How entrepreneurship fuels informed Public Policy
Entrepreneurial action can help move societies forward
Dear readers,
I write this newsletter once every month or so. It features my reflections on the deployment of creativity to making the world’s economic systems (and by extension social and to some extent political systems) more inclusive and, therefore, fairer. That sounds like a tall order – and it is!
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Recently I heard interviews of candidates running for party nominations for the US presidency– Democrat Robert Kennedy, Jr., of the American political dynasty Kennedy family, on NPR and Republican, upstart Indian-American businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, on CNN. Both are controversial– Kennedy is known for vaccine skepticism and allegedly embraces conspiracy theories, and Ramaswamy is a newcomer willing to disrupt discourse freely.
Their positions are not what I’m concerned with, rather that they can air their views freely in public, be grilled by prepared interlocutors, and be forced to defend their opinions, so that the public can form their own views. That is an essential feature of a participatory democracy.
I then thought of how the foundations of such free speech can be practiced. Putting a law on the books doesn’t suffice. There are many countries where one is ostensibly free to speak one’s mind, but in practice is deterred by fear of harassment, litigation, or worse.
I recall a conversation with CV Madhukar, then a student graduating from Harvard’s School of Public Administration (now called Harvard Kennedy School- in memory of Kennedy family member John F Kennedy), who during a similar run-up to a US presidential election, wondered what he could do to raise the quality of discourse on issues in India. In my childhood in India, I can’t recall any substantive debate. Rather, the cities were subject to noise pollution, as dueling candidates mounted open-air jeeps or trucks, loudspeakers blared out exhortations to vote for one or another, and processions crawled by in garish color to attract attention. But no debate.
Madhukar and his colleague, M R Madhavan, then founded Parliamentary Research Service (now PRS Legislative Research or PRS), going strong in its 18th year. I have served as a board member from inception and am appreciative of their work. PRS is a voice of analytic reason, with its analyses (on items considered for Parliamentary action) widely part of discourse prior to legislation and embraced across the ideological spectrum.
PRS offers in part: 1. Research on legislative bills, proposals, issues. 2. Hindi language services on their website, to reach wider citizenry than the limited number who are comfortable using English. 3. The now-intensely coveted Legislative Assistant for Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship to help young graduates gain exposure to the political arena by apprenticing them to willing MPs.
PRS also helps facilitate thematic conferences on legislative issues. Just last week, PRS organized a workshop on infrastructure challenges for India, held at the Constitutional Club of India in New Delhi. See photo of the turnout: 76 legislators from 15 states!
These offerings are, in effect, product line expansions and require funding. Better functioning legislatures are a public good and can’t be funded commercially. PRS is funded by domestic charitable contributions, though funding challenges remains. India’s philanthropic culture is improving but is still work-in-progress.
I am excited about the dissemination of knowledge about science-based advocacy. The knowledge gap between India’s elected representatives and the galloping pace of science deserves attention. Not so long ago, we saw Senator Hatch in the US Congress couldn’t understand how Facebook made so much money. That’s a glimpse of a gap in the world’s most scientifically advanced nation, imagine what it might well be elsewhere. PRS helps to minimize this gap through their Science and Technology Policy Briefs. The briefs help educate MPs on the state of current and relevant science affecting society, so that the Legislature can make educated and informed decisions.
PRS is boldly stepping into many institutional voids in India and reminding us that ultimately it is entrepreneurial action that helps move societies forward.