Innovations in governance

Change is inevitable so  is the innovation in governance. The other day I was talking to a collector Mandla in MP. He carried out many innovative solutions to governance issues such as reduction in black marketing of kerosene oil in Public Distribution system, solving water logging in river Narmada permanently  at district Head Quarter by removing hillock logging flood water. He then used MNREGA funds for developing sustainable assets rather simply distributing unemployment allowance. Another important intervention was quarterly distribution of PDS items to BPL & AAY families. But these innovative governance issues have never been published by state government. It could have strengthened the climate of learning organizations. There is a need in all the states to get the governance interventions documented & circulated.

Corruption is free to all. One can possess as much as one can.

The corruption is god given. Adam & Haua had tasted this. More & more value ridden is the society, less & less corrupt it would be. We have stopped giving importance to high values. Our behaviour impacts our next generation of the family & the society. They imvibe values from our behaviour. Therefore if we are concerned with corruption, we need to improve our behaviour.

Masters Programme in Development Management

I was searching the web to know who is conducting graduate level courses on development management. I found only one organization is conducting the PGD Programme in Development Management. But that too focuses more on preparing the candidates for managing NGO. This is much different than the courses being run by UK Schools like LSE. In US the subject is handled as Public Affairs & Policies. Some of them run as Governance. With that tone in India IIM Bangalore & IIM Ahmedabad started these courses in collaboration with University of Curacuse. Now MDI has announced the programme. BIMTECH another organization running this course. There is dire need to run such courses in the country. IIDM should seriously think on this issue in India is to lead the world.

Development Department being ruined by administrators for personal reasons

The other day I was talking to a senior officer of International agency about the scenario of Health Department in a State. He quipped that I stopped now taking interest in any new innovations. He said that the bureaucrats   in the helm of affairs have developed their own likings & dislikings for research & consulting organizations & individuals. They say in open that the study be given to this or that organization & not to that. He says the names suggested by them are useless ones & who are no way comparable with the shortlisted organizations. This personal liking & disliking for consulting & research agencies had damaged the growth of the department. The bureacrates starting treating the department as their fifedom though they are public servant supposed to serve the public. The duties, responsibilities, powers & authorities are given to them for good governance & not for satisfying personal egos. The whims & fancies of Head of the Departments if not controlled it will affect the governance. There are few departmental heads who think that they are the most honest persons in the universe but all others are dishonest. This results into concentration of power & centralization of decisions to such a level that speed of work slows down resulting into disaster.  But unfortunately the disaster in development department is not visible in the immediate future, it takes a decade or so. By that time this culprit would have moved to another place to damage for his sedestic pleasure.

Enemies of HRD in Government Sector in white uniform

If you approach for Head of the Department in a government office at the top level for imparting training in a specialised subject to his employees, invariably you will be discouraged unless you are from a government organization. He says there is government training institution, so he can not outsource the job of training to private organization. I said you do pre & post evaluation of the trainees & compare the difference in quality. If our quality is not 20-30% higher than government institution, we will not charge fee. He never accepts the challenge. Why? He is more worried about the status quo rather than change which involves risk. The risk bearing capacity has reduced to such a level as they are neck deep in irregularities. Even a drop if increased they will drown. Thus it is not that they are interested in protecting the government funds by outsourcing but the fear. Even in this organizational climate there are good number of officers who are willing to take risk for quality sake.

Under such scared climate expecting change is really a tough job. It requires to change the behaviour from to bottom. Sooner it is done better it would be for the growth of the coiuntry.

S K Trivedi

Enemy of Inclusive Growth is Attitude of Mind

The top proposes & junior disposes in government. The government officers rarely look at the completion date & the available time to complete the job at their disposal. Their sole objective is to complete the job. The job specification or the quality is not assumed as their prime responsibility.They are evaluated by the parameter of deviation from the procedure rather than the outcome. Most of the time government officers are busy in protecting their job than doing some innovative job or following new pattern to do the same job. Innovation therefore can not be expected in government sector. Indirectly innovation is discouraged though drums are beaten for high degree of innovation.

Most of the consultants in Government jobs are retired government employees who were conditioned to follow the rut. After retirement suddenly they start talking of innovation. It is like a hindu talks of rituals of islam or christianity. A hindu priest is hired for the role of baptization of a chriestian. How good he will prove in his role of baptization is left on reader to judge.

Any act you do, unless you internalise the process you can not perfect the job. For 35-40 years a government servant has been busy in following the procedures & conditioning himself to follow the seniors blindly & never apply his brain for change. Suddenly he takes the incarnation of a innovative modern consultant. The result is before you. Once I met the Director General of a School of Good Governance with more than 70 years age & person of excellence  in his subject. But could not create dent in governance what to talk of good governance. For them good governance is sustaining their existance & the facilities they enjoyed earlier. They should get some thing to tell others of their age that they are still wanted in the society. But all this at what cost? We the nation are to pay the price for this attitude of inclusion of  retired knowledge bank for inclusive growth.

A person having full faith in centralised planning & conditioned as centralised planner, suddenly if  asked to get the planning on inclusive growth with participatory planning, he finds confused & tends to follow the rituals. He delays the process to such a level that the time hardly left  for table work what to talk of decentralised participatory planning. We are to face this attitude & motivate a change in attitude.

 S K Trivedi

A 5 day training programme on BCC and Intra Communication from 15th November – 19th November 2010

We are glad to announce 5 day training programme on BCC and Intra Communication for district level authorities. BCC and Intra communication will be very useful for them for effective communication as it will enhance the team work within their organization at one hand and abilities to mobilize the community on the other hand.

We are working in development sector for last 13 years & established ourselves as specialist in development communication at the national level. We have conducted more than thirty programmes for Development Departments in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala etc.

We conducted programmes in social audit and participatory communication where overwhelming participation from corporate sector was received. Our faculty though now in development sector, had wide experience of large corporate organizations such as Tata, Birla, JKs, Coco Cola. L&T, Raymonds, Unilever, Ogilvy & Mather etc.

We are familiar with development sector in general and your requirement in particular. We carried out number of development interventions for community empowerment, livelihood, health, hygiene and sanitation improvement. Therefore this tailor made programme is offered for your kind approval. The details of the programme are appended with this letter.

For more details please contact below 

Indian Institute of Development Management 

E-7/136, Lajpat Society, Arera Colony Bhopal-46201

Phone:  91-755-2426109/2420409 | Fax: 91-755-2426109  

Email:iidmbpl@yahoo.com

URL: http://www.iidmindia.com/  

Enemies of Development Research

The enemies of development research can easily be identified. First enemy is the research sponsorer, second is the researcher himself & third one is the intermediaries who are engaged to collect data. The sposorer believes from the day one that he knows the reasults before the data collection started even. He forms an hypothesis & does not want to test it systematically. If the results do not confirm to his hypothesis he starts blaming the process of research & the integrity of researchers. The energy what he engages in criticising if used in facilitating the research design the quality would have been better. The second enemy is the researcher who comes from the Jamat of professors who treat any research activity like Ph D thesis. They are more interested in the size of report being not less than 300 pages. They know from their core of heart that almost all Ph D thesis are junk. Third enemy of research are the data collectors who think thay can reproduce the opinion of respondents themselves what ever may be the sample size.

Dr S K Trivedi

Organizing Mazmas give false publicity if not backed by reasults

I came to know that a public sector authority for last 15 years could only achieve 1/3 of its targets. If the targets are not met, the resources allocated for the state will be re-allocated to neighbouring states. The Narmada water in Gujrat is available in plenty at the cost of ineffeciency of MP Government. But the CM is busy in organising the populist sabhas like teacher panchayat, patwari panchayat, kisan panchayat creating an impression on the innocents who can not even smell even a molecule of ineffeciency of the government. These panchayats could not yield results yet as all development indicators of the state are worsening day by day. These mazmas can not yield solutions to the core issues. They can only sense some symptoms here and there.
Who is to be blamed for all this? It is the bankruptsy of the media personnel who are incompetent to dig out core issues for the public. It is not that the media is in hand & globe with the government because of greed only. They do not have accumen to bring out core issues & associated causes. For the weaknesses of the governance the bankruptsy of media is also responsible. If any country is to grow, it is the media which helps in the development of conducive climate.

Dr S K Trivedi

Chhalenge for development is its absence

The development professionals today are facing the acute problem of shorage of challenges in development. There is no challenge posed in India either by service providers & or by target beneficiaries. Is it true? Yes. The target beneficiaries have reconciled with the current status as its fate acomplie & development facilitators in governance have accepted the present status as the best situation under the circumstances. The other day on Nizamuddin Station I asked the Director of State Institute of Rural Development tell me single name from the faculty of State Institute of Public Administration who has any academic achievment pertaining to development adminstration. He argued to me that they are the best under the circumstances in the state. He rather strongly argued in their favour & even said you bring the Professor from IIM who will also not be able to do any thing more than the present status. With his argument I firmed my mathmatics that you multiply "0" with any number, the product will always remain zero. So why to worry. This only tells me that governance today fighting the lost battle because of absence of challenges.
Dr S K Trivedi

Existance of poverty is must for the survival of democracy

The poverty is the dearest achievment for any government. If poverty does not exist, there will not be so many development schemes of the government. It will affect the employment leading to massive unemployment. Who will crowed arround the poitical leaders if poverty does not exist? Their speeches will not be emotional. Then who will listen to these politicians? If poverty is not there, the educational level will be higher. The leaders & bureacrates will have to work hard to write the speeches if poverty does not exist in the country. Who will worship God if poverty is not there. It is said that every one remembers God in distress but never remembers in happy times. Therefore poverty is must. Even God wants poor in large numbers to remeber him & worship Him so is tru with leaders & power brokers.

Dr S K Trivedi

Corruption Breeds Corruption is wrong

It is normal sying that corruption breeds corruption. But I would say corruption reduces or kills corruption. I was told by my friend from UP that officers are tending towards being honest. I asked why? The logic was told that there is rampant corruption in UP. The politicians ask for 95% of the share of illegal collections. The officers do not want to be corrupt just for 5% gains for 100% risk. Thus corruption kills corruption becomes true.
In the recent example the bureacrates were raided in MP. The crores of rupees in cash were recovered. The next days the most corrupt politicians started shouting that the corruption will not be tolrated in the Government. Otherwise their share will be reduced. Therefore corruption kills corruption is true.

Dr S K Trivedi

Utilising the Potential of Corrupt Person for improved honesty & integrity

The persons who are raided by IT sluths & found guilty of amassing huge money.These persons are very intelegent. Their intelegentia is to be used for positive gains & improvement. The Government should establish the brigade for ensuring honesty & integrity in the governance. The most corrupt officer should be apponited as advisor to head of the unit as he is expert of the subject. But normal practice is just opposit.
I know the gentle man who is alleged to collect highest sum in MP & CG togather till date. He delayed my payments & he assesed that study could be done in just Rs 1 lakh for which we charged 12 lakh. He sent the feelers to me to part with the gains. A normal person does the job in 12 lakh, this gentleman can do in one lakh how intelegent he was. This intelegentia can help goverment in reduction of the corruption. Poison kills poison is the saying. Corrupt person is an asset of the society. He should be worshiped if corruption is to be contained.

Dr S K Trivedi

Mismanaging the development programmes by Bureacrats

The prgramme managers in development projects are invariably bureacrates who are the true disciples of Max Weber. Unfortunately Max Weber has never dealt the subject of programme management. These Bureacratic Programme Managers manage the development programmes by Weberian mindset. This results into anarchy, fifdom, loot-khasot, red tapism & ultimately dismal yield in the outcome & impacts. The funds remain unutilised.

Another reason of failure of development programme lies in the age of the programme head. If the person is about to retire ( 1-2 years remaining), he does not dare to take decisions which is the normal requirement in any development project. Ultimately the activities are delayed by geometric progression leading to cost over runs.
Therefore if the organization wants any programme to fail, it should appoint a bureacrate who is to retire in coming 1 year. One may see to it that programme will flop miserably.
Dr S K Trivedi IIDM

Corruption In Bureacracy- A false Cry

The IT Raids in MP & CG have unearthed huge sum from a few bureacrates. The media grabed the news & increased its readership/ viewership. At what cost? Why media has grabed the raw deal? The person is innocent until he/she is proved guilty. The media is always in hurry to catch the premature news. Why? It is our system of proving a person guilty or not. It takes years. Therefore who is to be blamed? It is the legal system & departmental enquiry needing speed & integrity. Therefore more than the person, the systems require cleansing. Otherwise these news items will more frequent. Simply by shouting on high platforms by the leadership is not going to help any way.