Ongoing Public Policy Projects

The Initiative on the Forest Economy (IoFE) was started with an aim to transform forest economies sustainably.  Efforts undertaken by IoFE are devoted to the goal of creating scalable economic models through rigorous longitudinal studies of several vulnerable forest areas across the country. The living laboratories under the initiative, span across six states—Jharkhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. These laboratories demonstrate utmost commitment towards transforming and revitalising forest economies to not only streamline public policy but also create market linkages in India’s forested lands by using community action and groundbreaking technological interventions.  One such technological intervention is the nCount — a tool to involve forest dwelling communities, civil society members, students, researchers with the purpose of promoting scientific understanding of biodiversity by utilising artificial intelligence and computer vision helping enable effective data processing.

Jharkhand

Following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of Jharkhand and the Initiative on Forest Economy-Bharti Institute of Public Policy, the JhaFRA app was developed under the Abua Bir Abua Dishom Abhiyan to streamline claim filings in Jharkhand. This initiative is operationalised and implemented by Bharti Institute of Public Policy. Another collaborative effort under the ambit of IoFE in Jharkhand is the Indian School of Business-Tata Consultancy Services (ISB-TCS) led collaborative project, pursuing a feasible forest business model aimed at uncovering the potential of forested land and securing community rights to resources for forest dwellers.

Odisha

In collaboration with the Department of Mission Shakti of the Odisha government, the Initiative on the Forest Economy (IoFE), in a bid to empower women and strengthen the rural economy, focuses on establishing and aggregating Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) to scale village economies while simultaneously ensuring the security of community resource rights. The IoFE is connected to 20 lakh women across six districts of Odisha, as they proactively invest resources in upskilling women, assisting them technologically, and catalysing financial inclusion and capacity building with the help of the Indian School of Business.

Andhra Pradesh

A tripartite MoU between the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department (APFD), Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation Limited (APFDC) and Bharti Institute of public policy, Indian School of Business was signed pledging to enhance forest management and create a resource inventory of seasonal forest produces (SFPs) leveraging advanced technological assistance to discover the untapped potential of forest production to empower local residents. 

Himachal Pradesh

In Himachal Pradesh, the IoFE team engages with both state and district-level governments to work on a range of projects in the state. These projects, with the shared larger goal of sustainable transformation of the forest economy, focus on uncovering potential to boost seasonal forest produce, building capacity for forest rights committees (FRCs), community forest resource rights (CFRR) claims filing, organising gram sabhas, and leading cluster mapping projects to realise the potential of the bioenergy economy in the area.

Goa

The Initiative on the Forest Economy’s (IoFE) partnership with the government of Goa was established to propel rural development, tactfully address the threats of climate change while facilitating adaptation, support the growth of the bamboo economy, and empower women-led enterprises. As a result of its understanding with the government, the IoFE is also responsible for creating market linkages for Goa’s local economies and creating wholesome value chains for businesses of communities with tenure rights through effective mechanical and technological support.

Maharashtra

Resulting from an MoU between the district administration of Gadchiroli and the Initiative on the Forest Economy (IoFE), mapping of 23 SFPs in 2018-19 was conducted. The IoFE also coordinated with locals to establish sustainable business models, the foundation of which was securing community forest rights. Meanwhile, the IoFE, alongwith authorities, is set to conduct inventory mapping of the community forest rights in the area for the purpose of training on nCount technology.

The Meghalaya District Research Fellowship (MDRF) was launched by the Government of Meghalaya in collaboration with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business (BIPP, ISB) as its knowledge and implementation partner. It is purposed to bridge the observable gap in efficient planning, implementation, and monitoring of initiatives and schemes at the district administration level. The programme, for the fulfilment of these aims, has engaged young professionals who will be trained with an aim to assist District Magistrates (DMs) and collectors in 24 different districts, improving transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

The Bharti Institute, as the knowledge partner, will facilitate training of the MDRF fellows through a meticulously designed training/workshop programme, equipping them with skills to handle digital tools, conduct qualitative and quantitative research, and analyse data for the realisation of the overarching objective—impacting public policy in Meghalaya by delivering advanced education, research, and engagement.

The Government of Meghalaya has collaborated with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to advance its efforts for research-driven policy formulation and implementation in the state of Meghalaya. A unique programme, Meghalaya Legislative Research Fellowship (MLRF), has been introduced by the State Government, in partnership with Bharti Institute of Public Policy (ISB), to aid research and advocacy for Meghalaya legislators. As knowledge and executing partner for the programme, Bharti Institute will be responsible for selecting, training, and mentoring fellows for the Meghalaya Institute of Governance, the nodal agency for MLRF, through a structured two-year programme.

Objectives of the Fellowship

• Empower the Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly through a structured fellowship programme.
• Facilitate support for research and data analysis for the honorable members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
• Enabling research and evidence-based policy insights to be available for the legislators.
• Support legislators directly in several items of legislative business, like the Questions, Adjournment Motions, Calling Attention Notices, including Private Member Bills.

Enabling Agriculture Nutrition Convergence through Technical support (ENACTS) is a Technical Assistance facility targeted to expedite and assist nutrition-agriculture convergence in the country. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ENACTS has established a technological assistance (TA) facility which works upon existing opportunities arising from government programmes. The aim is to shift focus to nutrient-dense Foods (NDFs), and through the TA facility, collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to drive policies for increasing their accessibility, affordability, and availability in deprived geographies. The initiative, through consultation with multiple government stakeholders such as the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoHFAD), Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (MoRD&PR), Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), and NITI Aayog, aims to fulfill its short-term goals of building capacity for recognising convergence opportunities and identifying implementation challenges, as well as its long-term goals of showcasing untapped potential through design, implementation; the establishment of accessible market systems another indispensable long-term goal of the initiative.

Initiatives like the development of visual dashboards and coordination mechanisms across ministries for tracking convergence opportunities, combining problem statements to oversee on-field issues, partnering with academic institutions to offer resolve-seeking fellowships and internships, and intervention via the KMCO—Knowledge Management Communication Outreach—strategy form the backbone of realising the aims of ENACTS through a meticulous, tailored, and effective approach. 

Indian Food System for Improved Nutrition (INFUSION) is a research and development project spanning over five years. The primary aim of the project is to conduct an in-depth assessment and propose evidence-based research for appropriate market intervention to progress on the goal of improving the accessibility and availability of (nutrient-dense foods) NDFs in the marketplace. The project is currently focused on the states of Bihar and Odisha. 

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation( BMGF) and the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK FCDO), this programme in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM),Indian School of Business (ISB),Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), JEEViKA (Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society), and MicroSave Consulting, is lifted by three pillars in supporting its objectives. These are--collecting and analysing market data, designing and assessing the intervention, actively collaborating with policymakers to fulfil their research needs.

INFUSION, together with JEEViKA, constructs projects wherein JEEViKA conducts on-ground implementation of the research findings by the INFUSION programme in Bihar. One such mutually crafted initiatives by the JEEVika and the INFUSION programme is the establishment of ‘JEEViKA Didi Haat’, a self-reliant initiative empowering woman by increasing their access to NDFs.

The primary emphasis of the INFUSION project is to conduct impactful and transformative research for developing and fostering initiatives that work for food safety and hygienic storage practices, maintaining environmental cleanliness, ensuring access to drinkable water and sanitation facilities, tracking accessibility to NDFs, and establishing climate-related architecture.