Ankita Goyal
Public Policy Professional
New Delhi
Summary
Public Policy Professional offering history of success designing, coordinating and monitoring program operations across various government departments. Effective leader and problem-solver dedicated to achieve program goals to maximize public outreach and enhance public system efficiency. Talented Manager with expert team leadership, planning and organizational skills built during successful career. Proficient in strengthening government systems for enhancing effectiveness with exceptional management abilities and results-driven approach.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Manager, Government Programs
Transforming Rural India Foundation
New Delhi
09.2021 - 08.2022
- Worked closely with the Organization Leads to structure and manage organization's government programs centrally to bring overall alignment and convergence among different ministries and their departments.
- Actively involved in executing branding activities of the organization to create a global identity and to increase its visibility in influential circles.
- Spearheaded a Scoping Study to operationalize the Government of India's agriculture-nutrition convergence agenda in partnership with PwC for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
- Drafted a national strategy roadmap for improving accessibility, affordability and availability of nutrient-dense foods through market-centric pathways in Rural India.
- Held a series of Stakeholder Consultations with the Private Sector and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) for charting pathways to achieve nutrition security for India through markets.
- Consultation meetings with the senior functionaries in the 7 ministries to understand the government's priorities to develop a strategy in alignment with the vision of the state and the intention of the BMGF.
- Acted as representative of the organization in conferences, donor meetings, consultations across the agriculture-nutrition landscape.
- Developing and enforcing a meeting cadence for the project team with the organization leadership to ensure timely completion of the project in an effective manner.
- Oversaw the full cycle of 8-day annual branding event 'India Rural Colloquy 2022' to bring thoughts leaders across the impact space to have conversations that matter to Rural India, forge key partnerships, and create an intellectual forum for engaging the multiple stakeholders.
- Devised a session plan for the event to ensure full-scale coverage of the organization's scope of work pertaining to sustainable livelihoods, climate impact, design thinking, nutrition security, media coverage of rural india, data sciences, technology, people-market-state compact, women collectives, youth engagement etc.
- Achieved a record series of 13 sessions and 56 Panelists across the globe from philanthropy, government, corporates, academia, non-profits, entrepreneurship, and media domains.
- Onboarded Partner Organizations to jointly moderate sessions and launch upcoming joint initiatives to get more media traction and for creating donor awareness.
- Oversaw all the task heads namely design, venue, technology, social media, event coverage, hospitality, communications etc, and also mentored colleagues to lead and contribute to the event.
- Reviewed event preparations on day-to-day basis to ensure excellence throughout the branding event of the organization.
- Partnered with external media organizations for promoting and covering the Colloquy in print and social media.
- Instituted an NGO Collaborative for nurturing documentation skills in development professionals and routing the relevant stories/articles to VillageSquare (media initiative of the organization to change popular narrative about Rural India).
- Organized the guided write-shops for the development sector professionals to reflect and document their work.
- Identifying and editing the stories in close coordination with the Village Square Editorial Team.
- Forged partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development for conceptualizing and organizing 1st Bharat Conclave themed on Creating Rural Abundance to initiate a joint dialogue on the relevance of inter-departmental convergence for advancing Sustainable Development Goals, particularly concerning human development and poverty alleviation.
- Advocated for the application of the Locality Development Compact strategy using a Whole-of-the-Government approach to enforce concerted action amongst local government, community institutions and district administration.
- Performed statistical analyses to gather data and insights about implementation of Mission Antyodaya to refocus convergence for reducing rural poverty.
- Trained state-level administrators to realign the program goals with the SDG indicators.
- Created a digital repository for capacity building of the government functionaries to reduce multidimensional poverty by localizing development.
- Expanded cross-functional organizational capacity by collaborating across verticals on priorities, functions and common goals.
State Program Officer
Transforming Rural India Foundation
Jaipur
05.2020 - 08.2021
- Worked closely with the Government of Rajasthan to intensify livelihood interventions for enhancing household incomes of 50,000 rural women by 50 percent
- Traveled and conducted field visits, designed baseline survey and analyzed secondary data to understand community context and assess the current situation in order to prioritize points of intervention to achieve multi-fold progress in village livelihood development
- Co-authored with project team a ‘Handbook for Universalization of Farm Livelihoods under DAY-NRLM' in collaboration with Ministry of Rural Development; launched by the Prime Minister of India.
- Digitized participatory village-level planning for effective livelihood assessment and gaps analysis to increase the outreach of government schemes, infrastructural development and access to entitlements; Process now institutionalized by the Ministry covers 80 million rural households
- Contextualized capacity building modules and provided technical support to the community to enable the adoption of modern farming techniques to boost farm incomes
- Supported the state government to create an ecosystem that is more enabling for the private sector to engage with the rural producers, 3 deals worth 70 million were signed with Reliance and Tata Sampann for bulk procurement of mustard and soyabean crop
- Promoted climate resilient agricultural practices through large-scale training in 762 villages covering around 8,000 community cadres
- Instituted a team of 40 Master Trainers to handhold small and medium rural entrepreneurs in the subjects of business planning, record keeping, accessing capital and digital marketing.
- Worked towards strengthening the Farm vertical of the State Rural Livelihoods Mission for data-based planning to increase phase-wise coverage of livelihood activities in Rajasthan
- Created forums where local government body (Village Panchayat) and rural women’s institutions can collaborate for participatory comprehensive livelihood planning in order to increase women’s participation in community development with a focus on access to social welfare schemes, employment guarantee schemes, institutional credit, health services, skill development and other services
- Drafted and submitted 10 IFC (Integrated Farming Cluster) Proposals to mobilize funds for cluster development worth Rupees 100 crores
- Streamlined the farm inputs delivery mechanisms through women’s institutional network to increase agricultural productivity and reduce farm drudgery in 50 villages
- Planned and organized 17 exposure visits for rural women for easy adoption of unconventional models of farming such as backyard poultry, exotic crops, sericulture, bee-keeping etc.
- Conducted impact assessment of ongoing social programs for the purpose of new policy recommendations, if any, hampering the program delivery through statistical analysis, focus group discussions, case stories and field research.
- Liasioned with the line departments to develop grievance redressal mechanism for issues raised by women's community institutions.
- Mapped critical welfare schemes and implementation gaps for enhancing the efficiency of top 15 government schemes impacting health, livelihood, youth skills and education across the state.
- Designed capacity building modules for 'Leadership Development of Community Leaders' in order to enhance their capacities to push people's agenda and influence village development plans
- Institutionalized mechanisms to accelerate dialogues between community leaders and local government by revising government processes.
- Drafting progress reports, press release and success stories to capture field progress, enable stakeholder engagement and to ensure timely decision making.
- Advocated for women’s institutions in the state systems, lobbied for policy solutions to problems directly affecting rural dwellers and push decision-makers to take necessary actions.
- Developing special project proposals for mobilizing funds for carrying out additional community development activities
- Conducted impact assessment of livelihood initiatives under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission
Aspirational District Fellow
Transforming Rural India Foundation & Tata Trusts
Sukma and Rajnandgaon
08.2018 - 04.2020
- Deployed with Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to pace up development outcomes in the LWE (left-wing extremism) affected most backward districts of India in a time-bound manner aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in the field of education, healthcare, agriculture, skill development, financial inclusion and basic infrastructure.
- Leading the Transforming Aspirational Districts Program (TADP) in insurgency-hit districts Rajnandgaon (August, 2018 to August, 2019) and Sukma (August, 2019 to April, 2020).
- Achieved 1st Rank for District Sukma and won a development fund of 10 crores INR by the Government of India for making a record improvement in the domain of education, health and agriculture.
- Travelling to remote regions to assess gaps in the implementation of the welfare schemes and subsequently developing processes for effective program implementation.
- Streamlined data inflow and did block-wise gap analysis for addressing development disparity issues at the district level.
- Documented policy recommendations and best practices which got incorporated into the revised schemes.
- Designed social assistance programs for community, including referral to agencies that provide financial assistance, affordable housing, quality education, child and maternal healthcare.
- Systematized and regularized ante-natal and post-natal check-ups for pregnant women in compliance with the national maternal and child healthcare guidelines.
- Held trust-building processes to bridge the gap between the district administration and indigenous communities through sharing circles, theatrics, people's court and community gatherings.
- Documented field studies, individual case studies, impact studies, policy notes, monthly reports in order to contribute to social policy decisions and assist the state and central government to rethink development strategy for conflict zones.
- Designed and implemented needs-based intervention programs to improve the quality of life of the poor population in the district.
- Managed United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) supported Early Grade Literacy program for the children in 350 primary schools from indigenous tribes with a special focus on regional language development.
- Conducted school wise block-level gap analysis to fulfill minimum infrastructural requirements for assuring effective classroom processes; Ensured WASH facilities in 750 primary schools.
- Organized full circle capacity-building programs for the teachers and cluster coordinators to improve learning outcomes with a focus on pedagogy, technology integration and addressing field-level challenges.
- Organized Anemia Prevention and Treatment Camps for pregnant and lactating mothers in 47 villages to reduce maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate.
- Liasioned with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agencies for mobilizing development funds for upgrading medical facilities at Maternal & Child Hospital, the only hospital in Sukma district.
- Developed 7 special project proposals in the field of health, education and agriculture for procuring funding from NITI Aayog (apex public policy think tank of the Government of India).
Young Professional (District Resource Cell Head)
Rajeevika (Rajasthan State Rural Livelihoods Mission)
Kota
04.2017 - 07.2018
- Administer overall capacity building work of 3 districts namely Kota, Bundi and Alwar with a focus on community institutions, staff and community cadre.
- Led a team of 600+ team members comprising community cadres for program expansion and creating self-sustaining community institutions.
- Collaborated with team members to achieve target results.
- Developed 6 immersion sites in order to demonstrate the work of SRLM/NRLM and to promote best practices by showcasing all project initiatives.
- Training needs analysis through impact assessment studies, regular field visits, digital surveys, feedback loops and review meetings.
- Developed capacity-building modules in consultation with State Program Management Unit (SPMU) and members from partner states.
- Applauded for adopting and promoting participatory training methodology for maximizing learning outcomes from adult training programs.
- Instituted a local resource pool of trainers at all levels namely block, district and state in order to decentralize training programs at cluster/block level for all verticals.
- Developed Detailed Project Reports, Annual Action Plans and Training Calendars for all the allocated districts.
- Developed and implemented performance improvement strategies and plans to promote continuous improvement in the internal team.
- Introduced tools and processes to facilitate self-reflection in team meetings.
- Devised income generation plan for enhancing financial sustainability of community institutions by setting-up community-managed training facilities.
- Prepared and presented feedback reports to the stakeholders from the different departments of the government for active convergence.
- Instituted community-owned 4 Training Facilities, pivotal in ensuring financial sustainability of women-based federations.
- Prepared variety of different written communications, reports and documents for scaling-up the program.
- Created spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel for weekly and monthly reporting.
Senior Executive - Skilling and Training
Shri Ram New Horizons Limited
Noida
12.2014 - 06.2015
- Managing end-to-end government skill development programs such as Employment Linked Skill Training Program (ELSTP), National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in accordance with the training orders of the organization.
- Coordinating with the personnel from Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India for ensuring timely funds disbursal and formal approvals.
- Organizing community mobilization drives in the selected villages for selection of youth for enrollment in skill training programs.
- Ensuring hard and digital infrastructural preparation in compliance with the state guidelines for conducting training program.
- Oversee day to day activities of the skill programs to ensure quality training outcomes.
- Tying-up with the third party assessment agency for final training assessment and getting done the same.
- Doing business development tie-ups with corporate companies for placements of the trained students with clarity of terms of formal employment.
- Providing counselling support to the trained candidates for smooth transition from student to to professional life
- Submitting utilization certificates to the finance department for accounts clearance.
Placement Officer
CETPA Infotech Private Limited
Noida
07.2013 - 12.2014
- Interviewing the students to understand their education history, career challenges and to assess their training needs.
- Conducting skill gap assessment of the students for helping them choose the right course for securing employment in the engineering sector.
- Facilitating tie-ups with the corporate clients to mobilize career opportunities for the trainee students.
- Organizing job placement drives and advertising the information about the same on social media for reaching the maximum students.
- Plan and conduct aptitude and interview preparation classes for trainees to help them clear the entrance exams of the visiting employer companies.
- Referring students to external agencies that provided scholarship, paid internships and industrial apprenticeship.
- Act as a link between employers and students in order to ensure maximum job placements.
- Providing post-placement counseling and support to improve job retention of the newly employed youth.
- Contributing to curriculum revision with regard to changing needs of the job market to favor the unemployed youth.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of the skill development programs.
- Drafting policy recommendations for the major stakeholders in the training sector to improve the training framework for closing the industry-education gap.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Electronics And Communication Engineering
Punjab Technical University
Ferozepur, Punjab, India 08.2009 - 05.2013
Master of Arts - MSW in Livelihoods And Social Entrepreneurship
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 06.2015 - 04.2017
Skills
Strategic planning
Accomplishments
- Sukma, my district of operation bagged 1st Rank and a development fund of rupees 10 Crore (100 Million Dollar) for showing progress in 23 SDG indicators in the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme (TADP)
- Designed and implemented a self-sustainable , district-owned Early Grade Literacy Program in partnership with UNICEF in 350 government schools, low-cost school library and pedagogical transformation being important components of the intervention design.
- Lauded for promoting sustainable agriculture in insurgency hit tribal belt of Chhattisgarh with a recorded 400 percent increase in the area under less-water intensive millet cultivation and backyard poultry development.
- Successfully achieved target of health and nutrition indicators for maternal and child healthcare in the ‘hard to reach’ pockets of Sukma through field camps and community health campaigns.
- Accepted as a Caux Scholar to represent India in Caux Scholars Program, Switzerland 2019. Completed 1-month course on ‘Conflict Transformation’ as a part of program.
- Participated as a full delegate in Caux Forum’s Towards Inclusive Peace conference (TIP) in Caux, Switzerland.
- Completed an International course on ‘Tools of Trauma Healing’ organized by Initiatives of Change, USA.
- Certified Dashboard Expert 2021: Completed a Microsoft Certified Course on ‘Creating Effective Dashboards’.
- Presented research paper on ‘Women Social Entrepreneurs: Case Study of Mahila Umang Producers Co. Ltd, Ranikhet, Uttarakhand’ in The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, London, 2019.
- Co-authored 2 modules titled ‘Feminist Community Practice’ and ‘Gender and Social Entrepreneurship’ for E-PG Pathshala (Government of India initiative for distance learning)
- Awarded Institute Prize for ‘Best Student in Fieldwork’ during masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
- GAP (Global Action on Poverty) Fellow.
- Fellow at ‘Lead Like a Girl’ Fellowship launched by Shenomics for women’s leadership development.
Timeline
Manager, Government Programs
Transforming Rural India Foundation
09.2021 - 08.2022
State Program Officer
Transforming Rural India Foundation
05.2020 - 08.2021
Aspirational District Fellow
Transforming Rural India Foundation & Tata Trusts
08.2018 - 04.2020
Young Professional (District Resource Cell Head)
Rajeevika (Rajasthan State Rural Livelihoods Mission)
04.2017 - 07.2018
Master of Arts - MSW in Livelihoods And Social Entrepreneurship
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
06.2015 - 04.2017
Senior Executive - Skilling and Training
Shri Ram New Horizons Limited
12.2014 - 06.2015
Placement Officer
CETPA Infotech Private Limited
07.2013 - 12.2014
Bachelor of Science - Electronics And Communication Engineering
Punjab Technical University
08.2009 - 05.2013
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