IIM-S to chalk plans for effective Covid management in Sambalpur

SAMBALPUR: The Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM-S) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the district administration to tackle the Covid-19 crisis in the district and provide consultation on various issues. 

As per the MoU, signed in the presence of IIM-S Director Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal and Collector Shubham Saxena, the premier B-School will conduct research on various aspects of Covid management in the district and provide consultation to the district administration on ways to deal with the challenges more efficiently.

It will also suggest avenues to engage citizens and the local community in the fight against Covid.

Jaiswal, said, “While the Government is doing its best to mitigate the catastrophe, it is also important for all of us to offer solutions and assist the government in the effort. We believe we can offer a scientific approach in areas such as supply chain, logistics, operations, modeling and manpower management.”

He said IIM-S has formed a task force comprising its faculty and experts who will provide solutions on efficient management of health infrastructure supply chain such as hospital beds, doctors, oxygen, medicine and effective Citizen Engagement-Social Communication in the district. 

Two groups of faculty formed for the purpose will collect data from the district administration and prepare a report after analysing the same using management principles.

They will submit the report to district administration and it can be used as an advisory to manage different situations during Covid management.

The study will be conducted in a phased manner and reports submitted from time to time. It will be a continuous process.

The MoU will also focus on  effective citizen engagement and efficient health infrastructure supply chain management to deal with the pandemic, enabling research and solution frameworks for governance such as impact evaluation, creating new class of applications and solutions that focus on optimising the delivery of government services in identified areas.

Similarly,  the technical areas of collaboration include development of tourism in and around Sambalpur, public health, handloom and handicraft development, Mission Shakti, indigenous knowledge documentation, study scope and scalability of food processing units in Sambalpur, financial inclusion through skill development and livelihoods, urban governance and transformation, Smart Sambalpur with ‘Education Hub’ as the core. 

Fight against the virus 

• IIM-S will conduct research on Covid management in the district. 

• The institute will suggest avenues to engage citizens in the fight against the virus.

• A task force has been formed to provide solutions on efficient management of health infrastructure.