To justify that we have ‘enabled’ X number of employees each year? ... OR

v To ‘package’ information because “I know my stuff and you will hear it from me!” ..OR

v To TRULY ADD VALUE to the participant/officer/public servant.

v If YES, we BETTER INNOVATE and offer LESSONS in INNOVATION; question: ARE WE READY FOR THIS?

v I often say, “If you hear the same material from me next year, please STOP my lecture.”

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How are we Training ?

v Is our training module based on sound RESEARCH?

v Are we offering LESSONS from experiences?

v What are the BEST PRACTICES and BENCHMARKS in public service delivery?

v Is the training methodology as innovative as INNOVATION we wish to preach and practice?

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What does Experience Show ?

v The more senior a Civil Servant, the more the desire to know about innovation in PSD.

v Trainees, across the board, want to know latest and greatest that is out there!

v No THEORY PLEASE!!!

v This forces a trainer to be CREATIVE, INNOVATIVEand AWARE of what’s happening in the rest of the world.

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The Practicing R&I Trainer

v If I am expected to teach, say on National Transport Policy, I should be an EXPERT in the sector, must have worked on PROJECTS, and RESEARCHED to DELIVER as expected!

v ….. And the trainee can DETECT in minutes!

v My own work experience and research exposure become crucial.

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A Few Examples …. 1

v PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Admin.:

v Factors: Innovation, Replicability, Sustainabilityv ASCI is GoI’s partner in evaluating PSD projects;v Each year, we review over 200 nominations;v Shortlist and select 5 to 7 awardees each year;v We VISIT Projects and WRITE case studies;v These case studies are discussed in programmes

delivered for Senior Civil Servants.

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v PM’s Best Integrated Steel Plant in India:v Factors: Leadership, Strategy & Policy Formulation, HR

Management, Partnerships, and Innovation v ASCI partners with Steel Min. to select Awardees;v Each year, we review 10 Integrated Steel Plants;v ASCI documents best practices, especially on R&I;v These case studies are discussed in training programmes;v Emphasis is mostly on leading and managing Trade Unions,

HR Talent, T&D, Competency Building etc.

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v Projects & Contracts Mgmt.; Procurement:

v Do I need work experience? Absolutely YES!v Many changes taking place; need to research;v VISIT villages; SEE the truth; EXPERIENCE reality!v Project delays, cost escalations, scope challenges;v Research as to WHY? Can we do something

DIFFERENT? Is it the RESOURCES?v Personal versus Process/Institution-centric leadership

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v Developing a National Transport Policy:

v National Policy versus local reality;v Do we know as to what our POLICIES read?v Why Policies FAIL to deliver? Do we KNOW?v Have I read the Policies myself?v RESEARCH on the need to INNOVATEv Are there GAPS in the Policy itself? ORv Are there GAPS in Implementation?

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v Intelligent Transport Systems:v Are our roads congested and unsafe?v IS the air polluted due to vehicle emissions?v Do UAs lack the ROW to build additional lanes?v Well… try ITS for moving people and traffic:

v Inform people of road conditions (ATIS)v Develop smart traffic signal systems (ATMS)v Provide state-of-the-art public transport (APTS)v Develop multimodal systems with BRTS and bike tracks

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v Government Schools and Infrastructure:v An IAS Officer once asked, “Why are school dropouts

highest among girls of age 10-13?”v There were a dozen answers;v But the answer was very simple: “because many

government schools lack toilets and parents do not want their girl children to face problems.”

v Solution: Build proper infrastructure.v Now, is THIS innovation? May be … may be not!

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v Indira Kranthi Patham:v Women empowerment through Self Help Groupsv Microfinance; Self-employment; Interest subsidy; Food

offered on credit; Land for the poor; Milk procurement; Health assessment; Life Insurance; Nutrition and day-care provision; Rural youth as security guards; Help for the physically-challenged;

v Self-administered; transactions are electronicv TRANSPARENCY, ECONOMY and EFFICIENCY

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v Mahatma Gandhi Nat’l Rural Empl’ment Prgmv Basic tenet: Employment for all in rural areas v Location: Balaghat Districtv Major socio-economic transformation; rural roadsv 227,500 job card-holders; 31.5 M man-daysv 2,000 km of roads were laid; reduced migrationv Greater integration into mainstream of societyv Created employment source BEYOND this Prgmv Is THIS innovation?

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Should we RESEARCH and PUBLISH?

v The easy answer is OF COURSE, YES!

v But do we? Probably not! Who has the time?

v Those who publish sound CREDIBLE!

v ….for, research keeps us current, at the forefront of the latest developments

v Our trainees NEED the BEST we can offer

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PUSH or PULL Mechanism?

v Should trainers be pushed into R&I? OR

v Should we be openly inviting R&I?

v Research shows that the push mechanism is probably half effective as open invitation

v There in lies the need for Administrators to MOTIVATE and INCENTIVIZE trainers to R&I

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What can Organizations do?

v Make it mandatory to pursue R&I efforts?

v Ensure that trainers get exposed to projects?

v Make R&I a part of Performance Appraisal?

v Should promotions be tied to R&I?

v Is it a must to provide monetary incentives?

v What makes R&I happen?

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Incidentally …..

v R&I trainers obtain some of the best feedback from the trainees

v They are genuinely committed to offer the best to the participating officers/trainees

v They themselves are motivated to ‘learn’ from trainees as much as they like to train

v R&I trainers are remembered, respected and revered for bringing change

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Major Issues Needing R&I Focus .. 1

v CORRUPTION: Major issue? If so, should we go for e-procurement and e-services? In AP, e-seva system is very successful

v GOOD GOVERNANCE: Reaching out to the people through Public Distribution System / rationing of essential commodities

v CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION: Community-based projects; NREGS; Indira Kranthi Patham

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v PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: Land acquisition and Resettlement & Rehabilitation

v PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: Government provides natural resources/land as inputs, private sector brings funds/expertise

v ICT: Where the nation is large/diverse, we should use internet technologies. Are we?

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v VULNERABLE POPULATION: Do we know WHO they are, WHEREthey are? WHAT they need? What national policies and support systems will be required to enable and empower our people

v HEALTH: India’s National Rural Health Mission covers the entire nation; Our goal ought to be to reduce INFANT and MATERNAL MORTALITY

v HUMAN CAPITAL: Performance & Competency Management, T&D, BSC application, India’s RFD

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v STRONG INSTITUTIONS: With greater emphasis on ‘self-financing’ models, the choice is to develop R&I-focused institutions… implies trainers shall be on the edge with R&I

v RE-INVENTING GOVERNMENT: Innovation should bring people close to people: e-seva, PDS, e-payments, citizen-preferred services

v PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE: Moving from private to public transport; better roads & bridges; water & sanitation; hospitals & schools etc…

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Innovation in THIS PSTI Conference

v Wonderful use of VIDEO by the Commissioner, National Planning Commission

v Engaging, humorous and example-rich presentation by Prof. Thakhati

v Use of the iPad-technology for training; a highly interactive mechanism

v Use of youtube / video-conferencing presentation by Dr. Rogerio Pinto from Brazil

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Is Research & Innovation a Panacea

v Probably not!

v It does offer a new way of THINKING, GOVERNING, and DELIVERING

v Helps you BRAND government initiatives

v It MOTIVATES Civil Servants and produces great LEADERS from ordinary MANAGERS

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Key Enablers for R&I

v Top management should drive the initiative

v COMMITMENT to stay on track, on target, on time; away from temptation to give-up

v ALIGNMENT from top to bottom to pursue R&I as an organizational culture issue

v VISION, MISSION, OBJECTIVES and CORE VALUES should be developed for R&I

v Aim at a Return on Investment (RoI) in R&I

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Some Conclusions….. 1

v We should develop competitive advantages in specific areas by focusing on sectors in which we can excel

v For example, some institutes may be equipped to better understand the government and PSUs, in which case, they may develop training programmes, courseware and case studies which document R&I practices such as the digitization and internet publishing of land records

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v Individual who have strengths in research and consultancy domain ought to be chosen for R&I programme direction, design and delivery.

v For example, a trainer who has industry experience in managing large projects and researching transport systems would be in a better position to discuss R&I practices when delivering a programme on Projects & Contract Management or on crafting a Transport Policy or discussing Intellectual Property Rights issues

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v Experience shows that trainers who are immersed in consultancy assignments and research initiatives of direct relevance to the trainees deliver high quality lectures

v Participants especially gravitate toward trainerswho encourage innovative, albeit simple, solutions for a work place

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v Civil servants are not averse to funding consultancy projects if a commitment is made to research and document innovative practices for good governance and quality in public service delivery

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v The top management of training institutes should ensure that creativity and innovation become the mainstay of capacity-building initiatives for fully realizing the potential of human capital

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Lastly ……

v As a good friend once said, and I modified it a bit….

If we fail to recognize the

NEED for INNOVATION,

We might as well hope for

DIVINE INTERVENTION

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THANK YOU


research and innovation as a force multiplier

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