School of Leadership and Policy Studies

Genesis and Evolution of DCMS, SLPS and TTGM

Department of Communication and Management Sciences (DCMS) was constituted at PIEAS through its statutory bodies following approval of Rector PIEAS in March 2006 enabling induction and growth of faculty and staff to support teaching of relevant courses in various degree programs offered in PIEAS.
On the direction of the then Chairman PAEC, Mr. Pervez Butt, PIEAS had already launched, since August 2005, Basic Management Course (3-wks duration) and Advanced Management Courses (2-wks duration) for the officers of PAEC. DCMS was mandated to undertake the organization and conduct of this management training program for PAEC officers. These are simple mechanical statements. On the hind side, Mr. Pervez Butt had been trying to initiate such a program since 2002, and before focusing on PIEAS in 2004, he had exhausted various other venues/ establishments in PAEC as the potential hosting body for these trainings. At that time talking and studying management/ leadership was not prevalent and common, so there was a tendency of shirking this assignment away. It was ultimately PIEAS who finally took the challenge on the insistence and encouragement of Mr. Butt.
Initially, only PAEC officers participated in both courses. However, in late 2007, DESTO officers were included in AMC (No. 7) for the first time, with the approval of the then Chairman PAEC. In 2008, a dedicated AMC (No. 10) was exclusively conducted for 37 NESCOM Officers. KRL ensured a regular inclusion of their officers in AMC since 2009 (from AMC No. 12). Regular participation of NESCOM officers began in 2010 from AMC No. 16. SUPARCO also started sending its Islamabad-based officers to AMC in 2010 (AMC No. 19). AMC-20 was offered as the last course of the series.
After long and careful studies undertaken by the then DG (S) at SPD, in 2008, SPD directed PIEAS to standardize the curriculum of BMC for all commissions and formulated the concept of "central training forum" for management training of officers at senior tier (SPS-10 and -11). AMC thus became a central course conducted by PIEAS, mandatory for all officers aspiring for promotion to SPS-11.
In late 2008, COP Branch once again began a long-stretched study of the subject of management training of senior officers and the AMC, and explored in great detail the possibility of choosing or adding another venue for such courses. The study culminated in the institutionalization of 12-week long Senior Officers Management Course (SOMC) at PIEAS. The role of Brig. Sajjad (then DG COP) had been instrumental in converging the long complex debate on the concept and venue for launch of SOMC at PIEAS. The executive order to this effect was issued by SPD on 31 Dec 2010 and the first SOMC started on 04th April 2011.
The concept of senior leadership development was studied at SPD during the period 2015-16. Consequently, the first Senior Officers Leadership Course was hosted at PIEAS in February 2017 under the guidance of Dr. Ansar Parvez, Advisor (NCA), former Chairman PAEC. A detailed syllabus of SOLC was prepared by PIEAS in consultation with Dr. Ansar Parvez and COP Branch SPD in mid-2018.
Meanwhile, PIEAS kept on conducting BMCs at its premises. By the end of year 2019, 58 BMCs were conducted. During these 15 years (and 58 BMCs), officers from all Strategic Commissions (except one) were also sent on regular basis to PIEAS for participation in BMCs. In this regard BMC had also become a central training forum where officers from most of the strategic commissions (if not all) jointly participated in BMCs regularly. It also helped building professional networking amongst mid-tier officers of various organizations which was widely acknowledged and appreciated by the participants.
So, by the end of year 2019, PIEAS was conducting all the three management courses, namely BMC, SOMC and SOLC for officers serving at various tiers in all strategic organizations including PNRA. However, NESCOM officers never participated in BMCs at PIEAS; instead they participated in Mid-tier Management Course offered by their own organization.
Going back a bit, during early 2018, a study of the overall system of management and leadership grooming of scientists and engineers of strategic organizations began at the Education Dte of COP Branch, SPD. An Orientation course for the new inductees and the requirement of completing Management/Leadership courses at various tiers was earmarked. Durations of courses at each tier were also adjusted. Formally named as Three-tiered Grooming Model, the system was directed to be implemented beginning year 2020.
According to the approved TTGM, the following management/ leadership courses and responsibilities of organizations for their conduct are defined:
Consequently, Commissions including PAEC have started conducting BMCs and MTMCs on their own after mid-2020. So far, no commission has asked PIEAS to conduct BMC and MTMC for them. HRD PAEC, considering their experience of conducting 4Q program in PAEC for the past many years, has got the approval of Chairman PAEC to undertake the conduction of BMC and MTMC for PAEC.
In October 2020, on the direction of SPD, PIEAS prepared and submitted standard syllabi of BMC and MTMC for the adoption of all strategic organizations undertaking these courses at their respective premises.
In November 2020, SLPS was formally constituted.
Since year 2022, three new short courses have been added to the spectrum, namely Negotiation Skills and Contracting Course, Finance for Non-Finance Managers Course and Project Management Course.
In summary, PIEAS achieved landmark success in conducting the three management and leadership courses (namely SOLC, SOMC and BMC) by offering high quality content, conduct and climate with an unfaltering regularity since 2005. This led to the acceptance and appreciation of the importance of management and leadership training across the strategic commissions, which in turn, led to the formulation of a proper system called Three-Tiered Grooming Model by COP Branch, SPD.
■