IIM-A to assist MPs manage complaints

As part of their project with the Members of Parliament (MPs), students at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) are developing an information and communication technology (ICT) system wherein citizens can register their complaints through an interactive voice response system (IVRS) and avail prompt response from respective departments.

Under the project titled ‘Connect with Leaders’, the students will develop a web-based electronic interface for the MPs. “The idea is to assist the MPs in efficient complaint management as well as proper follow-up of assurances. So far, citizens have not been able to get their complaints heard efficiently,” said Srijan Pal Singh, student co-ordinator at IIM-A, who is part of the project.

To begin with, the students will be conducting a need analysis of citizens to gauge the areas of dissatisfaction and complaints. Later, a popular communication channel will be developed as part of the technology to connect the MPs with their respective constituencies.

“The communication channel will most probably be telephone and a bit of mobile phone as well as internet. We intend to use the right technology that is accessible by all citizens,” said Singh.

Work on such a system began early this month with MP Harin Pathak visiting the campus to interact with students. Pathak himself is the chairman of committee on government assurances in Lok Sabha and is believed to be proactive in his constituency, Ahmedabad.

During his visit, Pathak discussed with the students areas that they should identify and work on, the framework of the programme and how it could benefit policy-makers.

“It was during such a discussion that we decided to go ahead with designing such a system in complaint management for MPs. While currently we would be designing it for the three MPs with whom we are working under the project, if successful, the system can also be adopted later by the Parliament,” added Singh.