LIST OF PANELS

By examining the Indian case, the panel seeks to explore the pedagogical practices of public policy education in the Global South. As the thinning line between theory and practice continues to narrow, it is critical to engage with the emerging polarities in the shifting world order. To investigate the impact of hybrid pedagogical approaches through immersive, field-based experiences, we seek new forms of knowledge that are shaping the worldviews of thinkers and practitioners. For this, we are exploring contributions on three key research questions (not limited to);

How do multiple hybrid pedagogical approaches impact policy scholars and practitioners in navigating the complex governance challenges?
How does the integration of institutional learnings (academic modules) of pracademics and field-based exposures help in minimising policy risks and unintended consequences?
How is ‘pracademic’ being defined in Indian and similar contexts of contemporary public policy education and practice?
As the Indian public policy education is diverse and varied with regional complexities, we intend to explore our research questions through a grounded understanding of real-world challenges. The Indian policy experimentation and its engagement with ‘public management’ have produced a fertile ground for experimenting with flagship government and philanthropic fellowship mode programs, which have served to define practice-based learning and bring insights for theoretical refinement. As the public administration of the Global South is swiftly shifting from a Weberian to a more managerial mode, it is essential to evaluate the indigenous practices and systems that are raising critical concerns. Ultimately, we tend to focus on the approaches of policy being taught and learned to nurture a cadre of thinker-practitioners who will be trusted assets for shifting the paradigm of policy administration in the global South. 

In today’s changing polarities/emergent world order, theory has increasingly become an articulation of praxis. This reality, however, is not adequately reflected in the teaching pedagogies of public policy, which, unlike other academic disciplines, is a fundamentally practice-oriented profession. In this context,  the panel proposes a reflective and action-oriented teaching and learning framework that combines the reflective elements of quiet study (by means of HKS/LKY style case studies) with the practical exposure of grassroots realities (Government and/or Philanthropy-backed Fellowships, e.g., PMRDF, MGNF, CMGGF, etc) to build thinker-practitioner-like capacities among the emergent public policy ‘pracademics’ of India in particular, and the Global South in general. Notably, this directly aligns with the Indian Public Policy Network (IPPN) conference theme of “Public Policy Praxis in the Global South: building coherence and capacity for future challenges”.

The core research question for the panel aims to reflect upon the emerging hybrid pedagogical frameworks and their impact on theory and practice. Also, how the integration of institutional learning and field-based praxis generates positive policy impacts through minimising risks and unintended consequences. We seek papers and case studies that are grounded in field experiences, narratives, and impact-based research from the domains of political science, sociology, education, public policy, and allied fields. Papers interested in exploring the varied meanings and interpretations of praxis in changing administrative settings and a globalised world order are welcome. We encourage contributions that critically analyse how actors, institutions, and networks shape and develop the understanding of praxis in the governance experimentation with ‘pracademics’.