Shilpa Shibir 2015

Over 2013-14 & 2014-15, IIM Calcutta has designed and delivered a series of Capacity Building Training Programs for Directors, GMs, Managers & Industrial Development Officers (IDOs) of the West Bengal MSSET department and DIC officials to train and orient them towards creating a more supportive ecosystem for district-level existing and prospective entrepreneurs.

The purpose of these programs was to provide essential knowledge and skills to these officials to enable their transition from regulators to supportive facilitators of entrepreneurship in the districts of West Bengal.

There were two rounds of training workshops for Directors, GMs and Managers, as well as a convention and one round of training workshops for all IDOs across the state. These training and capacity building programs received a very positive and enthusiastic response from the participants, indicating that this initiative was well-timed and well-received and therefore deserved to be taken forward.

Basis very positive feedback received across the board from workshop participants including requests for further programs, several innovative schemes launched in West Bengal in the last year for district-level entrepreneurship development, and a few new initiatives in the pipeline, further capacity enhancement of these officials were required.

It was agreed in a meeting between representatives of IIM Calcutta & IIMC Innovation Park, and the Principal Secretary of MSSET Department of WB Government in end-February 2015, that a new program aimed at enhancing the Entrepreneurship support capability of DIC officials in West Bengal should be designed on the following guidelines:

  1. Capacity enhancement of DIC officials in 2015-16 should focus on making participants more familiar and adept at using the key process, tools and systems that the Department of MSME&T has been implementing in recent times to promote development of a better eco-system for MSME business in the state.
  2. It would be a workshop mode, with greater focus on interactions, discussions, group exercises, role play, shared learning and practical approach rather than classroom lectures
  3. There needs to be a focus on developing training and other knowledge materials / tools that are easy to access and use.
  4. A planned session with the Principal Secretary was incorporated to facilitate greater buy in and cohesion among all DIC officials.

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