Year 4- April 2016-April 2017

Planning and Governance

  1. Workshop on Innovative Approaches on Family Planning- April 14, 2017

DFID funded SNG programme's Governance and Policy Advisor, Usman Khan provided technical assistance to Punjab Population Innovation Fund (PPIF) for the Workshop on Innovative Approaches on Family Planning, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

  1. Policy Dialogue-Development Framework of Punjab- March 11, 2017

The Planning & Development Department (P&DD), Government of the Punjab in collaboration with DFID funded SNG Programme's Punjab team organised a high-level policy dialogue on Saturday, March 11, 2017.

All members of P&DD and key provincial secretaries attended the event. Among other key officials, Secretary Finance, Secretary Local Government, Secretary Agriculture, Secretary Public Health Engineering, Secretary Livestock, Secretary Industries, Commerce and Investment, Secretary Implementation, CM Secretariat, Secretary I&C, Secretary P&DD, CEO SaafPaani, MD PDMA and CEO IDAP, attended the session.

Jehanzeb Khan, Chairman P&DD presented the strategic level issues faced by planning in the Punjab. After the presentation, Khan opened the floor house for debate.

Public Financial Management

  1. Seminar on Budget Strengthening- February 9, 2017

Finance Department, Government of the Punjab (GoPb) together with DFID funded Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme’s Punjab team organised a half-day seminar titled “Budget Strengthening” on Thursday, February 9, 2017, at Pearl
Continental (PC) Hotel, Lahore.

As many as 45 key functionaries of the Punjab Government attended the session to discuss the legal status of supplementary grants, analyse the past practices and propose recommendations for possible improvements in existing processes.

  1. Launch of Interim Punjab Finance Commission Award- January 12, 2017

The Government of Punjab (GoPb) Publishes Interim Punjab Finance Commission (PFC) Award as an Order on January 12, 2017, which was approved by Punjab Cabinet end of December 2016. The PFC Award has been designed with the technical assistance of Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme, which is supported by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID).

DDCF

  1. Teemardar launched at 7 locations of Sheikhupura- May 18, 2017

The project aims to digitise the process of procurement, supply chain and inventory management and distribution of medicines and was expected to benefit around 360,000 residents of the district. It has been designed by the ShahidJavedBurki Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) under the District Delivery Challenge Fund (DDCF) instituted by the Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme, Punjab. Digitized inventory management will dramatically curtail supply chain leakages, detrimental to the interests of the deserving communities served by the BHUs. It would also help identify disease patterns and pre-empt shortages of essential medicines, while providing district government with real-time information for policy-making.

Decentralisation

  1. Orientation session on the New Local Government System in Hafizabad- April 13, 2017

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme’s Punjab team in collaboration with District Administration, Hafizabad held a one-day orientation session on the New Local Government System and its challenges on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

The focus of the session was to determine the status of implementation of the provisions of the PLGA, 2013, which also facilitated in identifying the problems faced by the District Health Authority (DHA) and District Education Authority (DEA) concerning formulation of budget estimates for the period of six months and the next fiscal year. All DRG members attended the session. The representation from the SNG team included PFM Advisors – Muhammad Arshed, AnamHussain and Research Assistant, Syed Ali Turab.

  1. Orientation workshop on “Re-strategising SNG’s Role in District with New Local Government System”- February 3, 2017

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme’s Punjab team held a one-day orientation workshop titled, “Re-strategising SNG’s Role in District with New Local Government System,” in Committee room of Deputy Commissioner Office, Hafizabad on Friday, February 3, 2017.

The session was held in collaboration with District Administration Hafizabad and chaired by the Deputy Commissioner. The SNG team included Team Leader SNG Punjab, Shoeb Iqbal Syed along with PFM Advisors – Muhammad Arshed, AnamHussain and Umer Aziz.

  1. Institutionalising GIS within Local Service Delivery Structure- May 20, 2016

The SNG Programme organised trainings on the use of GIS for district officers from Bahawalnagar, Vehari and Sahiwal. Experts from the Urban Unit expounded the potential benefits of GIS for service delivery managers at the district level and trained the participants in the use of the technology for planning, delivering and monitoring services.

SNG

  1. SNG Punjab’s fourth Annual Review- March 3, 2017

The Department for International Development (DFID)'s Annual Review team visited one of the six SNG Punjab's pilot districts, Hafizabad on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The visit was planned to meet with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali Randhawa and his team and evaluate SNG Programme's implementation and progress towards its targets.

The visit was scheduled as part of SNG Punjab’s fourth Annual Review (AR) in Lahore, which was scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, 2017,to Friday, March 3, 2017. In order to have the beneficiary perspective, the AR team also visited the District GIS Cell and Integrated Ambulance Service (IAS) project.

The Annual Review team included Matt Carter from the National School of Government International (NSGI), UK; Mary Kate Thompson, Deputy Group Head, Governance Group, DFID; RizwanAzam, Programme Manager, DFID; Omar Mukhtar, Governance Adviser, DFID Pakistan; and Rabiya Malik, Programme Officer, TEST. Representation from SNG Punjab team included Shoeb Iqbal Syed, SNG Punjab Team Lead; Faisal Rashid, Muhammad Arshed and AnamHussain, PFM Advisors; KhurramJillani, M&E Advisor; Usman Khan, Challenge Fund Manager and Syed Zain, Jr. Consultant Challenge Fund.

DFID is supporting Government of the Punjab (GoPb) in implementing the Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme in six districts of Punjab, including Hafizabad.