Tips From 1st Runner-up (IIM B) Of The Governance Challenge 2022

Samagra is an impact-driven governance consulting firm that aims to improve the quality of life of citizens by providing them with better governance, policies, regulation, etc. They recently conducted a B-School case competition- The Governance Challenge (TGC). This was India’s first national governance case competition wherein students from 25 premier business and policy schools were invited to pitch solutions to complex governance challenges that impact millions of citizens across the nation. The novel idea got huge traction with 22,35,403 impressions and 6,438 registrations. In this article, we will get to know how the 1st runner-up of the competition navigated the competition and managed the amazing feat.

The Governance Challenge 2022 was the first-ever governance case study competition that we came across and were naturally excited to be part of it. All those participating in the challenge had the opportunity to not only present their solutions in front of the honorable Chief Minister of Haryana but grab pool prizes worth INR 9lakhs, along with PPI opportunities. With our goal set, three students from IIM B- Sakshi Yadav, Pallavi Bagul, and Siddharth Parmar geared up for the challenge. We decided to call ourselves Team Titans and hearing this name being announced as the national runner-up was a stupendous experience. Now let’s have a look at a few things that we’d like to share with you about our journey during this amazing challenge. 

Competition Structure

The Governance Challenge 2022 was supported by the Government of Haryana. Even though this was the first edition/ inaugural year, they did a commendable job with the planning, implementation, and organization. The competition was split into the following rounds:

Round 1: Campus Round

This called for the submission of a 3-minute executive pitch video and a one-page document detailing our solution for the case study.

Round 2.1: Nationals Round - Presentation Submissions (Track 1&2)

This called for preparing a presentation and then presenting it in front of senior bureaucrats and industry leaders.

Round 2.2: Nationals Round - Presentations

This round entailed preparing and presenting a 10-15 minutes solution presentation to the panel of IAS officers and industry leaders. After this round, 6 out of 25 teams progressed to the final round. Thankfully, our effort paid off and we progressed to the next round. 

Round 3: Summit Round

For this round, we had to come up with a 10-minute pitch to present in front of the panel of senior bureaucrats, marquees, industry leaders, etc. that would be led by the Chief Minister of Haryana.

The structure was extremely well thought out and we had ample time in between rounds to absorb the feedback and prepare for the next one. Winning the 1st runner-up title in the competition was an amazing experience, but that’s not to say that the journey was free of any troubles. 

How to Overcome the Challenges?

We worked on the problem for almost 3 months and a lot of hard work went into completing the challenge. We started with a one-page submission for round 1 which we then had to turn into a detailed presentation. The feedback we got during the multiple rounds of mentoring from IAS officers, industry leaders, and Samagra members was of great help. 

The biggest challenge we faced was when we had to narrow down our initial three-pronged approach with six diverse solutions to just two impactful solutions that would meet the objective, without missing out on any parameter. Even though we faced many challenges during the competition, we were always united in our approach. The best part was that all members of our team were equally committed to the challenge, hence we did not have any conflict of interest. After this experience, we believe that the only way to overcome challenges in such competitions is to stick together, remain calm, and work with mutual understanding. 

Tips for Winning Case Competitions

The governance challenge was really unique with the problem statement that we had to solve. We went through the statement with a keen eye and grasped the true essence of the issue at hand. Here are a few things that we believe helped us win the competition:

1. The ability to reach the grassroots level of the problem statement, to begin with, and then being empathetic to all the stakeholders is the key to any successful policy implementation.
2. We tried to step in the shoes of each stakeholder in the problem statement. The importance of understanding the POVs of all stakeholders can’t be stressed enough. 
3. We would do roleplays to understand what each and everyone involved would need and what they would desire subconsciously. This practice helped us reach our solution and streamline an approach to get there.
4. Build a diverse team with members who can cater to different aspects of the challenge, and also come with different POVs to reach a more holistic solution.
5. Our team was definitely the dream team. We had Pallavi who was the research head and gave a whole picture of the developments in Haryana, Siddharth who did all the data crunching to give credible numbers, and Sakshi who was the creative head and weaved a story out of the research and data.

With the 1st runner-up title for such a prestigious competition under our belt, we sure are walking a bit taller. There were multiple memorable moments, and the best was getting an opportunity to present in front of the Chief Minister of Haryana; a chance that only the top 2 teams got. We’d like to close by thanking all the parties involved in organizing this competition and giving us this opportunity. The judgment quality couldn't have been better for The Governance Challenge 2022, as the panel consisted of retired IAS officers and the Chief Minister himself!

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