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The three-year (July 2017-June 2020) partnership programme: She Can Lead (SCL) was implemented by the Foundation in collaboration with Oxfam Pakistan, with funding from Australian Aid. Due to COVID-19, the training of Women Leaders Groups (WLGs) from Districts Abbottabad, Haripur & Mansehra only included one representative from each of the 6 WLGs. The training helped participants better understand the need for the involvement of women in politics and governance. Experiences from SCL were also reviewed…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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,…