NIRD&PR

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Centre for Research & Training Coordination & Networking

Centre's Mandate

Facilitate rural socio-economic change through need based research and training of rural development functionaries, even while building the capacities of faculty, officials, elected representatives, rural institutions, communities and their networks.

Objectives

  • Enable the schools and centres identify, design and deliver customised training programmes and need-based research projects.
  • Develop annual training and research calendar for wider dissemination of capacity building initiatives.
  • Monitor and evaluate the progress of in-house and off-campus training and research programmes.
  • Interface with SIRDs and ETCs for strengthening their research and training programmes and infrastructure.
  • Coordinate the Faculty Development Scheme for stepping up faculty competencies.

Thrust area & scope

The Centre for Research & Training Coordination & Networking (CRTCN) of NIRD is a nerve centre for all the academic activities of the institute and it coordinates with different schools and centres of the institute with a view to achieving excellence in training, research, consultancy, action research, networking and advocacy.

The NIRD & PR programmes are mainly designed for senior and middle-level officers of the Central and State Government Departments dealing with Rural Development programmes, elected members of Panchayati Raj Institutions, faculty of academic institutions, professionals from banks, NGOs and other development organisations. With the restructuring of NIRD & PR based on recommendations of the Alagh Committee constituted by MoRD, Schools and Centres were established and the training and research perspective and the concomitant programmes were planned to reflect in greater measure the emerging rural development scenario. With a view to ensuring that the programmes are demand-driven, training and research on need assessment was carried out with various stakeholders. Consultations were held with the programme divisions of the flagship programmes of the Ministries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and other institutions such as SIRDs. The deliberations of the workshops, research findings and feedback from the training programmes of the institute were also factored in designing the training and research programmes.

Another important activity of the CRTCN is to facilitate periodic review of the training and research activities of the institute, for which review meetings are conducted under the chairmanship of the Director General and Deputy Director General. The Academic Committee, the Research Advisory Committee/Group and the Training Quality Improvement Measures Committee offer professional support. The feedback received in the review meetings is used for enriching the quality, content and methodology of training and research programmes. Besides, appraisal reports and analytical notes are presented to the Executive Council and the General Council of the institute. Consolidated reports are sent to the Union Ministry of Rural Development, highlighting achievements and notable events carried out by the institute.

As part of NIRD's mandate, CRTCN encourages the 29 State Institutes of Rural Development (SIRDs) for organising Regional Training Programmes by the NIRD&PR faculty members, even while conducting collaborative off-campus programmes. Besides, 90 Extension Training Centres (ETCs) are guided by the CRTCN in their training, research and infrastructure initiatives. Towards building the capacities and competencies of faculty members, CRTCN coordinates the Faculty Development Scheme (FDS) through which the faculty is nominated to undergo training at various premier training institutes within the country and abroad. Simultaneously, it initiates measures for strengthening inter-institutional collaboration with organisations and institutions involved in rural development and in this process, it coordinates the training and related activities with the organisations/institutions such as ITEC/SCAAP, ClRDAP, AARDO, SAARC and Indo-Africa Action Plan. CRTCN also coordinates the consultancy training programmes sponsored by Central and State Governments and other national and international organisations alongside coordinating training programmes by other organisations at NIRD&PR as venue programmes, for which the expertise and infrastructure of the institute is made available, as per the standard costs and management norms.

Research

Research and action research comprise the core of academics besides training. The CRTCN prepares the annual research agenda for NIRD&PR factoring research priorities and shifts in development paradigms. The major themes of NIRD&PR research include poverty reduction and rural employment, environment and sustainable development, decentralisation, good governance, transfer of technology, ICT and GIS applications, gender studies, HRD, natural resource management and livelihoods, skill development, equity and social justice with a focus on welfare of SCs and STs, among other critical themes.

CRTCN formulates research guidelines, invites research proposals and coordinates formal and informal meetings for finalisation of research proposals of the NIRD&PR Schools, Centres and SIRDs. The Research Advisory Committee /Group facilitates the research thought process and projects. Review of the progress of research studies is done periodically for qualitative and timely completion of research projects. The Committee /Group brings out annually a publication on research highlights, which comprises the gist of research projects. NIRD&PR has been actively involved in action research in a partnership mode to examine the scope for evolving simple and effective approaches to key development issues. In this context, CRTCN facilitates guidelines for processing of action research proposals and monitors the progress of action research projects. It also organises special lectures on action research themes and coordinates the workshops relating to action research projects. The research activities are coordinated and headed by Dr. (Ms.) Gyanmudra, Professor & Head (CHRD) and Head (Research), CRTCN.

Training

The endeavour of the institute is to generate ideas and feedback for policy making on rural development and to develop necessary competencies for effective and efficient programme management through workshops, seminars and training and research programmes. As part of the institute’s efforts to reach out to larger number of stakeholders and more importantly to strengthen capacity building at State and sub- State levels, programmes have been planned in the form of off-campus and networking. Besides, a series of Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes have been designed for the faculty members of SIRDs and State and District level Resource Persons and Master Trainers for capacity building of officials of various flagship programmes. As in the previous years, the institute’s perspective aims at sharing Indian experiences with developing countries through international training programmes.

CRTCN coordinates the training programmes conducted by different centres, both at the headquarters and at the regional centre at Guwahati. It facilitates the academic processes for ensuring high quality training output apart from guiding / organising workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats and consultative meetings.

The overall aim of the training and research programmes is to facilitate sustainable rural development, integrating economic and environmental dimensions through empowerment of rural people. The focus is on effective planning and management of on-going rural development flagship programmes. The main themes include convergence of various development programmes, rural livelihoods and micro enterprises, HRD, social development, social audit, good governance, rural credit management, drinking water and sanitation, life skills including soft skills, Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, natural resource management, gender budgeting, applications of GIS and ICT technologies for rural development among others. Specialised programmes to cater to the specific needs of new initiatives like NRLM and DDU-GKY were designed. With added focus on Panchayati Raj in the perspective of the institute and in the context of bottom up approach and decentralised planning, programmes have been designed on Gram Panchayat based Development Plans. Another feature of the calendar this year is collaborative programmes with institutions of repute so as to draw their expertise for the benefit of rural development professionals. Keeping in view the policy advocacy mandated to the institute workshops, seminars and consultations are on offer on themes of topical interest such as preparation of vulnerability index, changing agrarian relations, agriculture innovations, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social accountability mechanisms, decennial performance assessment of MGNREGS, networking for leveraging institutional synergy and innovations in rural technologies among others. Besides, training in the form of exposure visits to ‘best practices’ in the field and institutions form an important component of the calendar.

NIRD&PR proposes to organise 1430 programmes during the year 2016-17 that include training programmes, Training of Trainers (ToTs) programmes, workshops, seminars, retreats, conferences, colloquia, regional and off-campus training programmes, networking programmes at SIRDs and international training programmes sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, GoI, namely NIRD&PR-ITEC/SCAAP collaborative training programmes and NIRD&PR-CIRDAP collaborative programmes. Of these programmes, the institute directly conducts over 300 programmes.

The programme directors would send invitation letters and the brochure of each programme at least two months before the commencement of the programme. The brochure gives details of the programme objectives, content, methods, clientele group, programme team and information about NIRD&PR. For more information, Programme Directors or the Centre for Research and Training Coordination and Networking (CRTCN) may also be contacted.

Networking

As part of the 'mandate' to strengthen the Rural Development Institutions and Institutional Network, CRTCN provides academic guidance and financial support to SIRDs and ETCs for undertaking research studies on themes relevant to the flagship programmes of the MoRD/MoPR and the respective State Governments. Another important activity of CRTCN is to organise the Annual National Colloquium with State Secretaries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Heads of State Institutes of Rural Development (SIRDs), which is an important forum for sharing the experiences and assist the State RD Training Institutions for conducting of training programmes for RD & PR functionaries including the elected representatives of PRls. The CRTCN also organises the national colloquium with ETCs, which are sub-State level institutions for conducting training programmes for RD&PR functionaries and elected representatives of PRIs at Block/Mandal and GP level. NIRD&PR has been mandated by the Ministry of Rural Development to assist in administering its central scheme for capacity building of State RD Training Institutions, under which the CRTCN invites the non-recurring grant proposals from the SIRDs and ETCs, for sanction of funds support for infrastructure development, procurement of teaching aids, office equipment and furniture. The CRTCN also monitors the implementation of the scheme and utilization of the grants sanctioned by MoRD to the SIRDs and ETCs. It also coordinates the scheme of State Link Officer (SLO), under which faculty members of NIRD&PR are nominated to different States, SIRDs and ETCs. The scheme is aimed at building networks and liaise with key RD&PR related institutions. In effect, they act as bridges between NIRD&PR and SIRDs and other RD&PR oriented institutions. Importantly, the SLOs help strengthen the SIRDs in the conduct of training and research programmes for the benefit of RD & PR functionaries including the elected representatives of PRls. CRTCN also coordinates and organises the visits of dignitaries, guests and delegates from India and abroad. The training and network activities are coordinated and headed by Dr. P. Durgaprasad. Dr. R.P. Achari is the associate coordinator.

Faculty

Dr C Kathiresan

Associate Professor & Head

Education : M.Sc (Agri), Ph.D (Horticulture)
Areas of Specialisation : Panchayati Raj, Rural Technologies, Partnership Building, ICT for Development and e-Learning.
Email : kathiresan.nird[at]gov.in
Phone :
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Dr Vanishree Joseph

Assistant Professor

Educational Qualifications: M.A (Development Adminstration), M.A (Public Administration), PhD (Gender and Governance), Post Doctoral Fellow (London School of Economics and Political science)
Areas of Specialisation : Gender and Development, Human Development and Capability Approach, Decentralization and Governance.
Email : vanishreej.nird[at]gov.in
Phone :
Mobile No. :9994892780
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