Research

Governance, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building

The Governance Studies Unit takes up studies on issues, which are of relevance to the common citizens, especially the poor and underprivileged. The studies are taken up on assessment of the state of the governance where the attempt is to establish certain benchmarks and standards for further research and follow ups. These studies are undertaken in states of North Western India.

IDC’s Governance Programme seeks to improve the welfare of the disadvantaged and deprived sections. IDC’s work has highlighted that the existing system of governance faces challenges in the provision of equal access to social programmes and economic packages on the basis of caste, gender and class. Future programmes would like to strengthen processes, procedures and the design of public services to provide dignified and equal access of state services to the disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society.

The focus of this unit is cutting edge transactions, which act as an enabling condition for synergistic view of the demand and supply side of governance study. Focus on cutting edge transactions includes cost of transactions as well as the cultural aspect of service-delivery issues. Considering the uniformly structured roles and institutions governing the conduct of public officials, such micro studies would have relevance for good governance across the board and hopefully facilitate identification of convergence or otherwise in respect of such transactions across different sectors and areas of public governance and this expand the scope of application of best practices beyond sector perspectives.

The Peace, Conflict Resolution and Policing Unit is functioning within a broad context of the changed character of nation-states, the consolidation of democracy, questions of migration throughout the region, security sector reforms with special reference to policing, post-conflict management and reintegration. The purpose of this unit is to present a strong case for the importance of a regional perspective and to illustrate that the conflicts in South Asia are interconnected. The main focus of peace and conflict resolution studies is to analyse conflict, peace and reconstruction. And also creation of research partnerships for evidence-based research as an input to context specific informed decision by the actors or parties to conflict and enhance civil society’s ability to hold accountable these actors for their actions. Peace building, to this end, is one of the best examples of how bottom-up and top-down approaches go together.

The focus of police reforms programme is three-fold: (a) institutionalisation of community-oriented reforms with major thrust on involvement of community particularly to protect the rights of vulnerable sections; (b) Formulation of programmes and undertaking activities for improving the delivery of police services to the people. IDC was in lead for the conceptualisation and implementation of CPRCs (Community Policing Resource Centres) in collaboration with human rights groups, NGOs and Punjab Police. It also initiated a process of police stations reforms through its programme of Police Stations Visitors Week in the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh launched in the year 2006; (c) multi-cultural thrust with an inclusive approach forms an integral part of its justice and policing programme with special focus on gender and scheduled castes rights.

IDC has also been involved in developing a Methodology for Criminal Justice System in India. It has contributed a manual on Criminal Justice System Index published in 2008. IDC is part of a global core group working on developing justice index.