The Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) is a Diploma programme offered by IIM Bangalore. This programme is IIMB’s primary educational engagement in the public policy arena. Entering the third decade of operations, PGPPM brings together a unique multidisciplinary public policy exposure that blends IIMB’s rich management learning ecosystem with its strong experience in the public policy domain. Over the years, a large number of graduates of this programme have gone on to occupy key roles in government, have led public and private organizations active in the policy arena, and made academic contributions through published papers in peer-reviewed journals and by publishing in professional books.
The PGPPM focuses on individuals who aspire for public policy sensitive career roles in the near future. The programme’s inception lies in the increasingly problem-driven and project-led perspective of policy engagement that is identified with the Government of India (GoI) in its post-liberalization avatar. Mission-mode approaches, public goals and team-driven approaches to public service delivery are much more crucial to the success of policy today, than it has ever been before. Unlike in the past, the government today regularly works with organizations outside the government with different goals, different abilities and different work culture. Organizations in the private sector, or the non-profit sector, have organizational logic which is different from the government sector. The practice of public policy today thus needs to straddle this organizational complexity in ensuring delivery -- this is often challenging as there are different cultures, different compensation structures and often seemingly incompatible motivation for engagement.
And yet, it is in this space that a large number of policies in the last 30 years have functioned, sometimes failed, sometimes succeeded, and achieved global standards of performance. India’s federal structure, socio-economic challenges and sometimes even its Constitutional foundation need re-engagement from the past with changing demographic pressures, economic challenges and emerging technological complexities. PGPPM provides a window to engage with many of these issues in a structured manner, to provide participants with structures and concepts to deal with such issues. Focusing on a curriculum that emphasizes principles of management and public policy, the participant gains in depth knowledge on conceptual foundation, policy frameworks and how sectoral engagement histories of policy can help understand the design of policy in the future. PGPPM participants are expected to write a Comprehensive Policy Paper where they apply some of these learnings to a specific public policy problem. Many of these writing projects have led to research papers, or led to ideas for policy designs that were adapted and directly used by different policy relevant organizations.
Following recommendations from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the internal IIMB Review Committee, PGPPM has been re-designed, with effect from the 2023 cohort. In an attempt to make the programme more accessible and leveraging IIMB’s online learning ecosystem - IIMBx, PGPPM has transitioned into a modular, hybrid programme that spans 40 weeks and is spread across four terms. Two of the terms, spanning 30 weeks, are online, while the remaining 10 weeks are on-campus. IIMB’s rigorous blended learning and evaluation systems are at the center of the programme’s delivery. These will provide a variety of engagement opportunities for the participants and new ways to engage with IIMB faculty as well as the school’s Centres of Excellence and Initiatives. This will also provide an academic grounded learning experience to the participants in the public policy arena.
If public policy interests and excites you, then I have no hesitation to suggest the PGPPM as the learning ecosystem that fits your aspirations. Come join the vibrant IIMB community!
Warm regards,
Professor Arnab Mukherji,
Chairperson, Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management