Legislative Support

About

The Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) at Indian School of Business (ISB) offers a three-pronged guidance to elected representatives through our Parliamentary and Legislative Support Programme. The programme builds on Bharti Institute’s focus on evidence-based policies and the Institute’s strength in capacity building support to public policy leaders, government officials, private corporations, and the developmental sector. Beyond the individual participants, the programme enables research-driven policy formulation and legislative debates The three-pronged approach of the LSP includes Legislative Training, Research Support, and Data Support.

Legislative Training

The legislative training is a series of curated workshops, informed by a comprehensive needs assessment, designed to equip state legislators to be more effective in policymaking. The modules leverage modern

management principles and innovative pedagogy including simulations, case studies, role plays) across broad areas like public policy, economics, leadership, climate change, and digital transformation. Expert-led sessions strengthen individual leadership skills and institutional effectiveness. The programme offers immersive learning, including field visits, discussions with peers, and engagement with experts, to help legislators create effective, citizen-oriented policies.

Research Support

The second prong is the Legislative Research Fellowship, where qualified candidates from the state are selected and trained to provide research support to legislators. Bharti Institute of Public Policy trains and mentors a select group of fellows dedicated to improving the quality of governance. Our Legislative Research Fellows provide legislators with essential support, spanning expert policy research, drafting legislation, and critical assistance with parliamentary procedures (including questions and motions). The fellows equip elected officials with the rigorous, data-driven insights needed for effective deliberation.

Data Support

Bharti Institute has developed the India Data Portal, which is a one-stop, open-access portal to interact with, and visualise data for use by researchers, students, policy makers, administrators, NGOs, entrepreneurs, journalists, and most importantly legislators. The India Data Portal’s one-of-a-kind "Visualisations First Approach" empowers users to seamlessly access an extensive array of over 3,400 indicators. These indicators are drawn from a repository of 120 datasets, spanning across 25 diverse domains, including but not limited to climate and weather, commerce, crime, economy, education, financial inclusion, fisheries and animal husbandry, food and agriculture, forestry and wildlife, general, government schemes, health, nutrition, rural development, socio-economic, union budget, and various others. Bharti Institute also co-develops state data portals as a sub-set of the India Data Portal and enhance it with state level datasets to make state-level data easily accessible for policy debates by the legislators.

Public Policy Workshop for Legislators

In furtherance of its multi-point collaboration with the Government of Meghalaya, Bharti Institute regularly organises leadership training programmes. To strengthen the legislative institution and explore leadership challenges and solutions for policymakers, three fully residential Public Policy Workshop for Legislators were organised.

First Public Policy Workshop

The first Public Policy Workshop was held at ISB Mohali Campus, Mohali, from May 16th to May 19th, 2022. The workshop saw participation of 37 MLAs, including three ministers in-charge of key portfolios of the state of Meghalaya, besides chief officials of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and other officials of the state.

Second Public Policy Workshop

The second Public Policy Workshop for Meghalaya Legislators was held at ISB Mohali Campus, from May 22nd to May 25th, 2023. This workshop brought together a diverse group of 28 legislators from the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya, including the Minister of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences.

Third Public Policy Workshop

The third Public Policy Workshop for Meghalaya Legislators was held at ISB Hyderabad Campus, from November 15th to November 19th, 2023. The hon'ble Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Sh. Thomas A Sangma, the Leader of the Opposition Sh. Ronnie V Lyngdoh, the Government Chief Whip, Sh. Nujorki Sungoh, and the Opposition Chief Whip, Sh Saleng A Sangma, along with 35 members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and 20 officials of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and Meghalaya Institute of Governance, attended the workshop.

International Executive Leadership Programme for Members of Meghalaya Legislative Assembly under the aegis of Meghalaya Legislative Research Fellowship programme

The Bharti Institute of Public Policy in collaboration with The Fletcher School at Tufts University, USA, held its first international Executive Leadership programme from October 14th to October 18th, 2024, for the members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly accompanied by the officials of the Government of Meghalaya.

The Fletcher School hosted 24 members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly for an exclusive week-long Executive Leadership programme at the Institute in Public Policy. This marks a new milestone in the continuing partnership between Bharti Institute of Public Policy and the Government of Meghalaya, in fostering international academic and governmental collaboration.

The customised public policy programme was aimed to build essential leadership, governance, and public policy development skills for Meghalaya's legislators, offering them a unique opportunity to engage with officials, scholars, and policy experts from diverse fields. The programme included interactive sessions on strategic planning, evidence-based decision-making, digital development, AI, climate change, health, and governance best practices.

Research Fellowship (MLRF) and Meghalaya District Research Fellowship (MDRF)

Building on their strong knowledge partnership since 2021, the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business, Meghalaya Institute of Governance (MIG), and the Department of Planning, Government of Meghalaya, continue to enhance the expertise in legislative research and policy processes. To further this collaboration, Bharti Institute of Public Policy commenced the Advanced Leadership Programme for the fellows of the Meghalaya Legislative Research Fellows (MLRF) and Meghalaya District Research Fellows (MDRF) from November 24th to November 28th, 2025, in New Delhi. This intensive five-day programme was meticulously designed to equip the fellows with a comprehensive understanding of national policy design and implementation frameworks.

Meghalaya Data Support

Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business, launched the Meghalaya Data Portal, an open data portal that provides access to interoperable, cleaned and analysis-ready datasets to the state’s multiple stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, academia, media, and

general public. The Meghalaya Data Portal is a part of Bharti Institute of Public Policy’s larger, country-wide initiative, India Data Portal, to facilitate an open-access ecosystem promoting evidence-based policymaking. With this data portal, users get an uninhibited access to free and reliable, value-added data alongwith interoperability among datasets. The Meghalaya Data Portal allows users to browse, download and understand datasets for further visualisations that can be shared across social networks. The portal also allows users to merge datasets using the local directory codes for better insights and analysis.