Introduction
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University welcome you to the Phase IV training programme for the year 2008. During the course of this 8-week programme, you will be exposed to a host of knowledge, skill and perception building exercises complementing your extensive experience and effective decision making abilities. This programme aims to prepare the participants for more demanding administrative responsibilities at the State Secretariats and Ministries in the Union Government, where significant policy analysis and planning needs to be undertaken.

1.1 Course Participants

This year’s programme are from the 1995 Batch of IAS Officers.

1.2  Duration

The 2008 Phase IV training programme will be inaugurated on the 21st of April and would continue till the 12th of June. The Course includes a two- week exposure visit arranged for the participants from the 17th of May to the 2nd of June.

1.3   Course Design and Delivery
The Course is being delivered in a combination of the following different modes:

• Plenary sessions – comprising of all the participants in the SPH. This would be the chosen mode for the distinguished speakers and for certain thematic lectures that shall precede smaller groups to follow up on the issues.

• Divided Session groups – To enable more interaction between the participants and the resource persons, most of the sessions shall be delivered to divided groups of about 75 members each. For the sake of consistency in this regard, the participants shall be randomly divided into Groups A and B.

• Intensive Discussion Groups – For certain topics that require intensive discussions and focussed interaction by the participants, Groups A and B shall be further sub-divided into smaller sections of about 30 to 35 members each. To maintain consistency, the sub-divided groups shall be classified as A1,A2 and B1, B2.

• Policy Conference – A Policy Conference shall be held in the very first week of the Programme, comprising of invited speakers mainly from the various departments of the Union Ministries. This shall help to improve the coverage of policy areas and locate the current state of policy in each of the major areas in the Indian context and provide the participant officers an opportunity to learn more from the vast administrative experience of their senior colleagues. The resource persons have been requested to explain the current trends in policy and the challenges and alternative directions possible in key sectors.  The discussants in the Conference may also include noted academicians and practitioners. The format of the Conference has specifically been designed in a manner as to allow for effective involvement of the participant officers as well. There are both plenary and parallel sessions. The latter are intended to facilitate more intensive interactions with the resource persons. This would be helpful in particular for the “capstone project” papers.

• Innovations Meet – Towards highlighting the various models of “policy in practice” and to identify “best practices” in governance, the Course shall involve a specific component on innovative practices and sharing of experiences by the participants. The invited speakers in this Meet shall also include some special invitees--senior government officers whose efforts at introducing government innovations have received commendation.

• Optional/Elective Sessions – There will be a few optional and/ or elective sessions. Usually these will be scheduled in the afternoons. They are intended to fulfil several different objectives—skill building (e.g. computer skills), informal Q&A and interaction sessions with visiting resource persons, instructional film shows on specific themes

• “Capstone Project”— This project is a key part of the Phase 4 programme. Each participant will work in a small group—through the duration of the programme-- to prepare a policy paper. Details regarding the group projects, which explain the objectives, design and modality, are being circulated separately.

Each teaching session will last for 70 minutes and we have accommodated 4 sessions every day (Monday through Friday, also utilising Saturday every alternate week).

2. Thematic Outline

The underlying theme for the phase IV training programme is Policy Analysis and Public Management. Over the course of the eight weeks, participants will engage with an extremely varied and talented pool of faculty and resource personnel from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, consultants from international agencies and multi- government bodies like the World Bank and the IMF as well as senior officers of the Indian Administrative Service.

2.1    Approach to Course Content
With an objective towards training the participant officers to take up responsibilities of Secretaries to State Government or Joint Secretaries to Government of India, which would be a significant departure and change from their previous job profiles, the course is designed to equip participants with significant skills in identifying, understanding and analysing policy issues of in a broader context. Various perception building exercises, to highlight emerging issues that administrators at senior levels will have to grapple with, will also be conducted, employing the following modes:

• The underlying themes for the Phase IV training programme for 2008 is Policy Analysis and Public Management. Through a combination of Plenary Lectures, smaller break out sessions, Capstone projects, panel discussions and seminars all content of the programme will be delivered in context of this theme.

• Distinguished Speakers: Various guest speakers from variegated sectors- experienced bureaucrats, renowned academicians, captains of industry, political leaders, members of the judiciary, other independent regulatory authorities will interact with participants to build perception of key issues and inform participants of the new trends in the public, private, social, political and international context.

• Korea Exposure Visit – The purpose of the exposure visit is to provide IAS officers with new perspectives and insights on the challenging issues that they face each day in India by learning how similar challenges are addressed in other countries.  The exposure visits will provide participating IAS officers with an informative and relevant educational experience that will expose them to the economic, political, management and public policy issues faced by Korea.  The exposure visit to Korea will take place during the fifth and sixth week of the program (May 19th to May 30th).  Additional information is on the Phase IV website and will be presented to the group the week before we depart from Mussoorie.

About the Institutions:

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), established in 1973, consistently figures among the top business schools in India in domestic and international surveys. IIMB has world-class infrastructure that facilitate excellence in teaching, research, consulting and other professional activities. One of the many Centres of Excellence formed within the IIMB, is the Centre for Public Policy (CPP), which is a nodal body for full-time training programmes and research projects on public policy related issues and concerns. The CPP implements its mission of “excellence through partnerships” by adopting a collaborative relationship in its research and teaching activities, with national and international institutions of excellence in the field of Public Policy. The IIMB through the CPP launched the pioneering Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) in 2000. Its collaborative association with the Maxwell School began with this programme. IIMB has recently launched a new doctoral programme in public policy and management. The CPP organizes national and international conferences on public policy and management.
For additional information on the IIMB and CPP please visit: http://www.iimb.ernet.in/

The Maxwell School of Syracuse University is the premier academic institution in the United States committed to scholarship, civic leadership, and education in public and international affairs. Maxwell is home to Syracuse University’s social science departments and to numerous nationally recognized multidisciplinary graduate programs in public policy, international studies, social policy, and conflict resolution. Maxwell’s graduate program in public administration -- the first of its kind in the nation -- is ranked consistently the leading graduate public affairs program in the country.

Additional information on the Maxwell School can be found at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/
Additional information regarding executive programs for senior officials can be found at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/exed/