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A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS UNDER THE RAJASTHAN EDUCATION INITIATIVE: IF NOT FOR PROFIT, THEN FOR WHAT? Anupam Pachauri Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Education University of Sussex JULY 2012 ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores the development of a multi-stakeholder partnership model using a multiple case study research design. Specifically this study examines the rationale for the launch of the Rajasthan Education initiative, its development and its impact on educational development and reaches conclusions about the scalability and sustainability of multi- stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) in the context of Rajasthan. The literature review shows that there is insufficient independent research evidence to support the widespread claims that public private partnerships (PPPs), of which MSP is a new ‘avatar’, are able to deliver results in terms of developmental gains and added value. This paucity of evidence and profusion of claims is partly explained by the fact, that the research that has been commissioned is not independent and its conclusions have been shaped by vested interests of those promoting the organisations they claim to evaluate. In particular organisations associated with the World Economic Forum (WEF) have been projecting PPPs and programmes of corporate responsibility as a way to engage for-profit organisations and enhance the effectiveness of external support for the delivery of services to basic education. Alongside this not-for-profit PPPs are seldom scrutinised in terms of public accountability, value for money, scalability, or sustainability partly due to the voluntary nature of such inputs to the public system. I believe my research makes a new and unique contribution to the independent evaluation of state enabled, not-for-profit MSPs in action. The research selected eight formal partnerships for case study which were selected using a matrix of organisational characteristics, scale and scope of interventions. The case studies are organised into four thematic groups i.e, School adoption, ICT based interventions, teachers’ training and universalisation of elementary education in underserved urban localities. Each case study is examined using a framework which highlights three dimensions. These are i) the design of the partnership, ii) stakeholder involvement and intra agent dynamics and iii) the Governance of the partnership. A cross case analysis of the eight partnerships is used to arrive at conclusions about MSPs in Rajasthan. This uses the concept of double contingency of power (Sayer 2004), and specifically the concept of causal power and causal susceptibilities and Stake’s (2006) multiple case analysis, to discuss the commonalities and differences across partnerships and emerging themes while cross analysing the partnerships. I have engaged in interpretivist inquiry and sought to understand the workings of an MSP which involves businesses and CSR groups alongside NGOs and government agencies with iii an aim to place Rajasthan on a fast development track. Rather than looking for an ideal type MSP, I problematise the MSPs in Rajasthan as I explain the workings of an MSP model in action. Given this methodological perspective, I have used semi structured interviews, observations of the partnership programmes in action, and document analysis as methods to collect and corroborate data for this study. The study concludes that the exiting MSP arrangements in REI are not scalable, unsustainable and have very limited impact. Moreover, the MSPs are unstable and reflect fluid inter-organisational evolution, as well as ambiguous public accountability. There was no purposeful financial management at the REI management level. In addition the exit routes for partners supporting interventions were not planned, resulting in the fading away of even those interventions that showed promise in accruing learning gains for children, and by schools and teachers. Non-scalability and lack of sustainability can be inferred from the fact that the partners do not have a long term view of interventions, lack sustained commitment for resource input and the interventions are implemented with temporary work force. The instability of the partnerships can be explained through the absence of involvement of government teachers and communities. Also economic and political power dominated the fate of the programmes. In this MSP it was clear that corporate social responsibility (CSR) was a driving force for establishing the MSP but was not backed by continued and meaningful engagement. The ‘win-win’ situation of greater resources, efficiency and effectiveness, which formed the basic premise for launching the REI was not evident in reality. MSPs are gaining currency globally. This research points to the fact that much more intentional action needs to be taken to ensure that partnerships such as these have a sustained impact on development. The problems and issues of education are historically, politically and socially embedded. Any action that does not take this into account and which is blind to the interests of different stakeholders in MSPs, will surely fall short of achieving what it set out to do. Further independent research examining the ambitions and realities of other MSPs is needed to inform policy development and implementation. This is essential for achieving the goals of education for all before investing further in what appears to be a flawed modality to improve access, equity and outcomes in education. iv DEDICATION I dedicate my thesis to my father Late Mr. R. P. Pachauri and my mother Mrs. Shakuntla Sharma who both were government teachers and my source of inspiration. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and the Consortium for Research on Equity Access and Transitions in Education (CREATE) at the University of Sussex for the scholarship award. I am also thankful to Prof. R. Govinda and CREATE's India team at the National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) for facilitating my research proposal and my application for the Commonwealth Scholarship Award. Prof. Shyam B. Menon, Vice Chancellor, Ambedkar University, Delhi has been my academic mentor who encouraged me to pursue research and apply for this scholarship. I thank him for showing me the way. For their intellectual leadership, support and guidance and a matching colossal patience and understanding, I am thankful to my main supervisor Prof. Keith Lewin and my second supervisor Dr. Mario Novelli. Both of them have made me see the worth of my work and encouraged me to persist with the writing. I am grateful to the organisations and individuals who gave me access to their offices, responded to my phone calls and emails and shared their experiences of MSPs and programme reports for this research. Thanks are also due to the REI-PMU and the officials at SSA Rajasthan for sharing the MoU documents of the REI partnerships. My deep gratitude goes to the teachers and children of the schools in Rajasthan. Without their involvement, this study would not have been possible, I would also like to thank the University of Sussex library and BLDS for the library facilities over the years. The School of Education and the Centre for International Education provided me several opportunities to present selections from my work-in- progress at various platforms and on different occasions like special Research Days, Work- vi in-progress Research Seminars among others. These have been of immense help as I could share my work with my academic colleagues in a congenial setting. Special thanks are due to my friend Nisha Gupta who hosted my stay in Jaipur for a substantial time and offered me her immense hospitality and care during my field work. Nancy Dore, whose house was my home in Brighton for more than two years, has been a warm-hearted host and my companion in watching mystery stories. I am forever beholden for her kindness. My family and friends have stood by me in this nearly half a decade long work in a way that only family and friends can. I thank them for bearing with my absence in difficult times, accepting my eccentricities and listening patiently to what I thought were memorable stories from the field. I owe a lot to CREATE for funding the second phase of my field work in 2010 and also for providing me with bursaries to attend various workshops and seminars including two UKFIET conferences in 2007 and 2009. The British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE) provided me a full bursary to attend the UKFIET conference in 2011 acknowledging my role as the BAICE student representative. I thank BAICE for this support. The Summer School on Regionalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation in Education at Budapest, Hungary in July 2011 facilitated my research by connecting me with faculty and scholars from various countries,

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