Concept Note: New India Policy Foundation (Part 4)
The Differentiation
The Foundation will be different from existing think tanks in at least two different ways: (a) It will focus on developing policy ideas for practical real-life issues, rather than engage in mere theoretical pursuits, and (b) Engaging with policy makers and opinion leaders will be an integral part of its mandate, and it will be judged by the direct impact it will make in shaping the policy discourse in the country.
This Foundation will institutionalise the process of public policy research and intervention outside of the Government machinery. It will do so by employing and engaging the best minds under one umbrella, aggregating valuable information and ideas relevant for India, initiating debates in the intelligentsia and civil society and influencing the collective conscious of legislators and bureaucrats. It will be intellectually best in class and a constructive source of inputs on all important areas of legislation and policy making. It will aim to become the fountain head of all policy research and decision making in this country.
It will distinguish itself from other Think Tanks by its “result-oriented” (outcome focused) approach to policy intervention. The effectiveness of its output will be measured in a scientific manner and employee benefits will be linked to it. It will only have a guiding philosophy, and will have no pre-defined political affiliation. It will be accountable to its trustees and the country.
Comments
12 Responses to “Concept Note: New India Policy Foundation (Part 4)”
Guys, this is a good initiative. Appreciate the work you have put in articulating this. I have some questions though -
1)What do you mean by saying no political association? Can you please clarify? I ask because this article comes in the “friendsofbjp” website.
2)how will you attract the best “minds” to actively contribute full time?
3)Will there essentially be research and policy papers only or will there be an involvement in action too?
Your thoughts will be appreciated.
Dear Amit and Rajesh,
This seems to be a promising initiative, and I wish all the very best to the proposed Foundation.
Questions and thoughts:
1.Where will the funding for the foundation come from?Assuming some kind of endowment/grant from interested high networth individuals, are we also considering small donations from individuals which could be tax exempt?
2.How would we measure the outcomes? Is it enough to become known as a centre right policy foundation, or will the foundation take on a catalyst role to have the suggested policy changes become part of the actual laws of the land/programs of the Govts at various levels (Union, state, local)?
3.There could be a danger of spreading the foundation resources too thin by focusing on a wide range of policy initiatives from the outset.And therefore, some sort of prioritization of immediate policy focus ought to be considered.The criteria for such prioritization and resource focus need to be defined.
4.Typically, in any think tank, there is a danger of too many academics running the show, using up the resources and coming up with ‘ideal’ solutions that may not work effectively.Also, the pernicious influence of ‘received education’ from Indian and Western universities especially related to ‘otherizing’ the Indian people (by Indians) need to be guarded against.I am not tarring all academics with the same brush, but expressing my hope that this foundation would be different and go for passion, skills, and knowledge of the individuals than just academic degrees and peer-reviewed articles.The Foundation needs to think and act like a startup !
5.Ex-bureaucrats are another ‘group’ that seem to infest a lot of think tanks. While the rich experience some of them bring to the table is quite useful, some times we need to jettison old lines of thinking, especially the habit of formulating centralized controls for any policy implementation.The Foundation has to have some bureaucratic expertise available to it in-house or in a consultative manner, but we need to ensure that in the name of experience, we don’t recycle old solutions to the problems.
6.Finally (at this point in time !), we need to define what we mean by ‘centre right’ - what we stand for in each of the core policy sectors, how the Foundation will develop and refine its stands on various policy issues, and how we align all the direct stakeholders of the Foundation to the core set of beliefs, values and vision.
I think I have jumped the gun a bit on some of the points
Ok..please ignore my first question.I think you have answered it in Part 2.
However, a followup question in its place
With grants and contributions from various stakeholders, we can assume their focus would be on varying policy areas.Also, not all funding agencies or individuals may agree completely on some of the ’stands’.How will the Foundation safeguard its focus and approach from being influenced by ‘actors’ who may want to push the foundation in a specific direction on certain policy issues? What checks and balances should we define?
Intersting, kick start off and let us see what are the various avenues that need to be covered. Also it is important that whatver is planned is well debated refined and executed.
we cant end like KapilSibal with no exam policy without any other alternaives or Ghulam’s extended TV timings as a contraceptive. I see tv’s in the nearby huts but i see a lot of new borns too
Hi,
There seem to be three “global” crises peaking at the same time - which are having a profound impact on the world, and India as well - Global terrorism, Global Warming and Global Economic Change. All three need India-focussed policy formulations to build a pressure group so that India is seen to be leading this change rather than watching it happen. In all these three areas - India has been found to be seriously wanting!
One of the other comments is right on specifying what we mean by right wing, as it means different things to different people. To me it simply gets amplified in the statement “India first”, which can be the mission statement of the foundation. The recent blunders made by Dr. Manmohan Singh (and he is an honourable man - and we have Soniaji’s and Rahul Baba’s word for it), shows what happens when we keep esoteric concepts like “neighbour-first” rather than India.
I also agree with the other comment that “unconditional” funding for such a foundation needs to be figured out first, and donors can want to influence the flow of research, and that would make this a stil-born idea.
Anish
[...] The Differentiation [...]
This is required. This must be done. Please ensure that this just does not remain an initiative. The structure and composition of Foundation should most definitely be apolitical.
Salute!
Great idea. It is time such a thing started in India. As the authors note many such think tanks (Heritage Foundation etc.) exist in USA and help shape policy.
friends of bjp से अपील
यदि इस साईट को स्वस्थ बनाना है तो friends of bjp के लोगों को चाहिए की इसको बी बी सी हिंदी . कॉम की तर्ज़ पर बनाये .जैसा की उसमे दुनिया भर के सभी लोग अपनी निष्पक्ष राय किसी भी लेख पर रखते हैं जो बी बी सी द्वारा पोस्ट किया जाता है .यह साईट अस्वस्थ ही नहीं बल्कि षडयंत्र का शिकार भी है .कोई कुछ भी पोस्ट कर रहा है जो विषय या लेख से सम्बन्धित नहीं है .यह अस्वस्थ तरीका है .
friends of bjp के कर्ताधर्ताओं को चाहिए की वो बी बी सी हिंदी .कॉम का अध्यन करें और उस तर्ज़ पर इस साईट को विकसित करें .
जिस मकसद से इस साईट को शुरू किया गया था उस मकसद को यह साईट पूरा नहीं कर रहा .बल्कि बीजेपी को नुक्सान ही पहुंचा रहा है .
इस साईट पर कोई कुछ भी लिख रहा है ,गालियाँ दे रहा है ,जासूसी कर रहा है .न्यूज़ पोस्ट कर रहा है ,लिखने वालों पर फब्तियां कसी जाती हैं आदि आदि .यह साईट मज़ाक बन कर रह गया है . यह बीजेपी की संस्कृति नहीं .इससे अच्छा है इसे बंद ही कर देना चाहिए .दुनिया भर के लोग यदि इस साईट पर विजिट करेंगे तो क्या कहेंगे ? अंततः बीजेपी की ही छवि ख़राब होगी .क्या बीजेपी की छवि को ख़राब करने के मकसद से यह साईट शुरू किया गया था ? इस साईट को शुरू करने का एक पवित्र मकसद था जो की पूरा नहीं हो रहा है .यदि आप सब इस साईट को बी बी सी हिंदी . कॉम की साईट की तरह विकसित नहीं कर सकते तो कृपया इस साईट को बंद ही कर दें तो अच्छा है .