100% scholarship @ KSPP + Lucknow's First Policy Circle + This Week's Best Policy Reads
Policy Post #224
Dear Reader,
Policy sometimes happens when someone realises that the gap between a good idea and a good outcome isn’t just about politics — it’s about management. About implementation. About the often-invisible machinery that sits between a policy on paper and a life that changes.
That’s what Lucknow gave us last Friday. And we’re just getting started.
This week: our first-ever Lucknow meetup and what it opened up, a reminder about Kautilya School of Public Policy’s scholarships for those thinking about structured learning, and a look at the policy world’s most interesting reads from the past fortnight — from a landmark India-US trade deal to what bureaucracy and state capacity research is quietly telling us about why good governance is harder than it looks.
Let’s get into it.
Policy Charcha 💬
The best of Podcasts, Videos, Essays, Fellowships and other Career resources from the world of Policy and Governance from the week gone by!
🏙️ PPI Comes to Lucknow — For the First Time
On February 21st, we held our very first Policy Circle in Lucknow. And the city showed up.
India doesn’t have a shortage of policy ideas. What it has is a persistent gap between design and delivery. Lucknow put that conversation front and centre — and we think it’s a conversation every city deserves.
If you want a room full of people who care about governance, want to go beyond the headlines, and are willing to sit with hard questions about how change actually happens — this is your space.
📅 Details going out through city chapters shortly
📍 Keep an eye on your chapter’s WhatsApp group
Not in a chapter yet? Find and join your city chapter here →
🎓 If You’ve Been Thinking About Structured Learning in Policy...
The Policy Circles are a great starting point — but if you’re ready to go deeper, the Master’s Programme in Public Policy (MPP) at Kautilya School of Public Policy is worth a serious look.
The Master’s Programme in Public Policy (MPP) at Kautilya School of Public Policy is now accepting applications for 2025. This 2-year, full-time, residential programme is designed to help you understand not just what policies say, but how they get made, implemented, and shaped by the world around them.
KSPP offers generous scholarships for eligible candidates, and those applying through PPI may qualify for a 100% fee waiver, depending on the school’s evaluation.
📌 If you apply via PPI, be sure to mention us as your reference to be considered for the waiver.
💡 Research Highlight
"Bureaucracy Needs a Rebrand" — VoxDev
VoxDev's 2025 year-in-review has a quietly important section on state capacity. In Chile, merit-based recruitment to public hospitals reduced mortality rates.
In India and Pakistan, how bureaucrats are posted matters enormously for delivery outcomes. If the implementation gap is the problem, this is where the evidence for solving it lives.
🔎 Databases and Guides:
Discover your ultimate career resource sheets for everything related to public policy! Our comprehensive mega-lists include 150+ hiring organisations, 200+ scholarships, and 150+ courses, podcasts and a lot more. Dive in and unlock your next big opportunity!
🌟 Avenues for Upskilling
Public Policy Puzzle
Public Policy Puzzle (PPP) is a platform on a mission to make public policy accessible, engaging, and useful for students, young professionals, and curious citizens. Through courses, resources, and interactive formats.
🌍Climate + Health Corner
In Partnership With Swasti, The Health Catalyst
🧊 When the Ice Goes, Everything Goes
Our Planet on Netflix follows polar bears, walruses, seals, and penguins navigating a world of disappearing ice — and it’s as heartbreaking as it sounds. But it’s also more than a nature film.
What happens at the poles ripples outward — into sea levels, weather systems, food security, and eventually, the health crises that land on frontline workers’ desks across the Global South. Watch it as a briefing, not just a documentary.
Careers Corner 💼
A curated list of some of the best jobs and internship opportunities this week from the world of public policy, the development sector, impact consulting and communications at large.
📩 Best bit - if you know of a job/internship opening that’s not listed here, kindly just add that as a comment on the sheet: giving 20,000+ people immediate access to it!
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