Rwitwika Bhattacharya is the founder of the Swaniti Initiative. Prior to working on Swaniti’s foundation, she worked at the World Bank as an Associate in the Growth and Competitiveness area. She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Master in Public Policy program and specializes in the areas of youth employment. Her publications include Frontiers in Development Policy (World Bank), A Primer on Labor Policies (World Bank) and Global Business School Network (Harvard Business School Case

How did the idea of Swaniti emerge?

Back in 2009, when elections were taking place in India, my friends are I started thinking about the electoral process. During our conversation we realized that even though so many of us were keen to contribute to strengthening governance in India, there were too few channels of entry for young Indians to work with elected officials in supporting them in supporting them in governance. This was ironic because independently some of us (including myself) had worked with elected officially, specifically MPs and Ministers, to realize that there was a strong demand to have a demand for knowledge and human capital from the side of the elected official. Then it was only natural realizing that there is a demand and there is a supply so why not connect them. Thus Swaniti was founded. We launched our first pilot was in 2009 and since then we have continued to grow.   

What do you hope will come out of this initiative?

Currently we are working to introduce something disruptive where we are bringing in external agents in to a system where though there has been a demand for human capital and knowledge, there hasn’t be a structured way of providing this. In due course we want to illustrate how important it is to be able to have staffers, young talent and a structured approach to policy and development (currently India does not even have a defined role for it’s MPs or MLAs, with the exception of Sikkim) and therefore have it possible even become a mandated government program to have staff for elected officials who will support and strengthen governance in India.   

Share with is a real life story on a fellow’s experience working with a political leader?

This is a bit hard to do because we are just so proud of our Fellows who are exceptional. Instead of picking up a single Fellow’s experience, let me tell you in a combined way the Fellowship experience. Our Fellowship process typically starts with a multi-step recruitment process where we get hundreds of applications for our Fellowships and by doing everything from giving them a task to knowing more about their personal experiences select our Fellows. Then we have our training. This is in Delhi where we invite all of Fellows and a panel of speakers including bureaucrats to consultants to Foundational experts to provide a deeper insight in to the engagement. In fact between the selection and the training we ask Fellowship teams to work together on creating their first pitch for their clients through a powerpoint presentation (it is structured in consulting style so even before the Fellows hit the ground they are expected to have a thorough overview of the field, with the support of our Lab Associates and create the first powerpoint).

Now in the first four to five weeks of the engagement the Fellows are expected to thoroughly scope out the constituency. Fellows in Himachal and Madhya Pradesh ended up traveling to the constituency, staying in government guest houses and traveling at the back of Bikes and then there were Fellows in Delhi who visited other MPs, went to meet with Foundation Heads and sat through press conferences. So the experience really differs but it is an exhausting two weeks. Once they understand the nature of the engagement and ground realities, over the next four weeks they begin to work on finding resolutions and connecting with stakeholders. In Barrakpore for example there were eight stakeholders (everything from the local MLA, to the industry to the Benefactors etc.) they were coordinating with at one time. In a short few weeks they are expected to develop a solid program and the launch a program. We have launched pilots in over half of all our engagements. Finally the last three to four weeks are spent ensuring that the pilot is running smoothly and there is a transition to the MPs/MLAs office goes well.

It is a very fast-paced and exciting engagement but it is certainly a fruitful experience.    

How has the response been from parties – What challenges have you faced?

The response from our MPs and MLAs have been very positive and this gives us the confidence of having a larger than expected market size (most of our MPs request for Fellows to continue on beyond the scope of the engagement). However, the challenge of the engagement is also our blessing: because this is an unpioneered territory (i.e. working with MPs/MLAs) we have a lot to learn as we go along since there is no one to follow. However this has meant that every experience is exciting and promising.

What are your current initiatives?

Detailed Fellows are mentioned here: http://swaniti.in/fellowships/fellowships-summer-2013/

In your frequent travels to India what has struck you the most of parties and policy-making?

We seriously underestimate capacities of our politicians and how, with time, they are becoming increasingly structured. For example, there is a thriving campaign management and polling industry that caters to political leaders in India. While Campaign management agencies help in building the ‘political image’ of those running for office, there are so many aggressive polling agencies that are now being deployed to understand the demands/sentiments of the people on the ground. In the development field where we are working, there are so many MPs who have a fluent understanding of how to get things done (and most of them do). However, given that most of the MPs/MLAs we work with only sleep an average of 4-5 hours a night and work the rest of the time, it is evident that despite their best efforts they are only able to do so much.

How can our readers get involved in Swaniti?

You can get involved in the following ways:

Donate: 

Every single donation, no matter how big or small, helps us support our work in improving governance in India. Donations are tax-deductible and should be made out to “Swaniti Initiatve”. In-kind resources such as IT equipment, office space and equipment and data sources are also of immense value for us. Learn more about giving to Swaniti at: http://swaniti.in/donate/

 Volunteer:

Swaniti Initiative is driven by the relentless efforts of our motivated volunteers across India. Whether it is researching on core policy issues, developing case studies, assisting with field-level work or developing visuals for our Talks, volunteers have been instrumental in building Swaniti. If you are interested in volunteering with us, write to Swaniti@swaniti.in

 Spread the word:

Recruiting talented individuals to add value to the governance systems is not easy. If you are aware of driven professionals who are willing to support elected officials or craft actionable policy solutions, please let us know. Write to us at Swaniti@swaniti.in or visit www.swaniti.in

You can find out more about our work, share your ideas and get involved in the following ways:

● Join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/swanitiinitiative

● Visit our website: www.swaniti.in

● Follow us on Twitter: @Swaniti

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