Public Policy in Action (PPiA) Fellowship

Transform Rural India A civil society led multi-stakeholder platform, aimed at multi-thematic development in the most deprived regions of rural India. Ten leading NGOs of India have come together on a common platform to trigger a large-scale community led multi-dimensional and comprehensive change process. This effort seeks to build effective partnerships with Public and Private ecosystems to support efforts of poor & marginalized communities to transform themselves. The initiative has been co-created and is supported by the Tata Trusts.

The Government matters the most to the poorest communities!

The poor, more than any other group, rely on basic public services – access to education, health care, water, and sanitation for their lives and livelihoods. For the poorest and most vulnerable, the difference that good make to their lives are profound. The complexities that prevent government institutions from providing constitutionally mandated securities, entitlements and basic services has critical consequences. They create barriers to intergenerational mobility that prevent poor families from lifting themselves out of poverty. We know, no country has prospered without an effective state structure.
The challenge to government functioning is unique for a deeply stratified society like India. Besides the institutional inertia, fragmented design and action often impedes execution while absence of systematic analysis prior to design and delivery of public programmes results in institutional ineffectiveness.

We need fresh thinking in our “public programmes”. We need new ways of thinking based on evidence, evolved well researched processes on programme design and delivery. The focus should be on disentangling the change process – context, institutions, agents, and events. Not underestimating the contextual limitations, we need to introduce innovative processes that leverage cutting-edge technologies that are increasingly becoming central to development. We also need to bring back the spotlight on personal relationships and mutual understanding as a potential locus of change.

PPIA Fellowships An intensive change leadership programme that builds young India’s perspective, competence and inspiration to solve the toughest development challenges in the country. PPIA Fellows will get exciting opportunity to assist and work closely with the District Administration to provide inputs on strategy setting, planning, implementation, and monitoring of large public programmes.The Fellows will be provided structured guidance by Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF) and senior officials at national or state level. The fellows will be mentored to support District Administration in attaining development outcomes of health & nutrition, education, agriculture & allied activities, basic services; engagement includes data driven governance and public system delivery improvements.

We at Transform Rural India (TRIF) are leveraging the power of youth to build a resilient India.

To promote this mission, we have launched an intensive change leadership programme – Public Policy in Action (PPiA) Fellowship.

The program aims to build young India’s perspective, competence and inspiration to solve the toughest development challenges in the country.

PPIA Fellows will get an opportunity to assist and work closely with the District Administration across nine states of India. They will provide inputs on strategy setting, planning, implementation, and monitoring of large public programmes in areas including health and nutrition, education, agriculture and allied activities.

This 3-year intensive program will improve the quality of life of millions of people and will be critical for catalytic action in rural India.

Who is PPIA Fellow?
1. Empathetically brings focus on the humans and process behind the public system.
2. Resilently learns from the complex development challenges of resource starved geographies.
3. Passionately champions for a new narrative that focus on developmental gains of the public administration.
4. Analytically identifies opportunities that strengthen the implementation of large public programs.
5. Strategically facilitates collaborative relationship that can sustainably impact the poorest communities.

Fellowship Programs
TRIF’s engagement with the Fellowship structure started with the Aspirational District Fellowship in 2018. Since then, TRIF has collaborated with key ministries anchoring critical public programmes to deliver public system augmentation efforts.

The PPIA Curriculum is the essential component of the Fellowship structure that enables the Fellows to tap into their leadership experience. The rigorous learning curriculum enables them to learn through the experiences directly from the field, reflecting on these experiences and apply their reflections immediately within the district administration.

Track 1: Development Perspectives

• Introduction to multidimentional poverty
• Levers & opportunities for change in rural India
• Understanding democracy and development
• “Inclusion, diversity & intersectionality”
• Power & social perspectives on development
• “Creative, collaborat ve and convergent bureaucracies”

Track 2: Governance Systems & Processes

• Structure of administration and governance in India
• Understanding the role of government functionaries in public programmes
• “Managing variables, knowns and unkowns within public administration”
• Introducing and nurturing sustainable business processes in public programmes
• “Understanding day-to-day functions like noting, tendering, proposal writing,etc.”
• Mobilising resources for the administration

Track 3: Activating Leadership

• Leadership Communication
• Leading without authority
• Change Management
• Visualising impact for self
• Managing leadership transition
• Managing polarities

Track 4: Innovation @ Execution

• Design Thinking
• Project Management Programme
• Whole Government Approach
• Leveraging digitaltransformations
• Stakeholder mapping & management
• Policy inputs from grassroots
• Best practices and innovation across the globe

The District Collector

The District Collector is the supervisor, counselor, and guide to the Fellows, in their work to attain developmental outcomes as envisaged under TADP. The following support is expected:

• Notification of the DSSU Notification of the District Strategic Support Unit (DSSU) and introduce the line department District Heads to the PPIA Fellows
• Providing working space Providing working space to the PPIA Fellows in the District Collectorate
• Involving the PPIA Fellows Involving the PPIA Fellows in planning, implementation and monitoring of the focused public programme
• Monitoring the performance Monitoring the performance of the PPIA and participate in the performance feedback process.

State Resource Cell

State Resource Cell would support implementation of the PPIA at the state level in key states. TRIF would place 2-3 Senior persons in the Cell. With regards to the Fellowship, the State cell should see the fellow as an asset to obtain and deliver services for their District. The role of the cell

• Supporting districts Supporting districts in implementation of the PPIA plan and facilitating scaling up of key initiatives.

• Identifying cross-cutting issues Identifying cross-cutting issues related to policy, implementation challenges, sectoral support around key sectors.

• Liaison with the critical departments Liaison with the critical departments at State level, for downstream support at the districts and aligning the line-dept staff towards goals of this programme

• Act as a secretariat Act as a secretariat for the convergence efforts among the key departments contributing to the success implementation of PPIA programme at the state level.

Central Resource Cell

Central Resource Cell will anchor the implementation of PPIA programmes at the central level with the relevant ministry. The roles of the cell are:

• Analysing the PPIA plans Analysing the PPIA plans for each district, and identifying areas for strengthening strategy/ approach.

• Analysing progress data Analyzing progress data of districts through technological tools built for data-driven governance and helping the districts fine-tune strategy.

• Innovation and scale Developing a bank of projects developed from best practices that can foster innovation and scale.

• Implementation of PPIA Fellowship All other tasks/functions necessary for the implementation of PPIA Fellowship.

Fellowship Support Team

The Fellowship Support Team will anchor the overall personal and professional development of PPIA Fellows. The roles of the Fellowship Support Team are as follows:

• Recruitment and placement Recruitment and placement of Fellows in the district.

• Administrative policies Streamlining administrative policies and protocols for the Fellows.

• Capacity building programmes Design and development of induction, orientation and training and ongoing capacity building programmes for AD fellows

• Facilitating on field support Facilitating on field support and mentorship for the fellows in order to enhance their motivation, learning and capacity building processes

Performance tracking

Performance tracking and performance management of Fellows

APPLICATION PROCESS 

STEP 1: APPLICATION FORM

An online application form is used to collect basic information, resume and cover letter. Additionally, the application form will also have 3 Statement of Purpose questions to better understand the candidate’s interest in the position.

STEP 2: ONLINE ASSESSMENT TEST

The candidates who clear the cut off for the SOP+Resume round are given an online assessment test through an external vendor (Mettl). The test is used to analyse the cognitive competencies of the candidate.

STEP 3: GROUP PROCESSES

The candidates who clear the cut offs for the previous rounds are invited for one-day offline recruitment process in New Delhi. The process consisted of 3 non-elimination rounds. The rounds are the following:

Group Discussion:
The group discussion round comprises 40% weightage. The candidates are given two case studies to assess their social, emotional and intellectual maturity.

Case Study Presentation:
This round consists of 15% of the weightage. Candidates are asked to make a PowerPoint presentation to assess their presentation skills. This round is optional and required only for Manager level positions. If there is no case study presentation, then this weightage will be transferred to the interview round.

Interview Round:
This round consists of 20% of the weightage. Candidates are interviewed individually by a panel to assess their suitability for the role.

Candidates who cleared a minimum of 60% overall are selected for the final reference check round. Once the reference check is cleared, the candidate will be provided an offer.

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