The P Path to Process Policies

April 15, 2023Harsh Shrivastava

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PRESENTATION TO

YOUNG INDIA FELLOWS

BY

HARSH SHRIVASTAVA

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

Follow the “P”s Path to Process Policies


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Twelve “P”s to understand policies

PlanPradeshPaisaProfit PeopleProcessPlacesPoorPicture

• Performance

• Pilot

• Political Will


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Policies vs. schemes vs. laws

National Old Age Policy

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Right to Education


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Who makes policies

Ministries Ministers Senior officials

Other agencies National Advisory Council Planning Commission Prime Minister’s Office, Chief Ministers’ Office


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Who influences policies

CourtsMediaCivil SocietyIndustry AssociationsLegislatorsPolitical partiesExperts—academics, or interested parties


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Some regular policy statements

Manifesto of the ruling partyPresident’s yearly Address to both Houses of

Parliament Governor’s yearly address to State Legislatures

—if allowed to complete!

Prime Minister’s Independence Day address.The Five Year Plans of the country and of

StatesEconomic Surveys


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Who influences schemes

Finance Ministry—both at the Union and at the State: no money, no scheme! Expenditure Finance Committee Cabinet

Planning Commission—for Union GovernmentPolitical heft—powerful ministers get more outlays!World Bank, bilateral agencies—who fund schemes.Lobbyists, who swing allocations.Political map: Ruling party states get more


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P1: Plan

Is the proposed policy in the Plan: either five-year or annual?

To what other Plan schemes does this proposed policy refer to? Acknowledging inter-connectedness.

Does the policy define what success will look like.

Does it have “Key Failure Factors”. Like risk factors in a DRHP!


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P2: Pradesh

States implement most policies.Have they been consulted?Are they on board?

If so, how? What is their deliverable? Do they have the resources to do their share?


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P3: Paise

How much is the allocation? Of which, how much is the capital (Plan) And, how much is the revenue (Non-Plan) Are these two in sync with each other and the

objectives.

Is there sufficient absorption capacity of the ministries to spend this money. Check the latest budget for actual expenditure

(as a percentage of the revised outlay).


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P4: Profits

The private sector is driving growth, investment, and efficiencies, so:

Is there a role for private participation in the policy? Even for areas like tribal welfare, nutrition,

forests, etc.

If private investments are solicited, then: Will the private sector make a profit? Is there a regulatory body? Is there political will to get the private sector in?


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P5: People

Does the government have enough and capable human capital to implement the scheme, including on its own rolls: Not enough doctors for NRHM Not enough people trained in disability Not enough diplomats for us to be a world power.

Australia’s example.

Do the people have the capacity and capability to implement the policies Tip: check if there’s a capacity building

component.


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P6: Processes

Are the government’s internal rules and regulations flexible and supportive enough to implement the policy? General Financial Rules Rules for lateral entry Rules to decide how much failure to tolerate.

Even if we have the money and the staff, the processes and procedures can slow things down. Eg. UIDAI or NATGRID


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P7: Places, representing institutions

Are each of the government’s different ministries and departments working together to successfully implement this new policy.

No coordination within, and across, government, will sink all new policies Coal Skills—17 departments Land—no clarity across the Union and State

governments Water


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P8: Poor

How much of this directly benefits the poorest person? Gandhiji, Aam Admi, and P. Sainath What’s the point otherwise of this policy, unless it

explictly generates tax revenues?

Time is the biggest constraint for decision-makers. Worrying about the rich means less time to worry

about the poor. Airport privatization vs. railway stations and bus stands

AIDS versus TB.


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P9: Picture

Are there “pictures” as part of a well-thought-through communication plan that explains what this policy is to stakeholders? What are the advantages of this new policy? What are the costs? How will citizens and the country benefit?

Role of media: continuing coverage after the policy is in place: Although a proposed “new” policy is more

newsworthy.


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P10: Performance

Does the policy have some key performance indicators (apart from general goals) that can be tracked yearly.

Does it have anyway of defining both a final outcome, as well as an intermediate outcome. Hint: the Results Framework Document of the

Performance Management Division can help (performance.gov.in)


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P11: Pilot

Did the policy have a pilot project to test if works in the real world.

If so, does the policy document say how the learnings of the pilot have been applied to improve the policy.

Are the learnings from similar pilots in other countries also incorporated.


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P12: Political Will

Last, but most important!In the government and in the coalition.To deal with the problems that can come up—

known and unknown! Retail FDI


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An exercise for us …

Pick anyone existing or proposed policy: Healthcare Education Urbanization Retail?

Let’s examine it along all these Eleven “Ps”.


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WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PEOPLE.POLICY.PROFIT

The “How” and “Who”, not just the “What” and “How Much”

Government & Nonprofit

The P Path to Process Policies