Mr. Nikhil Raj (PFM 2009-11) is an M&E Expert at SIDBI, the leading Principal Financial Institution set up under an act of the Indian Parliament for the Promotion, Financing, and Development of the MSME sector. He has a decade long experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MLE), Research, Program Management, etc. He has worked extensively in social research with a wide range of clients and collaborators including BMGF, Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank, UNICEF, CARE India, DFID, Agribusiness Systems International, Pathfinder International, Duke University, LSHTM, Mathematica Policy Research, IFPRI, UCSF, UCB as well as federal and state governments in India to name a few.
Nikhil has held responsible positions in several projects teams and has been associated with several large scale innovative, impactful and inclusive evaluations and research assignments in various thematic areas. He is adept at preparing concept notes, ToRs, research proposals, constructing Log Frame, Theory of Change (ToC) indicators, suggesting study designs, undertaking power calculations, etc. Specifically, his areas of interest include technology platforms for data collection and data handling, MIS, statistical analysis, and an end to end project planning and management.
Twitter: nraj4u
FB: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilraj4u
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. The journey from IIFM to my present role has been quite enjoyable, enriching, and insightful to say the least. Barring the first job which was a bit stressful (owing to a mismatch between the job profile and my inherent nature), the overall ride has been pretty smooth and I have thoroughly applied my IIFM learnings/exposure to my official duties/obligations.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
Milestones:
Taking into account my performance and contribution towards the organization, I was awarded ESOPs just after the first 6 months of my career;
Developed three impactful and innovative handbooks (Promoting Women Entrepreneurship, Poor 2 Progressive- Decoding Learnings, Sustainable Strategies- Finclusion to Swavalamban) that have been circulated to a varied set of stakeholders and also have been hosted at SIDBI’s website;
Developed 2 working paper (Quasi-Experimental Designs for Impact Evaluation, Quantitative Approach to Forecasting Using “R”).
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. Being associated with one of the most innovative, inclusive, and impactful development sector project which is related to affecting the masses especially women in the underserved, unserved, unfunded Indian regions, and instilling entrepreneurial culture into aspiring youths give the satisfaction that I am contributing to society in the best possible way.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Absolutely. The learnings at IIFM have immensely helped me in understanding the finer nuances/aspects of the development sector and approaching my professional roles in a better way. It has provided the much-needed impetus.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?
A. My passion and inclination towards learning more and more, keeping abreast with the latest happenings, and thirst for graduating to the next higher levels are the biggest motivators/drivers in my career.
Any person who wishes to make a career in the development sector has to have the passion and the inclination to make a mark. He/she should start learning basic project management techniques, data mining and analysis software like R, STATA, SPSS, NVivo, Atlas Ti, etc., and Monitoring & Evaluation concepts/techniques in advance to get an edge over others when he/she steps into the field.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. IIFM has been a place to cherish memories; be it the late-night badminton matches, carrom tournaments, gully cricket matches, playing skits, encountering the wild animals, having late night maggies with friends, roaming in Andheri Gali at night, completing assignments at short deadlines, making impromptu presentations, watching unlimited movies, etc.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. I would say the faculty members, some of the courses, friends, and alumni.
Q. The best friends/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.
A. Faculty: Prof P.K. Biswas Sir and Prof CS Rathore Sir
Tidbits: 2-3 of our batchmates acted as ghosts in Andheri Gali and scared the hell out of us during one of the days. It was so much of a grave encounter. After realizing that it was a prank, all of us laughed to the fullest and applauded their acting.
Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?
A. Along with the studies (you will get ample assignments and will have to make many presentations), enjoy the 2 years by participating in extra-curricular activities as it will bring the best out of you. Make good friends, create memories and explore Bhopal as it is a nice city to be in.
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. Being in a central government institution, any typical working day involves taking lots and lots of approvals from the higher authorities for each work; but, I guess that’s inherent in any government institution.
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add
A. After a hectic week, I prefer relaxing in the weekends by watching movies/web-series, reading newspapers, etc. However, there are lots of family works as well that need to be completed during the weekends.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors.
A. Books: The Alchemist, The White Elephant, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Five Point Someone, The Three Mistakes of My Life, 2 States, etc.
Movies: Zodiac, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Godfather, Hostel, Wrong Turn, Predator, Bourne Series, James Bond Series, Harry Potter Series, Kahaani, KHNH, KNPH, etc.
Authors: Paulo Coelho, Arvind Adiga, Taslima Nasreen, Arundhati Roy, Chetan Bhagat, etc.
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A. I’m very much open to contribute to IIFM or help/guide IIFMites in any way. I’m always available on [email protected] for any help.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A. I guess the course curriculum has changed a bit, the batch strength has increased, the facilities have improved, and the current bunch of IIFMites has started reaching out to the Alumni’s more and more. Many innovative initiatives and activities are being carried out by the current batch and they deserve a huge round of applause. The ANC (Alumni Network Committee) is actively involved in various IIFM related WhatsApp groups, social media, and they are also showcasing/highlighting IIFM related activities on different platforms. Kudos to the entire team for undertaking all these.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?