NMIMS Mumbai Wins The Governance Challenge 2022

Samagra, an impact-driven organization working on bringing positive changes in the governance landscape of India, recently organized the first-ever governance case study challenge. Titled- The Governance Challenge (TGC) 2022, this competition was a platform for B-School students from select institutions, to come up with and pitch their solutions to complex challenges facing the Indian governance system. There were 6,437 registration and 22,36,228 impressions with participants standing a chance to win cash prizes worth INR 9 lakh along with PPIs. The competition ran for about 3 months with teams from different parts of the country competing for the top spot. In the end, Team Changemakers from NMIMS Mumbai walked away with the winning trophy. Here’s having a look at their experiences, lessons learned, and memorable moments.

The Governance Challenge was a one-of-a-kind competition that posed a problem in the social impact space. As B-School students, we usually aren’t exposed to such public policy competitions that require us to think about creating a mass impact. The Governance Challenge 2022 was a unique opportunity that we- Maanik Narayanan, Udit Karwasra, and Iti Kathed welcomed with open minds and hearts. We are all students of the prestigious Narsee Munjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai, and we decided to call ourselves Team Changemakers. Going into the competition we wanted to stay true to our team name, and the fact that our solution was worthy of the National Winner title tells us that we did it. So let's have a look at how the three of us worked on building the winning proposition. 

The Governance Challenge 2022: Structure

TGC 2022 was split into four rounds which were well thought out and gave us ample time in between every round to work on and improve our solutions. The round were-

Round 1: Campus Round

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

Round 2.2: Nationals Round - Presentations

Round 3: Summit Round

What was the Core Challenge?

The case competition was spread across a span of 3 months during which we analyzed the problem from multiple lenses, looked at varied perspectives, and sifted through multiple layers of the problem and probable solution. The key challenge for us was to ensure that our proposed solution struck the perfect balance between being future-ready while leveraging the existing infrastructure of the state, and also having simple implementation mechanics for ease. Getting the correct mix of these parameters was critical since this would lead to a feasible solution that generates a state-wide grassroots impact in making Haryana’s youth future ready. 

Even though this was a tall order, we managed to achieve our target with hard work and dedication. In order to achieve this, we had to engage in deep research of the existing problems in the system and identify white spaces. This was possible only by talking to all the relevant stakeholders within and outside the system. And in the end, conducting in-depth research and laying a strong foundation is what helped us derive the correct solutions for our problem.

Also read: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

The Impeccable Jury for TGC 2022

Having the right jury panel is critical in every competition for both the end result and the learning experience of all those involved. And the panel for TGC 2022 was impeccable. Through the multiple rounds of this competition, our solution was judged by senior IAS officials from the Haryana Cadre. These were individuals who had rich experience in the field and in solving problems in education through their administrative and strategic expertise. It was frankly an honor and a dream come true, to be able to present our solutions to such accomplished individuals and have spirited discussions with them. Each of them embodied the spirit of administrative services and through their being, we could sense the passion that they had to serve their country and actually make a difference in society using the resources at their disposal. We could not have asked for a better jury in this competition.

About the Immersive Visit to Haryana

Out of about 2100+ teams, 6 teams made it to the TGC Summit round. And these top-6 teams were exposed to a unique experience through a 2-day “Immersion Visit” in Haryana. We were extremely fortunate to be a part of this bunch. In these 2 days, we were exposed to a multitude of interactions with IPS and IAS officials in the Departments of Education, Skill Development, and the Haryana police. The perspectives we were able to gain from them, were invaluable. If we were to boil it down to one learning, it would definitely be the ability to think from multiple stakeholder perspectives and curate a solution containing a unique value proposition for each of them. A governance problem is similar to a business case, but the breadth of stakeholder consideration increases multifold. Here we had to think from the perspective of the Government for its political and impact desirability, private players for their profitability and organizational purpose, and then NGOs, the implementation team, parents, teachers, and the students of course.

The Remarkable Solution by Team Titans from IIM B

All the top teams (Submit round) were invited to Panchkula to present in front of senior IAS officials, impact leaders, and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana himself. In our opinion, the Team Titans from IIM Bangalore definitely was a close competitor to us. The focus of the Summit round was primarily on the oral narrative and knitting a story around our solution. The idea was to keep technicalities as the bedrock and bring the impact created to the forefront. For this, we were supposed to create a user journey and talk about the impact of the solution in a story narrative. The team from IIMB created a wonderful story, by showing the journey of a girl as a personification of Goddess Durga. It was very relevant, and it brought out the impact of their solution in the girl’s life quite vividly. The quality of the competition was evident by the hard work put in by all participating teams.

How we made the most of Our Past Experiences

We have all been a part of many other case study competitions. So we already had synergy and good understanding among ourselves which made this collaboration successful. This really helped us in avoiding any conflicts as such. As a team, we all were a great fit (interpersonally) where our qualities complemented each other and we capitalized on one another’s strengths.

Our past competition experiences also gave us an advantage in terms of solution structuring and key problem identification. Right from the start, each one of us had a good understanding of our individual responsibilities and did not need a lot of hand-holding in that area. Our complementing skills helped us in structuring the solution very well. We all are very adaptable and love challenges, which helped us in the presentation in the final round, where we were told to present our solution in Hindi using a storyline.

Parting Words

The Governance Challenge was full of awesome moments. Be it the engaging interactions with senior IAS officers or the immersion visit, everything was beyond great. Which is why it is so hard to pick any one of the special moments. But there was one moment that stood out for all of us and it was the opportunity we got to interact with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Manohar Lal Khattar. The chance to present our solution in front of him, get the winner’s trophy from him and listen to his experiences as the CM, and his ambitions for the state, was one of a kind experience for all of us. A round-table meeting with such a personality is rare to come by and this was definitely an experience we will cherish forever.

You might also be interested in reading the following articles:

1. BOND with Pidilite National Winners’ (SIBM Pune) Amazing Insights!
2. HUL L.I.M.E. Season 14 Winners From ISB Lit The Stage! See How
3. Invaluable Insights From J&J Quest Season 10 Winners- Team NITIE
4. How To Win Amazon ACE Challenge 2022 - By Team Pulsars (ISB)
5. ABFRL ShowStopper And Its Show Stopping Winners!