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Human
Development
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PROJECT
PAKISTAN
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
This document is intended
as advice on the future strategy and program of Project Pakistan of the Human
Development Foundation of North America (HDFNA). It is the result of collaboration
between HDFNA and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), in accordance
with the terms of reference agreed upon between the two institutions. Given
the specific goal of the paper, the focus is exclusively on Project Pakistan.
In particular, none of the other existing or prospective activities of the Foundation
are addressed here.
This report follows upon
an earlier report prepared for HDFNA by the Regional Institute of Management,
Islamabad (March 1998), which focused on the characteristics of the various
prospective partner institutions of HDFNA. We go beyond the earlier report in
identifying the range of strategic options available to HDFNA to carry out its
mission, sketching the pros and cons of the various alternatives in order to
recommend the most desirable strategy, and chalking out a plan of operation
and an investment strategy for the recommended strategy.
Chapter 1 focuses on questions
of broad vision. It provides a background for the study, including a review
of the human development situation in Pakistan, an assessment of various actions
to improve socio-economic conditions, and the prospective role or roles that
a relatively new organization can play in supporting such actions. Chapter 2
expands upon this to outline the salient features and pros and cons of the various
options available to HDFNA as it plans the nature of its intervention. It goes
on to recommend a subset of these options as the most feasible and desirable
within the given constraints. Chapter 3 transforms these recommendations into
a plan of operation, with a clearly delineated timetable for steps to be taken
in the immediate future. It outlines the operational details of issues related
to program design, partnership mechanisms, governance structure, monitoring
and evaluation, and communication. Finally, Chapter 4 provides the elements
of an investment strategy corresponding to the plan of operation presented in
Chapter 3.
A brief review of experience
with development interventions in Pakistan suggests that successful programs
are those that command widespread legitimacy. These have some clearly discernible
features. They are generally led by Pakistanis, and associated in peoples' minds
with highly respected individuals. They focus on capacity building rather than
on a purely external assessment of needs. They include a strong effort at communication
of results in a transparent manner. Finally, they build on the work of other
organizations rather than as a solo effort. We recommend the above broad directions
for HDFNA.
Beyond this, however, there
are differences between various courses of action available to HDFNA. We organize
the discussion of these alternatives by using the nature of partnership as a
defining characteristic. In our discussions, we find four alternative models
or approaches available to HDFNA: the 'go it alone' approach, the donor approach,
the collaborative approach, and the facilitation approach. The first two are
fairly obvious from their names. The thrid refers to an approach in which HDFNA
reaches an agreement with a number of NGOs to work together in a project area,
thus building on each others' strengths, and introducing a new model of action
in Pakistan. The fourth goes beyond the third approach in requiring HDFNA to
take responsibility for the selected area, and coordinating the work of NGOs
as well as government agencies. Each of these alternatives has its own strength
and weaknesses. After discussing the pros and cons of each, and evaluating them
according to a set of nine criteria, we recommend that HDFNA should start with
the collaboration (or partnership) approach, but aim in the long run to work
according to the facilitation approach.
Within this approach, we
propose an integrated set of actions on human development, covering health,
education, and poverty eradication, using the expertise of existing NGOs. In
addition, we propose a concerted program of research-based monitoring and evaluation,
and communication. To this end, we propose the involvement of HDC to prepare
a local HDI, that of Aurat Foundation to oversee and monitor gender awareness
work, and SDPI to organize a research based monitoring of social and empowerment
variables.
This discussion is followed
by a set of recommendations on the course of action to be undertaken immediately
in order to put the plan in motion. We suggest a five year program, starting
with agreements with potential partners, registration of a subsidiary organization
in Pakistan, selection of a project site, appointment of a national coordinator
and a project coordinator, selection of an Advisory Board, and a formal launch
of the project in January 1999. We also outline the mechanisms through which
additional sites will be selected in the future. We suggest that work should
start in one project area, defined as a tehsil, expand to another one by the
end of the first year, and to a third site in year 2. Beyond this, however,
additional sites should be added only if additional resources are available.
Finally, we propose an investment
plan to translate this program into reality. We suggest that over the next five
years HDFNA should commit itself to raising and investing at least $1.25 million
in the project. This works out to an average of $250,000 per year. However,
we recommend that this investment be 'front-loaded', in other words, the highest
investment of $350,000 would be made in the first year when capital costs are
high, followed by $300,000 in year 2, and $200,000 in each of three remaining
years. The investment plan provides a simple budget for the expenditure to be
undertaken on field activities and on the national office and support activities.
Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 4:30:48 PM
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