A series of 3 People’s Assemblies on LG system

Peshawar, Kohat & Islamabad 17, 19 & 31 December 2019 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s local government elected in 2015 completed its four-year tenure in August 2019. Amendments to the provincial legislation were passed earlier, in April 2019, to introduce a new structure of local government in KP. Local elections were due within 120 days, i.e., by December 2019. However, there is no apparent progress on the anticipated electoral process, as yet. The importance of local governments was…

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Programme Review & Planning (PRP)

The Foundation strives to be a learning organization. It has well-developed internal systems for planning and monitoring including regular PRP meetings in which all staff come together to analyse implementation experiences and explore ways to improve effectiveness & impact. Better teamwork is also an important purpose of the PRP. It generally runs over 2-3 days and is held in a residential setting to encourage team interaction. The 2019 PRP was held on 23-26 December 2019…

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Peoples Assembly on KP Budget FY2019-20

15 November 2019, Jalal Baba Auditorium, Abbottabad Since 2010 the Foundation regularly analyses development priorities in KP’s annual budgets and uses its findings to recommend reforms in the province’s public finance management. The Foundation is also assisting more than 200 CSOs in 12 KP districts to use social accountability for increasing citizen engagement in governance with the intent of improving the delivery of quality public services. To assist CSOs in connecting local social accountability actions with…

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Social Accountability: Democratic Innovations

3-4 October 2019, Islamabad The Foundation brought together its 50 CSO partners from 12 KP districts to draw lessons from their engagements with governments to improve delivery of public services. Strategies to consolidate & extend efforts were also developed. Working in regional -- Central, Hazara, Malakand & Southern -- groups, participants reviewed their social accountability experiences. Lessons were drawn out and prioritized, including the following: •       Collective action & platforms: Working in groups…

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Development plans shaped by & for the Poor – Tehsil Haripur

The Foundation facilitated a pro-poor planning process to improve the provision of social services in poor villages of VCs/NCs of Tehsil Haripur. These were selected by key local activists through well-being ranking held in Haripur on 3 July 2019. This was followed by intensive training of staff and field-based facilitators (FBFs) in participatory methodologies including Participatory Reflection & Action (PRA) and Stimulating, Learning/Listening, Appreciating and Transforming (SALT). This trained team facilitated a series of meetings in 63 villages…

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WLG Training & Networking

Under She Can Lead, implemented with Oxfam and two other NGOs, the Foundation supported a series of activities involving Women Leaders Groups (WLGs) from Districts Abbottabad, Haripur & Mansehra. 27 WLG members, three representatives of women’s and HR groups and 14 staff from Oxfam and the Foundation attended the events. They reviewed SCL’s journey since 2017. Then participants were trained in democratic governance and active citizenship. They discussed the importance of documentation like CNICs. Networking opportunities…

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Mein Rehbar Hoon

The Foundation produced and broadcast a series of eight radio programmes in collaboration with Pakistan Radio on: (a) women’s political participation, (b) voting rights, (c) CNIC, (d) economic opportunities, (e) local government, etc. The programmes featured distinguished speakers like Ms. Khawar Mumtaz, Chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), and, Ms. Nighat Siddiqui, Additional Director General (Gender), Election Commission of Pakistan.

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Khuli Kutchery

The Foundation organized a khuli kutchery in Tehsil Municipal Hall Pabbi in District Nowshera in collaboration with the District Nazim’s office. The event was chaired by the District Nazim and was attended by 121 people, including 47 women. 140 resolutions were prepared for the khuli kutchery, of which about 60 were directly presented by applicants. Of these 32 related to drinking water, including demands for constructing hand pumps and repairing water supply. Calls to construct sewerage lines were also made. Citizens also demanded…

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Khuli Kutchery – Khwazakhela, Swat

The khuli kutchery was held in Model School, Khwazakhela in Swat. The event was jointly hosted by Tehsil Council-Khwazakhela, a Public Contact Committee (consisting of local CSO partners) formed for the khuli kutchery and the Foundation. 115 participants (including 20 women) attended the khuli kutchery, including public applicants, elected & non-elected LAs, PCC members and journalists. The Tehsil Nazim and other senior elected/non-elected duty bearers directly heard issues and needs of local people from nine VCs and issued directives to resolve these issues. 60 public…

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Team Foundation meet to reflect & move forward

Team Foundation reviewed the impact of its efforts & shaped future implementation strategies. Over three days, it took stock of its programmes implemented in 2018-19 and identified upcoming programme priorities. Using the framework of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency & sustainability each theme programme presented its experiences from1 May 2018–31 March 2019, effectively using photographs, animation and other material including a video. Under social accountability, careful selection of CSOs, iterative review & fine-tuning of module, consistent staff training,…

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Khuli Kutchery organised by the Foundation in collaboration with District Government Mardan & local CSOs

In collaboration with the District Nazim’s office, the Local Government Department and partner CSOs, the Foundation organized the first in a series of khuli kutcheries (townhall meetings) in Mardan under its Citizen Engagement for Responsive & Accountable Governance (Cerag) project funded by the EU. More than 100 people attended the event, including about 60 local people and CSO activists, 12 government officials and local councillors, 10 journalists and 10 CSO representatives from other parts of KP. Participating citizens discussed…

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National Women’s Day & Remembering Asma Jehangir

National Press Club - Islamabad The "gunahgaar" women & men who marched in Lahore on 12 February 1983 set the path for the outstanding achievements of the Women’s Action Forum. To commemorate this historic event, a conference was organized at National Press Club Islamabad by the Women Action Forum (WAF) & EVAWG. Mr. I.A. Rehman, Ms. Khawar Mumtaz, Ms. Tahira Abdullah, Ms. Bushra Gohar, Senator Sherry Rahman and Ms. Rashida Dohad recalled the trajectory of…

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Pakistan Scores 44 in Open Budget Index 2017

          Launched in 2006, the OBS is the world’s only independent, comparative assessment of the three pillars of public budget accountability: transparency, oversight and public participation. The sixth round of this biennial assessment, the 2017 survey evaluated 115 countries, including Pakistan. The OBS in Pakistan was completed by the Foundation, which has led it in the country since 2009. Drawing on internationally accepted criteria developed by multilateral organizations, the Open Budget…

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