SHILLONG:
Twenty-eight legislators from the state, including three ministers, took part in the four-day leadership training programme — Public Policy Workshop for Legislators – that concluded on Thursday.
Organised by the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB), the unique training aimed at strengthening the legislative institution and exploring leadership challenges and solutions for policymakers.
The training was also attended by the chief officials of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and state agencies.
“Meghalaya is the first Northeastern state to start with a legislative fellowship programme, with young and highly motivated fellows assisting legislators in research and data analysis on issues of state importance and urgency. However, we noticed there exist gaps in terms of legislators’ understanding and perception of evidence-backed policy formulation. The workshop is a significant step towards filling such gaps,” said Aiban Swer, Director, Meghalaya Institute of Governance and Project Lead, MLRF.
The workshop was organised in furtherance to Bharti Institute’s multi-point collaboration with the state government, wherein the institute is the exclusive knowledge and training partner for the Meghalaya Legislative Research Fellowship programme (MLRF), a first-of-its-kind initiative to aid research and advocacy in the Northeastern region.
With sessions focusing on policy challenges for India in general and Meghalaya in particular, the workshop facilitated state legislators with insights into research-oriented policy formulation and implementation, through case studies, group assignments and team-building activities.
“Programmes like these help refine the dynamics of legislative discussions, and strengthen the leadership at the helm,” said Prof Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB. “For a country like ours, these workshops, when expanded to all state assemblies, can prove to be game-changer, in terms of top leadership development, evidence-based policies, and leveraging of contemporary management principles for implementation of policies,” he added.
In addition to class engagements, the MLAs also visited Punjab Vidhan Sabha to interact with state legislators today, while the Governor of Punjab, Banwarilal Purohit, presided over the special dinner organised by the school for the Meghalayan guests, at its premises on Wednesday evening.
The programme also helped build and improve rapport among the members, who despite their different political affiliations, worked, engaged and learnt together inside and outside the class through group projects and studies.