CASE STUDY
Change Management: Building Blocks Of E-governance Systems In Rural India
Rajas Abhyankar, Niranjan Sane, Nimesh Singhal, Ankita Pant, SPJIMR- Mumbai
KEYWORDS E-governance, Change Management, IT in public welfare, Public-Private Partnership
ABSTRACT
The rural macro environment in India is shackled by policy failure, poverty and economic inequity, social instability, involvement of the majority in unskilled labour and a general lack of education and basic amenities. Along with this, the welfare schemes launched in the district have been severely hampered.
For empowerment of villages under the 11th Five Year Plan, the Panchayati Raj system must be aided by an appropriate data reporting system; this case analyses the importance and feasibility of such a system subject to the aforementioned constraints. After considering several options, ' Integrated Data Collection and Reporting System ' seems the best option to increase the efficacy of schemes and to reduce data redundancy. The benefits of such a system would be: improved quality and usability of the data, increased accountability, reduced effort and a check on corruption. The system would strengthen the feedback mechanism by aiding Joint Planning and Communication based Monitoring System( CBMS). It would provide end-to-end tracking of data for the target groups and create visibility of this data for the decision makers.
Change management would be the primary factor affecting the feasibility and sustainability of the e-Governance system. The case analyses the method of implementation of IT systems against a backdrop of poor educational levels, extensive power cuts, and lack of basic infrastructure. It proposes the Kotter ' s Change Management Methodology as a possible option of successful change implementation and gives recommendations of how to tune it into rural governance context considering the multiple hindering factors. It proposes PPP as a major enabler of change and paves a path how actionable steps can be taken in this direction.
INTRODUCTION
This is a region constantly harped by difficulties. As much as I love the idea of implementing e-Governance, I doubt how much the idea of any new system will be acceptable to the people, who are not able to get over their day-to-day difficulties of survival and the government officials, who are not ready to change. Moreover, there are land mafia, cement and coal lobbyists and Naxalites who create constant hindrance in the functioning of even the long-established government schemes; sabotaging this idea, which is in the formative stages, will be a child ' s play for them considering their clout and power.
Upendra Pallai, the UNICEF( United Nations Children ' s Fund) District consultant in Chandrapur commented on his proposal of implementing a new system of data collection and reporting at the village level. This skeptical attitude was very unlikely of Upendra, who had been running the various programs in the district for almost 4 years now.
BACKGROUND- UPENDRA PALLAI Many attributed the great amount of work done by UNICEF in Chandrapur district to Upendra Pallai.
Upendra ' s life story has been a story of struggle. Born to poor parents, Upendra had a tough childhood and had to take gaps in his education to earn for his family and educational expenses. Through immense hard work he was able to complete his engineering in Computers and worked in a software firm as a technical consultant for about 3 years. He was credited with the successful implementation of a major cloud based solution for a mid size company and an ERP implementation( Supplier and HR module) for a mid-size Panel manufacturing company. He was very passionate about technology and had developed a holistic perspective of IT as an enabler.
His passion for social issues encouraged him to quit his job and join UNICEF as junior consultant on a contract basis. He rose to the rank of District consultant for Chandrapur within a span of 4 years. Despite huge initial lack of cooperation from his colleagues and people of the region, primarily owing to his young age and fast progress, he now was in a commanding position where people respected his opinion and his drive for carrying out difficult social programs. A man least scared of failure, Upendra was known to take bold decisions and
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