Centre for Public Policy celebrates its Silver Jubilee with a panel discussion on its evolution, contributions and future direction
Session titled ‘CPP Experience in Public Policy Research and Education’ features Chairpersons of the Centre since 2000
10 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), which is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year, hosted a panel discussion earlier today on, ‘CPP Experience in Public Policy Research and Education’, with Chairpersons of the Centre since 2000, who reflected on the Centre’s evolution, contributions and future direction. The CPP Foundation Day is 10th July.
The panel comprised former CPP Chairs Dr. Chiranjib Sen, Professor at Azim Premji Foundation, Azim Premji University and the National Law School of India University Bangalore; Dr. Gita Sen, Distinguished Professor & Senior Advisor, Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, Public Health Foundation of India (who joined online); Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Indian politician and academician and former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha; Prof. Arnab Mukherji, Chairperson, Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) and faculty of Public Policy, and Prof. M S Sriram, Chairperson and faculty, Public Policy area. Prof. Gopal Naik, Chairperson, Senior Fellow and Jal Jeevan Mission Chair Professor at the Centre for Public Policy, also joined online. The session was moderated by Prof. Anil B Suraj, Chairperson, N.S. Ramaswamy Pre-doctoral Fellowship as well as the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and faculty of Public Policy.
Prof. Chiranjib Sen, the Founding Chairperson of CPP, congratulated the Centre on continuing to flourish and contributing to its mission, and thanked former and current IIMB Directors, former and present CPP Chairs, faculty colleagues, PGPPM students and alumni and IIMB staff for its success, and the success of PGPPM, through their support. “Apart from individuals, few institutions also played a pivotal role in the Centre’s success by partnering with us, such as the Government of India through the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of Karnataka through a significant grant, the Ford Foundation by way of the initial research grants, as well as partner institutions like the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.”
Making special mention of the CPP PhD programme and the intellectual contribution of its participants, he said, “The fact they could bring practice into public policy and were willing to learn from it, made it a valuable contribution that should be acknowledged.”
About the success of the Centre, he said, “Although the CPP was formally set up in 2000, related work had started way back in 1997. CPP’s goal of infusing management discipline for transforming public administration resonated with the times. Apart from strong backing from the Government top brass, CPP also had a steady flow of strong, committed stakeholders. We had a strong base of senior and retired civil servants who also supported us. We also created an institutional structure of governance through a Programme Advisory Committee for the CPP, which guaranteed autonomy. All this contributed to the progress of the Centre as a leading public policy think tank in the country.”
Prof. Gita Sen pointed out that the CPP success story has not been devoid of challenges. “There could be differences of opinion between different stakeholders. A common issue faced was the question of inclusion – what needs to be included and how, and who should be included. In the area of public policy discourse, the important question is what makes policies work – the design of a policy could be great, but it may fail due to bad implementation. This is where the presence of senior bureaucrats was critical – their thoughts on implementation were unique when compared to that of academics. CPP went beyond the issue of ‘good policy, bad implementation’ to what makes policies work or fail.”
About who public policy is for and what it should include, she said. “It is for the people of the country. The issues that need focus are education, health, gender, social and economic equality, caster-related issues, etc.” About the road ahead, she recommended, “Above all, cross fertilization needs to happen between senior and middle levels of the bureaucracy and people from other walks of life in the country. A great deal of learning could happen this way.”
Prof. Rajeev Gowda shared that on joining IIMB, an interesting dimension for him was the opportunity to teach emerging leaders of the bureaucracy, which was a way of engaging with them and contributing to the emerging leadership of India’s governance from the Executive side. “It was a mutually beneficial interaction. After I took over as Chair, I realized that the agenda should not be to restrict policy knowledge to bureaucrats alone – it should be made available to the political class as well. We conducted workshops for them, which were successful. We launched the India Women in Leadership programme, which focused on emerging women politicians. The curriculum focused not only on policy, but on politics, personal development, gender perspective, and more.”
“We also engaged with one of our benefactors - the Government of Karnataka, where we helped programs on administrative reform, state of Karnataka’s environment, etc. There is a lot of demand from the Government for management perspective, a demand that is often not met. A challenge for faculty is unless they convert their work into reputed journal articles, the pathway to personal progress could be low. This causes a mismatch between what we publish as faculty and what is needed in the outside world in terms of practical policy. This dilemma results in the policy domain also facing challenges. CPP needs to introspect and engage more with the practical policy process, and find innovative ways to strengthen itself and be more impactful, going forward.”
Prof. Arnab Mukherji observed that the sense of openness within CPP and the focus on policy in general, have allowed the Centre to have diversity for research and other work. “The Centre has been able to reposition itself in many ways, and at every stage, despite multiple challenges, we did something right. The continuity of CPP is reflective of the significant amount of goodwill it has in the larger public policy space.”
He listed some of the achievements of the Centre as a series of consultations for innovation in the Government space which included the Karnataka Innovation Report, the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) for skill development at the district level, etc. “We have looked at different strategies to scale up our activities and create outreach, despite the barriers created due to the ever-changing public policy space, which may act as a barrier in maintaining a steady tempo. It may be difficult sometimes to keep track of contributions of CPP, and today’s forum is a wonderful opportunity to document what CPP has done and can do, or should do.”
Prof. M S Sriram hailed the annual CPP Conference on Public Policy and Management, the 20th edition of which is scheduled to be held in August this year, as the flagship event of the Centre. “One of the constant challenges we face is being a public policy centre within a B-school, due to Institute policy constraints. CPP is now decoupled from the public policy area, and is aiming to emerge as an independent, autonomous centre in the future.”
“Some of the important activities started by the Centre Chairs, such as the Foundation Day Lecture Series, have continued over the years. We also have regular communication with the Government of Karnataka. The assignments offered to us by the Government is because of the legacy and connections built by the Centre leadership, and the huge network has proved to be extremely valuable for the Centre.”
Sharing his thoughts, Prof. Gopal Naik said that one of the initial challenges he faced was to make sure that PGPPM works well, with multiple issues that needed to be sorted out. “With a redesigned programme structure came positive reviews. That set the ball rolling as it resulted in many Government departments wanting us to offer such programmes. These programmes helped capacity building for Government officers, and many such programmes continue to this day. But PGPPM faces several constraints which stalls its growth, such as fees”, he added.
Experiments were conducted by the Centre to assess to what extent public services could be delivered better, Prof. Gopal Naik informed. “We realized that it was systems that make the delivery more difficult. If you utilize the technology available, the ideas people have, harvest their energy, it is not difficult to deliver good public service in the country.”
“Challenges that the Centre faces currently include scale and price point. An active support system is needed to ensure that research is taken forward, made useful and incorporated in policies. Such links need to be established and strengthened. As a Centre, we need to make collective efforts to be more impactful.”
The panel discussion was followed by a brief interaction with the audience.
The Silver Jubilee celebrations of CPP were drawn to a close with a vote of thanks from Prof. Anil B Suraj. While delivering the welcome address earlier, he gave an overview of CPP – its objectives, activities, its progress over the years, the PGPPM, and added “The key objective of CPP is to create public policy capacity in the country.”
As part of the CPP Foundation Day celebrations, on 9th July, Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, delivered the 7th lecture of the CPP Foundation Day Lecture Series, on the topic: ‘From Gujarat to Myanmar: Evolution of India’s Disaster Management Policy and Practice during the last 25 years’. The talk described how India’s disaster management evolution has resulted in a systemic and integrated approach combining technology, institutional capacity, community engagement and social protection. Dr. PK Mishra highlighted the fact that these achievements have positioned India not just as a regional leader, but as owning a global best practice model in disaster risk management. The talk highlighted the fact that disaster management encompasses diverse dimensions like policy, legislation, capacity building, etc. – areas in which IIMB too works, as pointed out by Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore.
Click here for photo gallery
Centre for Public Policy celebrates its Silver Jubilee with a panel discussion on its evolution, contributions and future direction
Session titled ‘CPP Experience in Public Policy Research and Education’ features Chairpersons of the Centre since 2000
10 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), which is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year, hosted a panel discussion earlier today on, ‘CPP Experience in Public Policy Research and Education’, with Chairpersons of the Centre since 2000, who reflected on the Centre’s evolution, contributions and future direction. The CPP Foundation Day is 10th July.
The panel comprised former CPP Chairs Dr. Chiranjib Sen, Professor at Azim Premji Foundation, Azim Premji University and the National Law School of India University Bangalore; Dr. Gita Sen, Distinguished Professor & Senior Advisor, Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, Public Health Foundation of India (who joined online); Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Indian politician and academician and former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha; Prof. Arnab Mukherji, Chairperson, Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) and faculty of Public Policy, and Prof. M S Sriram, Chairperson and faculty, Public Policy area. Prof. Gopal Naik, Chairperson, Senior Fellow and Jal Jeevan Mission Chair Professor at the Centre for Public Policy, also joined online. The session was moderated by Prof. Anil B Suraj, Chairperson, N.S. Ramaswamy Pre-doctoral Fellowship as well as the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and faculty of Public Policy.
Prof. Chiranjib Sen, the Founding Chairperson of CPP, congratulated the Centre on continuing to flourish and contributing to its mission, and thanked former and current IIMB Directors, former and present CPP Chairs, faculty colleagues, PGPPM students and alumni and IIMB staff for its success, and the success of PGPPM, through their support. “Apart from individuals, few institutions also played a pivotal role in the Centre’s success by partnering with us, such as the Government of India through the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government of Karnataka through a significant grant, the Ford Foundation by way of the initial research grants, as well as partner institutions like the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.”
Making special mention of the CPP PhD programme and the intellectual contribution of its participants, he said, “The fact they could bring practice into public policy and were willing to learn from it, made it a valuable contribution that should be acknowledged.”
About the success of the Centre, he said, “Although the CPP was formally set up in 2000, related work had started way back in 1997. CPP’s goal of infusing management discipline for transforming public administration resonated with the times. Apart from strong backing from the Government top brass, CPP also had a steady flow of strong, committed stakeholders. We had a strong base of senior and retired civil servants who also supported us. We also created an institutional structure of governance through a Programme Advisory Committee for the CPP, which guaranteed autonomy. All this contributed to the progress of the Centre as a leading public policy think tank in the country.”
Prof. Gita Sen pointed out that the CPP success story has not been devoid of challenges. “There could be differences of opinion between different stakeholders. A common issue faced was the question of inclusion – what needs to be included and how, and who should be included. In the area of public policy discourse, the important question is what makes policies work – the design of a policy could be great, but it may fail due to bad implementation. This is where the presence of senior bureaucrats was critical – their thoughts on implementation were unique when compared to that of academics. CPP went beyond the issue of ‘good policy, bad implementation’ to what makes policies work or fail.”
About who public policy is for and what it should include, she said. “It is for the people of the country. The issues that need focus are education, health, gender, social and economic equality, caster-related issues, etc.” About the road ahead, she recommended, “Above all, cross fertilization needs to happen between senior and middle levels of the bureaucracy and people from other walks of life in the country. A great deal of learning could happen this way.”
Prof. Rajeev Gowda shared that on joining IIMB, an interesting dimension for him was the opportunity to teach emerging leaders of the bureaucracy, which was a way of engaging with them and contributing to the emerging leadership of India’s governance from the Executive side. “It was a mutually beneficial interaction. After I took over as Chair, I realized that the agenda should not be to restrict policy knowledge to bureaucrats alone – it should be made available to the political class as well. We conducted workshops for them, which were successful. We launched the India Women in Leadership programme, which focused on emerging women politicians. The curriculum focused not only on policy, but on politics, personal development, gender perspective, and more.”
“We also engaged with one of our benefactors - the Government of Karnataka, where we helped programs on administrative reform, state of Karnataka’s environment, etc. There is a lot of demand from the Government for management perspective, a demand that is often not met. A challenge for faculty is unless they convert their work into reputed journal articles, the pathway to personal progress could be low. This causes a mismatch between what we publish as faculty and what is needed in the outside world in terms of practical policy. This dilemma results in the policy domain also facing challenges. CPP needs to introspect and engage more with the practical policy process, and find innovative ways to strengthen itself and be more impactful, going forward.”
Prof. Arnab Mukherji observed that the sense of openness within CPP and the focus on policy in general, have allowed the Centre to have diversity for research and other work. “The Centre has been able to reposition itself in many ways, and at every stage, despite multiple challenges, we did something right. The continuity of CPP is reflective of the significant amount of goodwill it has in the larger public policy space.”
He listed some of the achievements of the Centre as a series of consultations for innovation in the Government space which included the Karnataka Innovation Report, the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) for skill development at the district level, etc. “We have looked at different strategies to scale up our activities and create outreach, despite the barriers created due to the ever-changing public policy space, which may act as a barrier in maintaining a steady tempo. It may be difficult sometimes to keep track of contributions of CPP, and today’s forum is a wonderful opportunity to document what CPP has done and can do, or should do.”
Prof. M S Sriram hailed the annual CPP Conference on Public Policy and Management, the 20th edition of which is scheduled to be held in August this year, as the flagship event of the Centre. “One of the constant challenges we face is being a public policy centre within a B-school, due to Institute policy constraints. CPP is now decoupled from the public policy area, and is aiming to emerge as an independent, autonomous centre in the future.”
“Some of the important activities started by the Centre Chairs, such as the Foundation Day Lecture Series, have continued over the years. We also have regular communication with the Government of Karnataka. The assignments offered to us by the Government is because of the legacy and connections built by the Centre leadership, and the huge network has proved to be extremely valuable for the Centre.”
Sharing his thoughts, Prof. Gopal Naik said that one of the initial challenges he faced was to make sure that PGPPM works well, with multiple issues that needed to be sorted out. “With a redesigned programme structure came positive reviews. That set the ball rolling as it resulted in many Government departments wanting us to offer such programmes. These programmes helped capacity building for Government officers, and many such programmes continue to this day. But PGPPM faces several constraints which stalls its growth, such as fees”, he added.
Experiments were conducted by the Centre to assess to what extent public services could be delivered better, Prof. Gopal Naik informed. “We realized that it was systems that make the delivery more difficult. If you utilize the technology available, the ideas people have, harvest their energy, it is not difficult to deliver good public service in the country.”
“Challenges that the Centre faces currently include scale and price point. An active support system is needed to ensure that research is taken forward, made useful and incorporated in policies. Such links need to be established and strengthened. As a Centre, we need to make collective efforts to be more impactful.”
The panel discussion was followed by a brief interaction with the audience.
The Silver Jubilee celebrations of CPP were drawn to a close with a vote of thanks from Prof. Anil B Suraj. While delivering the welcome address earlier, he gave an overview of CPP – its objectives, activities, its progress over the years, the PGPPM, and added “The key objective of CPP is to create public policy capacity in the country.”
As part of the CPP Foundation Day celebrations, on 9th July, Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, delivered the 7th lecture of the CPP Foundation Day Lecture Series, on the topic: ‘From Gujarat to Myanmar: Evolution of India’s Disaster Management Policy and Practice during the last 25 years’. The talk described how India’s disaster management evolution has resulted in a systemic and integrated approach combining technology, institutional capacity, community engagement and social protection. Dr. PK Mishra highlighted the fact that these achievements have positioned India not just as a regional leader, but as owning a global best practice model in disaster risk management. The talk highlighted the fact that disaster management encompasses diverse dimensions like policy, legislation, capacity building, etc. – areas in which IIMB too works, as pointed out by Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore.
Click here for photo gallery