Coming into the fellowship, I was aware that the nature of my work was going to be different. Uniquely, I am placed in a government office, and was told throughout our orientation in Delhi that I was in for quite the ride. The scale of work would be bigger, the teams I would work with would span across departments and even organizations, and of course the pace of work was going to be much faster. This felt quite intimidating, but thanks to my supervisor and colleagues I ended up adapting to the style of work quite quickly.
As my fellowship journey slowly comes to an end, I’ve been able to reflect on all that I’ve learned with my time at the Department of School Education (DSE) in Haryana. The aspects I’ve mentioned prior that come with government work in India have shaped my understanding of development work, taught me quite a bit about the field, and helped me grow as a young professional. Through this blog post I’d like to share some of those lessons.
Deadlines can be tight
- When I was told that the pace of work was going to be fast I admittedly underestimated this warning. I’ve worked in NGOs that are adjacent to the government in the past, and I’ve seen how fast paced that work ends up being, but it’s nothing compared to working in the government sector in India. This pacing is most often seen with deadlines. I’ve often been given projects that often have end of day deadlines, or even more extreme deadlines within an hour. The sooner the deadline implies a more ad-hoc nature of the assignment, as usually a new need pop ups that needs to be met quickly, and is passed onto someone with the right skillset. Within the office one of my primary roles is in design and communications, something that is required in many different projects. As a result I was given quite a few projects and was expected to work fast. This at times felt overwhelming, but it proved to be very valuable in getting me acclimated to the pace of government work.
Everything needs a graphic
- Government schemes can be quite complex. Each scheme has set expectations and roles for different stakeholders, and outcomes that are expected, with these often changing and updating as a scheme progresses. Explaining complex ideas like these always proves to be challenging, as if you state it verbatim you will more than likely be left with a wall of text which can be difficult to understand. My role in communications was turning these complex ideas into something that everyone can understand quickly and easily, and that involved the creation of graphics. Graphics that I’ve made streamlined these ideas, shortening the text, and using punchy and culturally sensitive visuals that catch the attention of stakeholders easier.
Things can change in an instant
- I’ve worked on enough projects in the past year to know that whatever I could be working on one day, will have to be either reworked at best or even completely changed at worst. The reason for this is the tiers of communication in government offices, which can at times lead to different visions for how a project should be. Sometimes I will get a specific idea for how a project should look or function from my supervisor, who could then get a different idea from their supervisor, leading to massive changes or restructuring. This can be difficult at times, especially if these changes come quite deep into a project or closer to a deadline, but these are still moments of learning. It’s in these moments where I really have to focus up and change my work to match the new requirements. It also taught me the necessity of structured and clear communication.
You are never working alone
- The final and most important lesson I’ve learned is that these projects are always a group effort. In my office there exist different workstreams; academics, communications, governance, monitoring, and many others, and these workstreams intersect constantly. This means that your projects will never be something you do on your own. Working in large groups like these across multiple streams has so many benefits. I feel that doing this has naturally improved my communication skills, but also allowed me to get a more holistic understanding of work in the DSE. As I asked questions about the different workstreams, I was able to understand how each one was connected, which improved my work, and also let me know which colleagues to ask for help at different moments.
Government work in India can be challenging. Yes I’ve struggled at times this year, but I’ve also grown in so many ways. Working with the DSE has shown me how fulfilling development work can be, and proved to me that it’s something I want to do long term.
