The IC Centre for Governance (ICCfG) was launched on December 13, 2003 in the Gulmohar Hall of the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi by Justice M N Venkatachaliah, Former Chief Justice of India who also agreed to be the Chairman of the Centre.
He traced the failure of the political class and the bureaucracy to the collapse of individual conscience which led to individual aberrations and thereby to the systems failure all around us. He cautioned all those involved in governance about an increasing feeling of unease in the country and called upon all sections of society to come together for a collective endeavour towards better governance.
It has succeeded in bringing together the rich experience of over 300 Founder Members including Development Thinkers, Jurists, Scientists, Management Experts, Civil Servants, Economists, Social Activists, Academics, Media Persons and Corporate Leaders. "Building policy capacity" is how we characterize our work and mission. The Centre is concerned with issues of public policy formulation, programme design and project management and ethics in public governance.
The Centre’s work in this area follows from the belief that accountability lies at the heart of governance. Citizens grant sweeping powers to the political executive for the design and implementation of public policy and the use of public funds. In turn, citizens want to guard against abuse by the executive of these powers. They also want to ensure that the executive uses its power wisely, effectively, equitably and efficiently, and that it will be responsive to the demands and needs of the citizens.