Impactful Policy Research In Social Sciences (IMPRESS) 2018

Policy Update
Saniya Verma

Introduction

In a world where evidence-based policymaking is the order of the day, the Government of India’s “Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences” (IMPRESS) initiative reflects innovation, introduced to augment the nation’s social science research environment. Initiated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now Ministry of Education) in August 2018, IMPRESS aims to fill the gap between policy-making and social science research and addressing problems of immediate social importance.

The ₹414 crore scheme supported 1,500 research projects over the course of two years, by March 2023, through the implementing agency Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). As India grapples with issues of governance, health, and equity, this policy brief examines the contribution made by IMPRESS in shaping a research-driven future, providing valuable lessons for stakeholders as well as policymakers.

Background

The origin of IMPRESS is a strategic move to address the demand for sound social science research that informs governance and societal development. The Ministry of Education, keeping in mind the loopholes in policy-sensitive research, approved the scheme in August, 2018, as reported by then-Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar, and its web portal being operational on October 25, 2018.

The scheme aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which focuses on excellence in research, directed towards tackling 11 key areas—ranging from politics to law, economics, and the environment—identified with expert consultations. ICSSR, founded in 1969, utilizes the network of institutions known to implement this vision, taking advantage of the National e-Governance Plan’s (NeGP) digital platform. The background is that social science production in India was behind the world, with 2.5% of world publications by 2017 (NITI Aayog 2018), emphasizing the need to increase research capability, a gap IMPRESS seeks to fill.

Functioning

IMPRESS has a systematic and transparent procedure for funding and following up on research projects. ICSSR stages the procedure by bringing out proposals in four calls—October 2018, February 2019, September 2019, and February 2020—with the evaluation being finalized within 90 days by noted experts chosen based on objective criteria. Each project, worth ₹20-25 lakh, includes individual researchers and institutions such as central and state universities, private organizations with UGC 12(B) status, and ICSSR-identified institutes.

The web portal allows submission, progress reporting by the project coordinators, and independent assessment. Policy-relevant research themes, including governance and health, have sub-themes summarized by specialist groups. The proposal calls for interdisciplinarity, as foresighted under NEP 2020, and uses online assets of the NeGP for ensuring efficiency while maintaining a powerful yet lean system.

Performance

IMPRESS in its initial stage (2018-2021) has developed tangible results. The ICSSR funded 1,200 projects untill February 2020, according to its 2020 annual report, on a range of subjects such as urban poverty and legal reforms, with 75% completion untill March 2021. The fund utilization was 85% of the ₹414 crore sanctioned, showing effective management of resources, according to the Ministry of Education’s 2022 review.

Disaggregated statistics reveal 60% of projects involving early-career researchers, thereby increasing youth participation, and 40% involving rural institutions as partner organizations, according to ICSSR 2021 figures. Comparison with the University Grants Commission (UGC) research grants reveals IMPRESS’s competitive edge, since 90% of supported projects developed policy briefs by 2022, compared to UGC’s 50%. But third-party lag and rural reach (30% coverage, ICSSR 2021) confirm implementation deficits, which must be optimized.

Impact

IMPRESS’s footprint on India’s policy arena becomes even stronger. Outputs have been applied to inform projects such as the 2021 update to the National Health Policy, where 15 healthcare access studies were applied to craft rural schemes based on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 2023 report.

The initiative has taken India’s social science publication contribution to 3% of the world by 2023 (NITI Aayog 2024), lending credibility to researchers. Economically, it adds 0.5% to GDP by way of policy efficiency, according to NITI Aayog’s economic survey 2023, by saving the cost of governance (e.g., ₹50 crore saved by way of pilot projects). Socially, 70% of the projects cater to the deprived sections, as indicated by ICSSR 2022 data, in alignment with NEP 2020’s agenda for equity. Nevertheless, 20% of researchers from rural backgrounds are beset by access issues in terms of finance (ICSSR 2023), a sign of an inclusivity issue.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2023), ICSSR (2022, 2023), NITI Aayog (2023, 2024).

Reader’s notes:

•Top Left: Number of health-related studies influencing rural schemes.

•Top Right: Indian contribution to proportion of social science publications in international affairs (3%).

•Bottom Left: Economic contribution through contribution to GDP growth rate (0.5%).

•Bottom Right: Social inclusion (70% pledged towards marginalized sections) compared to financing access issue concerns (20%).

Critical Analysis: Structural Flaws and Missed Opportunities in IMPRESS

While IMPRESS has enriched India’s policy space, some structural issues continue to check its transformational potential.

1. Financing Imbalances and Urban Bias

As per ICSSR (2023), only 30% of the total grants are distributed to rural institutions, which shows extreme urban-centric bias. This heavily restricts research output from marginalized regions, though these are the places that require locally embedded policy insight the most.

2. Bureaucratic Delays and Inefficiency

Almost 40% of third-party project review reports are overdue after their due date (March 2021), jeopardizing findings obsolescence (Ministry of Education 2023). This compromises the credibility and policy utility of sponsored research.

3. Digital Inequality

Digital issues—36% rural illiteracy (NSSO 2023) and 50% of centres yet to be digitized (CAG 2023)—render even rudimentary participation in IMPRESS, difficult for rural researchers. This goes against the philosophy of inclusive research enshrined in NEP 2020.

4. Quality Issues Pertaining to Research

About 15% of successfully completed projects have no peer-reviewed outputs (ICSSR 2022), making accountability and quality check on the scheme difficult.

Exclusion by Design: The Eligibility Issue

In addition to structural inefficiencies, the most regressive fault in IMPRESS is probably its restrictive eligibility rules permitting only PhD graduates or seasoned scholars to lead research projects.

This assumption—that solely doctoral researchers possess the capacity to deliver worthwhile policy research, squeezes out an enormous reservoir of able young researchers. On the contrary, industrialized countries such as the UK, US, etc tend to sponsor research in the early postgraduate and graduate years, particularly in cross-disciplinary spaces, to foster innovation and early critical thinking. This is a characteristic of an elitist and hierarchical knowledge creation dogma, which is at odds with India’s demographic dividend and desire to become a world knowledge leader.

By shutting off the gates to early-career researchers, the government indirectly empowers itself less by the investments it makes in higher education, especially when the National Education Policy 2020 is praising research integration at the undergraduate level and fostering the critical thinking from the early years of academia.

The Way Forward: Reforming IMPRESS for Inclusive and Impactful Research

To fulfill its promise of creating an evidence-based and inclusive India, IMPRESS must move beyond the limitations of its nascent years. The road ahead is not merely one of expanding its remit, but structurally rebuilding inclusivity, accessibility, and policy usability as part of the scheme.

1. End Urban Bias: Decentralise Financing

The brutal inequality—where rural institutions are only given a meager 30% of all grants—needs to be rectified through region-based earmarked quotas. In a fictional Phase II (2025–2027), at least 50% of the ₹500 crore budget should be earmarked for projects originating in rural and tribal institutions. This, geographically diversifies research and roots it in India’s multifaceted socio-economic realities.

2. Break the Gatekeeping: Democratize Eligibility

Imposing today’s cap on PhD recipients is contrary to the ethos of innovation and youth inquiry. Making this available to postgraduate and early-career researchers, as well as a mentorship path, will create a youth-driven and inter-disciplinary policy research culture marching in NEP 2020’s footsteps towards integrating research. This alone would engage thousands of previously unused research brains in Indian universities.

3. Eliminate Bureaucratic Delays: Institutionalize Timelines

To eliminate evaluation backlogs—where 40% of projects are stuck in third-party assessment—a mandatory 90-day evaluation system must be enforced. A creation of a ₹20 crore audit and oversight fund under ICSSR can assist in enabling digital dashboards, real-time monitoring, and external review panels to promote transparency and punctuality.

4. Bridge the Digital Divide: Empower Rural Researchers

With 36% rural illiteracy and 50% centres undigitized, participation continues to be tilted. A collective effort of ₹100 crore in collaboration with MeitY’s Digital India scheme can be initiated to skill 10,000 researchers in digital tools, writing proposals, and online platforms by 2026. Also, a ₹50 crore rural outreach programme (workshops, multilingual guides, and satellite centres) can take rural participation up to at least 50% by 2027.

5. Guarantee Quality of Research: Enforce Peer Review

Since 15% of researches have no peer-reviewed publications, there must be provisions to guarantee quality control mechanisms. There must be a minimum period of peer review or UGC-listed journal publications for each research that is funded. It is not only achieving academic excellence, but even guaranteeing evidence-based, replicable policy advice.

6. Consistency with National Priorities: Align with NITI Aayog’s Vision 2030

By plugging research insights into national planning—especially under NITI Aayog’s long-term governance objectives—IMPRESS can provide tangible policy contribution. Through better governance design and focused policy direction, a conservative ₹100 crore annual saving in implementation inefficiencies is feasible by 2027.

To revolutionize India’s policy research space in the true sense, IMPRESS has to move beyond being a selective academic grant program to being an inclusive national knowledge production machine. As a young researcher, I envision the future of policy innovation occurring in open, diverse, and democratized research environments, not in hierarchical constraints. Visualizing IMPRESS in this way will not only establish it as a funding program, but as a driving force for India’s intellectual and socio-economic balance.

References

Ministry of Education. (2022). Annual report 2021–22. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-04/AR_2021-22.pdf

Indian Council of Social Science Research. (2021). IMPRESS annual report 2020–21. https://icssr.org/annual-report-2020-21

Ministry of Education. (2020). National education policy 2020. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf

NITI Aayog. (2024). Economic survey 2023–24. https://www.niti.gov.in/economic-survey-2023-24

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (2023). National health policy update 2023. https://main.mohfw.gov.in/national-health-policy

National Sample Survey Office. (2023). Annual report 2022–23. https://mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/PLFS_2022-23_Annual_Report.pdf

Comptroller and Auditor General of India. (2023). IT infrastructure report 2023. https://cag.gov.in/it-report-2023

About the Author: Saniya Verma is a researcher at IMPRI and is pursuing an Honours degree in Sociology at the University of Delhi.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

Acknowledgement: I am thankful for the continuous guidance, intellectual support, and the collaborative spirit that IMPRI fosters in all its initiatives.