This project was launched in a context where there is no policy or strategy framework at the provincial level for responding to the immediate needs and priorities of local communities.It will enable the Government of Balochistan to foster an enabling environment for strengthening the capacities of local government to manage and involve communities in statutory local public sector planning, financing, and implementation processes. This will enable the Government of Balochistan to strategically approach and sustain community-led development and community empowerment by developing and implementing a strategic policy framework that will ultimately pave the way for adopting a sector-wide Approach.
The ambition of this project is that the GoB will work on the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive Policy to provide for and fund community interventions, thereby improving the nexus between community development and local governance. This Policy framework shall acknowledge the central role to be played by the newly re-established Local Governments (LGs) that are best placed to develop a direct dialogue with local communities and involve them in discussing local level planning, programming and budgeting. As the LGs may not have the required expertise and outreach capacity, qualified NGOs are expected to provide for social mobilisation as well as experimentation for testing some of the possible contours of the community-led local development Policy to be formulated along this Action. This roadmap is clearly reflected under the Balochistan Rural Development and Community Empowerment programme (BRDCEP) design.
The approach under this programme has built on the lessons of various EU-funded actions in Pakistan, including standard community development projects implemented by national NGOs. Also included in this is the more sophisticated generation of community-led local development programmes that include the DGCD programme in the KP province (with TA services provided by a Human Dynamics led Consortium) and the SUCCESS programme in Sindh.
We have assembled a very strong team with extensive experience working in Pakistan, particularly in the Balochistan Province. Our International Technical Assistance Team comprises of a Team Leader and an Institutional Development Expert with extensive knowledge and international experience in their respective fields.
Public services, particularly within an area the size of the Balochistan, must be responsive, efficient, proactive and an instrument of development. Donor-funded interventions can assist in the realisation of these objectives in Balochistan; however, there is still a need for ensuring the sustainability of the project outcomes so that our work can continue to affect the lives of citizens of the Balochistan Province after the conclusion of our project. This will be the main principle of operation for our Technical Assistance Team.