Neeraj Kumar Negi, PFM (1996-98) is presently a Senior Evaluation Officer at the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the Global Environment Facility, World Bank. He leads GEF IEO’s performance evaluation team. In his present role, he leads evaluations that examine the performance of environmental and international development programs and policies.
Neeraj holds specialization in Program and Policy Evaluation, Rural and Natural Resource Development. He also pursued a Master’s degree in Public Affairs at Princeton University.
LinkedIn ID: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/neeraj-negi/1/7a4/56a
Q) How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A) After graduating from IIFM, I worked at Seva Mandir, a grassroots NGO, for five years (1998-2003). At Seva Mandir, I designed and implemented projects focused on rural livelihoods and community-based natural resource development. From 2002-2003, co-supervised implementation of a health survey led by Profs. Abhijit Banerjee, Angus Deaton, and Esther Duflo – all of these subsequently became Nobel laureates. From 2003-05, I pursued a master’s degree in Public Affairs at Princeton University. Thereafter, I have been working at the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in different roles. I have led and been part of several evaluations that assess the performance and impact of GEF activities, policies, and processes. Currently, I also lead the performance evaluation team of the IEO.
Neeraj Negi in GEF Council meeting 2015.
Q) What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A) Education at IIFM has played a crucial role in my professional life. IIFM provided me with a technical grounding in business and environment management and provided opportunities to hone my soft skills. The residential nature of the program facilitated close interactions among our classmates, which enriched our learning experience. At Seva Mandir, I was able to deepen my understanding of the challenges facing our rural communities. I remember my experience as the coordinator of Seva Mandir’s drought relief program in 2002-03. I led the program focused on ensuring the supply of drinking water, food grains, fodder, and employment opportunities. I helped develop an approach to ensure speedy delivery of relief alongside robust monitoring arrangements.
Working with professors Banerjee and Duflo helped to gain experience in administering a rigorous survey besides the challenges that one faces in administering it. Higher studies at Princeton University strengthened my economic and behavioural sciences skills and further deepened my understanding of the challenges related to international development. My work at GEF IEO includes the evaluation of activities aimed at generating global environmental benefits along with other benefits. Much of what I learned at IIFM is practical in my present work.
Q) What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A) I lead a team that assesses the performance of GEF activities, policies, and procedures. We evaluate the extent to which these are relevant, effective, and efficient, are contributing to the generation of the intended benefits; and the unintended consequences. My role allows me to examine what works or what doesn’t and why. It helps me generate knowledge for improving the design and implementation of GEF activities and may be useful to the broad international development community.
Q) Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A)The course curriculum at IIFM covered several topics such as sustainable forest management, forest mensuration, biodiversity conservation, environmental impact assessment, financial management, and natural resource economics relevant to the GEF’s work. As an evaluator, it helps me identify and understand issues and the approaches deployed to evaluate them. I recall my being able to use skills related to cost accounting in an evaluation that involved understanding the cost implications of two alternative approaches to program administration
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) Before IIFM, my relationship with the professors at my undergrad college was distant. Much of it was because there were hardly any opportunities for well-built student-faculty interaction. IIFM is different. There were numerous opportunities to interact and benefit from support from faculty members. Dr. Omprakash Madguni, my faculty advisor, helped me know more about the school and settle in the school. The close-knit IIFM community provided me with the confidence to interact with the professors more freely. Student-faculty cricket matches and several other social and cultural events provided a natural Segway to foster these relationships. At Seva Mandir, I had the privilege to work under Neelima Khetan and S. N. Bhise, both excellent development leaders. Mentorship by Prof Esther Duflo was instrumental in my seeking higher education and my sustained interest in international development. My advice to the students would be that they shouldn’t have a mental block in reaching out to their teachers and potential mentors in seeking advice.
Q) What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A) Many fond memories are there from IIFM – some are related to field trips; others relate to participation in Kalpataru (annual fest of IIFM) and All India Forest Sports Meet (National Sports Games organized by MoEF&CC, GoI) and visits to the downtown with classmates. During our time at IIFM, students chose from the organization’s training opportunities based on their cumulative grade point average. The nervous energy among the students was palpable. The approaches adopted by students are as diverse as the number of students in the class. Some students would game out a variety of permutations and combinations. Others would start caring only when their turn came. Some were nervous and excited, while some were nonchalant. The campus would be rife with whispers on who is angling for which internship and who is pairing up with whom for the internships offered to two or more students. After interns had been selected, some seemed ecstatic, others less than excited, and those that felt the buyer’s remorse!
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) IIFM has had a substantial impact on my development as an individual and a professional. It provided me with an opportunity to study with a diverse group of talented students. It was the first time I got to study with classmates from around the country, and it helped me become more socially adept than I would have otherwise been. In addition to the classroom instructions, which helped develop technical skills, the exposure gained through the organizational training and fieldwork was instrumental in giving me a head start, especially during the early phase of my professional career.
Q) The best friends/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.
A) Given that we were a small class of 26 students, we were close to each other. In social media devoid of world differences in perspectives and opinions, did not define friendships. A shared room, birthday parties, class projects, field visits, and shopping for the mess cooperative provided a canvas for close interactions. I was friends with several classmates. With some of these – Kunal Mangal, Sudipta Das Mahapatra, Chetan Tewari, Ritu Kanotra, and Vikas Choudhary – these friendships were reinforced when our paths converged after graduation.
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) Study hard, play hard, collaborate, compete, and challenge yourself! Develop expertise considering your interests and emerging societal needs. Develop friendships – these will last a lifetime. Do not hesitate to reach out to teachers, seniors, and friends, for guidance, but make decisions based on your assessment of what is likely to work for you.
Q) What is your typical day at the office?
A) I conduct evaluations. I spend time designing evaluations; and implementing them through surveys, interviews, document reviews, qualitative and quantitative analysis, writing evaluation reports, and sharing evaluation findings. My work also involves supervising the work of other members of my team and interacting with colleagues in GEF Secretariat, Agencies, recipient country officials, and others. I also spend time keeping abreast of the developments in my field and updating my skills. My work involves a moderate amount of international travel. On any given day, my work involves one or more of these activities.
Q) And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family, and anything else you want to add.
A) I am married, and we have a four-year-old son. It is fun to explore areas around Washington DC with them. When I get a chance, I would love to show IIFM to them. I have an interest in music – for the past eight years been taking voice lessons at a local music school.
Q) Favorite Books, movies, authors.
A) Ibis Triology by Amitav Ghosh, ‘Suite française’ by Irène Némirovsky, and, ‘Arc of Justice’ by Kevin Boyle. Movies that I have enjoyed the most: ‘Dil Chahta Hai‘, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘The Lives of Others’, and ‘Once’.
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 welcome IIFM students and alums to reach out to me regarding career options, higher studies or working in international development. I am happy to share my experience and perspective with them.
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) When I studied at IIFM, it was not well known – cumulatively, only about 150 PFM students had graduated at that point. Choice of courses within the PFM program was limited. These constraints seem to mitigate. I am not well versed with the challenges that are faced by the current student.
Q) Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A) There are several. For example, Sudipta Das Mahapatra and Shakeb Nabi.