Effectiveness of Aid Delivery Mechanisms

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Effectiveness of Aid Delivery

Mechanisms:

Public Perceptions and

Institutional Insights

Presented By,

Adnan Rasool


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Chapter 1

Introduction

As the world continues to witness conflict, international and national in

nature, the discussion on need for peace building and post conflictdevelopment is taking center stage. It is widely accepted that conflicts leadto heavy loss of life as well as destruction of property and infrastructure.Hence, in a scenario where a conflict has recently ended, it is vital to re-establish the basic socio-economic structures for the victims not only toprovide them urgently needed aid but to also maintain the hard earned yetvolatile peace in the region. Thus Peace Keeping in such areas dependslargely on Post Conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation as it is through thisthat a peace can be sustained over the long run. In order for such PostConflict Reconstruction and Rehabilitation to take place in the affectedregion, external aid becomes a need.

Aid and its impact in conflict zones has already been a subject of a largenumber of studies done around the world. This study however takes up thetask of understanding how the aid flows in and how this aid is delivered tothe end user i.e. the victims of a conflict. The idea is to not question aid andits impact but to study its modalities and delivery as that also plays a vitalpart in bringing normalcy back in to an area. Properly planned aidinterventions and smooth delivery can have a bigger impact than ill advisedand complicated delivery systems. It could even change the way the peopleview aid and its need in their life.

This research intends to study exactly that. Through the course of this study

the focus would be on identifying various Aid Delivery Mechanisms (ADMs)and to measure their effectiveness based on public and key stakeholderperception. The concept is that the only people who can rightly judge theeffectiveness of any ADM are the people who are using it or are overseeingit. People who actually are overseeing it might have biased opinions withregards to one specific ADM but that is balanced by public perception andalternative expert opinions. So this study not only puts forward a perceptionof aid but it also provides insight in to how the delivery mechanisms decidehow effective it is.

For the purposes of this paper both kinds of aid, Humanitarian and

Development, would be under discussion. This is due to the fact that in apost conflict environment, initially there is an urgent need for humanitarian

aid as people face a severe shortage of basic necessities such as food, water,

shelter and security in the absence of local authorities. But once the initial

portion of the aid operation is completed and people have access to goods

and services necessary for survival, the focus shifts on maintaining the

peace and slowly improving the situation by jump starting the economy and


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reaching a certain level of annual growth. Hence, in a post conflict scenario,

the initial phase will require humanitarian aid while simultaneously

development assistance comes in to play as well, slowly bringing things back

to normality.

In order to keep the research focused, the conflict area being studied is Swatin Pakistan that has recently gone through a conflict and since has been

undergoing rehabilitation and reconstruction work. Swat was chosen for this

study as it is now a former war zone and is accessible for researchers. This

allows for primary research to be conducted in the region which is important

for a study like this that aims to present key personnel and general public

opinions with regards to aid modalities.

So the core question that this research aims to answer is, given that there

are multiple ways of providing aid, what is the most effective aid

delivery mechanism(ADM) for a post conflict situation (Swat)? Basedon this question a number of follow up questions arise naturally. Questions

such as;

How does development take place in a post conflict situation? How are

the parameters defined and actions taken? How are the issues

prioritized in order to not only maintaining peace but harness growth in

such a situation?

What potential service delivery mechanisms are present to disburse

aid in a conflict affected area?

How is it decided who gets the aid and in what form? What social impacts does each of these mechanisms have? How is it

decided what mechanism is used in what condition and what works

better?

What is a better strategy:

Large Scale Infrastructure projects that aim to rebuild the area,

Or

Targeted community interventions

How do the people in post-conflict areas perceive aid? How do they

measure the effectiveness of aid operation being conducted in theirareas?

Can a good aid delivery mechanism bring about social change and

community cohesion in a society ravaged by war?

Each of these questions is valid in understanding the core question itself. As

discussed in the next chapters, the focus of most academic work on


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development in the past has been discussing the argument of Aid itself and

at times how effective it is in fueling long lasting development. The

discussion here is how that aid is delivered and what happens afterwards.

Project reports with graphs and statistics are produced at regular intervals by

nearly all aid agencies and government departments but while they are a

great source of secondary data and information, they lack the primary dataanalysis based on latest data collected directly in the area. That is why this

research is unique, as this research is entirely based on primary data that

has been gathered in the field.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

The ongoing academic discussion on aid has so far focused on why aid is

important and if it is beneficial for growth. The argument being debated is

that post conflict areas can only stabilize over a period of time if they are

witnessing some level of economic growth. Theoretically the concept is that

growth initially would be jump started by aid that is flowing in to that specific

region. Within the last decade or so, substantial work has been done with

regards to studying how the development can aid in post conflict rebuildingand how aid is directly related to increased growth. This was the basis of the

influential study by Burnside and Dollar (2000) that stated that aid would

have a positive impact in such a situation as long as the macroeconomic

policies were suitable. This study confirmed the basic fact that as long as

there was enough aid it would help development but only if the economic

policies were suitable. Continuing the argument established by Burnside and

Dollar (2000), Aurangzeb and Stengos (2010) established that although aid

would help development as previously thought, it would only make a

difference if it was over a certain threshold. What that means is, as long asthe aid was flowing in large amounts it would have a direct impact on

growth.

So while it has been established that aid in certain amounts would have a

positive impact on growth, what remains to be seen is how the post conflict

areas are defined and what growth means for them. In effect it is assumed

that all areas that have witnessed conflict have lost earlier development and


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are starting over again. The resources available to the society for growth are

extremely limited and essentially it is a society that is struggling to meet its

subsistence requirement. Hence the logic for getting Aid to such a region as

there is no money or technical capacity left after a conflict.

The next logical question is how that aid is distributed or utilized in order toaddress a situation that arises as a direct result of a conflict or disaster.

Based on the research material and resources, it is clear that there is not set

way of distributing aid i.e. there is no benchmark or procedure that is

universally prescribed to but there are a number of different procedures that

are used around the world. Among these are ones created as Standard

Operating Procedures by large International Donor Agencies such as the UN,

World Bank, ADB, USAID, DFID, AUSAID, EU Aid, and so on. Some of these

are specific to the scenario they are serving such as disaster relief efforts or

social uplift programs. But a number of them are being replicated around the

world such as large scale infrastructure investments, tax holidays and

community focused developments.


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Based on a detailed the literature review of the following papers and publications it was observed that there is

common theme to how development takes place and how aid is delivered under various scenarios. F

simplification purposes, the key theme of each piece of literature is identified and explained in Table 1.

Table 1

Study NameAuthor(s)

and

Publisher

Year

Key Argument

Who Gives Foreign Aidto Whom and Why?

Alberto Alesinaand David

Dollarin

Journal ofEconomicGrowth

2000

Foreign Aid is used as a tool of Foreign Relations.Developed Countries provide International Aid todeveloping countries in need not only to help them outbut to exert their influence.

The aid id primarily given to the governments ofDeveloping countries through either the Nation AidAgency of the Donor Country or through InternationalOrganizations like the UN and World Bank.

The primary purpose of such is to help with thedevelopment needs of the developing country and havea positive influence on growth.

Aid, policies, and growthin developing countries:

A new look at theempirics

Alvi E., D.Mukherjee andE.K. Shukralla

InSouthernEconomicJournal

2008

Given the earlier studies, foreign aid provided todeveloping countries does have a positive impact on

growth and can play a major role in long termdevelopment.

Short Run humanitarian needs of such developingcountries cannot be ignored and are funded throughinternational organizations by a consortium groups suchas the EU or the OECD.

There is empirical evidence that aid does have a positiveimpact on growth provided that the macroeconomicpolicies of the country are helpful and positive.


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Foreign Aid andEconomic Growth in

Developing Countries:Revisiting the evidence

by using a thresholdregression approach

Aurangzeb Z.and Stengos T.

ForUniversity of

Guelph

2010

Development Aid has a positive impact on growth in adeveloping country only if it is over a certain threshold.

Previous studies did establish a link of Aid with growthbut that was primarily devoid of any calculation of howmuch aid needs to be given to have an impact.

This study pointed out that empirically aid over a certainpoint will make a positive difference in the areas growthwhile aid below a certain level would have minute or no

impact on growth.

Aid, policies and growth

Burnside C.and David

DollarIn

AmericanEconomicReview

2000

This was the landmark study that first took up the caseof development aid and how it has a direct relationshipwith growth of an area evidenced by empiricalcalculations.

This study concluded that aid will have an impact ongrowth regardless of its scale or government policies butin order to utilize aid to its maximum the recipientcountry needs to have positive macroeconomic policies.

Aid, Policy and Growthin Post-Conflict Societies

Collier, P. andHoeffler, A.

ForWorld BankPublications

2002

This study provides evidence that although aid wouldbenefit growth in a post conflict situation, the scale of itsimpact doubles after the first 3 years. The conclusiondrawn in this study is that provided that aid in a postconflict area would make an impact, it should be divided

up into phases over the long run where by Aid shouldfocus on the time period 3 years after the conflict as thatis when the impact of Aid doubles.

Also provides evidence that prolonged aid would deterany future conflict due to the impact it has on povertyreduction in such an area. In essence aid over the longrun would reduce the volatility of an area.

It should be noted that among policies the key prioritiesfor improvement, relative to an otherwise similar societywithout a history of recent conflict, should be socialpolicies first, sectoral policies second, broadly with the


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same priority as in other contexts, and macro policieslast.

On aid, growth and goodpolicies

Dalgaard C.and H. Hansen

InJournal of

DevelopmentStudies

2001

Research shows the opposite side by providing evidencethat regardless of what sort of policies are in place; Aidwould work within that country.

It is a rebuttal to the studies by Dollar and Collier andmany others mentioned earlier that Aid has a positiveimpact on growth only if the right policies are in place.

The key to the argument is, in a post conflict situation,any aid would be good for the area. Plus in most postconflict situations or disaster hit areas, policy making isnot at its best anyways, so tying that to aid effectivenessis not feasible.

Aid effectiveness ongrowth: a Meta study

DoucougliagosH. and M.Paldam

ForUniversity of

Aarhus

2008

A study of all studies undertaken on Aid Effectivenessand Aid impacts, the study reaches interestingconclusions. Firstly the Asian countries react better toaid based on the data of over 97 published studies usedin this study.

Secondly, although there is a lot of literature to showthat aid has a positive impact on growth, based on thisstudy such an impact in negligible.

The study also sums up all studies previously

undertaken in to three categories based on theirassumptions and results; Accumulation Direct Conditional

Aid effectivenessdisputed

Hansen H. andF. Tarp

InJournal ofInternationalDevelopment

2000

The paper makes the case that unlike numerous studieshave suggested that Aid cannot work without properpolicies, it is untrue and based on factual examinationof facts present at the time of the study, and AidsImpact had nothing to do with the policy regime in a


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country.

Post-Conflict Economic

Recovery: EnablingLocal Ingenuity

Bureau forCrisis

Prevention and

RecoveryFor

UNDP Report

200

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Compilation of case studies from around the worldwhere UN has been part of the post conflict scenario.

The stance this report takes is that aid is important forpost conflict areas.

It further goes on to explain and make the case for localinvestment in the area by using aid. Aid needs to beutilized to train people and help jump start the economy

by backing the nontraditional sector. This is evidencedbased on multiple cases from Afghanistan to SierraLeone.

This is the only study that was found that focused tosome extent on what ways aid should be used up in apost conflict environment and why helping the localeconomy would be the best thing to do in order to reachlong term development goals within such a region.

Post Crisis NeedAssessment Report

ProvincialReconstruction, Rehabilitation

andSettlementAuthority(PaRRSA)

2009

PCNA is the core document that is followed by PaRRSAand the Government of KPK for all reconstruction andRehabilitation needs in the province.

The focus of the report is on interventions that can workin cohesion with the existing projects. The idea is to addon to the existing projects and not spend time going in

a totally new direction instead working off the gridestablished by the Malakand Strategy and the DNA. There is more long term focus on social works instead

of infrastructure projects but that is planned for a laterstage.

It also spells out the sort of investment needed for longterm programs such as governance, Rule of Law andAgricultural investments.

MalakandComprehensive

Stabilization and Socio-

ProvincialReconstruction, Rehabilitation

2009

The first strategy to directly be aimed at the postconflict situation of Swat. The strategy focused onbringing back the IDPs and then re-establishing the


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Economic DevelopmentStrategy

andSettlementAuthority(PaRRSA)

government infrastructure in Swat. The strategy was developed based on the data that was

gathered through the DNA conducted earlier by theWorld Bank and the ADB.

The all inclusive strategy called for PaRRSA to takecharge of the processes and planning and work with thelocal government to help implement the policy side ofthings while creating an enabling environment for NGOs

and the their International Donor partners to carry outservice delivery of basic humanitarian and developmentprojects such as food distribution and school building.

Based on the literature analyzed in the table above, a classification of Aid Delivery Mechanisms (ADMs) wa

extracted. The ADM classification as laid out in Table 2 encompasses all kinds of aid being delivered in

region and outlines three main modes of delivery. This study uses these three ADMs to measure public an

stake holder perception of each one in order to investigate what works better.


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TRADITIONAL MODEL

Used by Governments and

International Organizations

PRIVATE ENTERPRISE MODEL

Used by Non Government

Organizations and Local

Organizations

COMMUNITY BASED

DEVELOPMENT MODEL

Used by local organizations as

well as affected communities

The traditional model is that

commonly used by the

governments and the

International aid agencies.

This mechanism comes with high

amounts of financial funding,

high oversight, is extremely

bureaucratic, and has slow

decision making.

The mechanism is primarily

focused on regenerating the

infrastructure in the affected

areas along with a solid focus on

policy development and policyinterventions.

Such a mechanism might be easy

to measure financially but is

extremely hard to measure in

terms of social impacts and

overall effectiveness in

disaster/conflict hit areas. The

programs are designed keeping

in mind the focus areas as

Newer model, under which

the post disaster/post conflict

reconstruction is outsourced

to NGOs and Development

Contractors.

Primarily the firms taking up

the operations of relief and

rebuilding are driven by

profits and their goal is to get

the job done and move out of

the region to move in to

another one where there is

more opportunity (E.g. USAID

contractors). Such an operation is often

small in scale but is fairly

quick with regards to decision

making and has a decent

amount of funding. The

concept is to stimulate the

local economy by restarting

the business activities that

will automatically help fasten

Community centric,

encourages community

participation in all levels of

decision making and

prioritizing

Requires low financial

investment as compared to

other mechanisms and is

more financially sustainable

over the long run.

Takes in to account cultural

and social limitations in

conflict zones, such as limited

mobility of women andchildren in such areas.

The mechanism has oversight

built in to the system as it is

community operated.

As compared to other

mechanisms, this option

works with direct aid to the

affected people as opposed

to indirect aid that filters


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AID DELIVERY MECHANISMS (ADMs) Table 2


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Chapter 3

Methodology

In order to study the effectiveness of various ADMs being used in Swat,

this study uses a combination of tools. As per the research questionsdescribed earlier, the key element is to get public opinion of aid and its

delivery. Given that the subject is fairly complicated and complex, usual

survey techniques such as a paper based survey were unviable. Instead

interviews were carried out in casual one on one conversation as well

group discussions. Limited by time and financial constraints a total of 30

people were interviewed with each interview lasting about 45 minutes.

Each interview was conducted based on a set of questions that were

designed to provide answers to the research

questions mentioned earlier.

Out of the 30 people that were interviewed,

15 of them were from the urban parts of

Swat i.e. Mingora and Saidu Sharif, while the

rest were from villages in the 5 Kilometer

radius of Mingora and Saidu Sharif. As

mentioned earlier due to time and financial

constraints, it was not possible to get a

larger sample size or increase the coverage

area of the survey.

In addition to conducting a perception

survey, key personnel interviews were also

conducted within the region as well as

Peshawar, the seat of the provincial

government. Key personnel interviews of the

following officials were conducted as they are the key decision makers in

their field of work:

Provincial Government (Bureaucracy)

Military (Commanding Officer Swat) Civil Society (Newspaper Editors, Human Rights Advocates, Local

Organizations and Village Organizations)

Village Elders and Tribal Elders

Provincial Disaster Management Authority

Civilian Authorities in Swat

Police and Law Enforcement Agencies in Swat

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Each of these key personnel interviews included questions on the

following lines:

How is the development priority identified within the region?

What programs are currently being run and who is running them?

How does the Government choose to get involved in developmentwithin the region? (Directly or Indirectly)

What is the preferred ADM?

What are the various Monitoring and Evaluation techniques that are

being used?

What sort of need assessment studies were conducted before the

programs are started?

What are the different problems and issues with aid delivery in an

area like Swat?

How do various organizations (Government, Army, International)

work with each other? Is there a central secretariat? Who heads

that? What is the decision making process to start a new program?

The data gathered through the survey and the key personnel interviews is

tabulated on a question by question basis. The purpose here is to identify

what has worked and what has been most effective with regards to

delivering aid that has had the most positive impact as well as identifying

the issues with aid delivery in a post conflict environment such as in Swat.

This will identify any disconnect between actual aid delivery and

expectations from that aid delivery, that can help evaluate each ADM.

The public perception survey is the basis for this study as currently most

need assessment studies conducted by the government and international

organizations have little or no feedback of common people and

communities. In essence the people who are the target of development

have no say in what development they need. The study aims to address

that by presenting their direct perception and feedback, so that it can be

used in any future program design for post conflict situation. This will also

ensure that at least the development planning phase and Aid Delivery

mechanisms are geared towards inclusive development strategies insteadof agenda based development. Given that the case of Swat is unique in its

nature as a case where all types of institutions were part of the

development process, it can help create a bench mark for future

development policies for conflict areas.

In order to gather the data through interviews and public surveys, a 5 day

field visit was conducted to Swat and Peshawar. 4 Days were spent

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conducting interviews and eye balls observation of development work in

Swat while 1 Day was spent in Peshawar meeting the KPK Government

Officials as well as those of PaRRSA/PDMA.

Chapter 4

Research Findings

The survey findings are tabulated below on a question by question basis.

A total of 20 questions were asked to each respondent. Out of these 20

questions, 14 of them were multiple choice questions while 6 were open

ended questions. The open ended questions are tabulated using the key

words that were common across all answer choices. The 30 respondents

who were questioned belonged to various walks of life including farmers,

shop owners, taxi driver, waiters, small business owners, students,

teachers, truck drivers and so on. The key personnel interviews that were

conducted with key decision makers also included the standardized

survey and their answers are tabulated as well. It should be noted here

that all respondents were not paid for answering questions on the survey

and that they did so voluntarily.

Survey Results

Q 1. Did you or Your Family receive any aid in the last 2 years?

In response to the first question, every person interviewed replied that

they had received some form of aid over the last 2 years. This holds true

for all areas surrounding Mingora and Saidu Sharif.

Q 2. Who provided you that aid?

When asked, majority of the respondents had gotten aid through the

Government of Pakistan initiatives. These include the Armys help centers

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created in the area. 1/3 of the respondents had gotten their aid through

the programs set up by International Non Government Organizations such

as the UN and UNHCR. Just 1/6th of all respondents had been helped by

local NGOs working in the area.

Q 3. Did you receive aid from multiple sources?

Over 67% of all respondents had received aid from more than one source.

When asked to specify how that was possible, the explanation was that

they had gotten different kinds of help from different sources, such as

food from WFP while monetary help was provided by Government of

Pakistan through the Income Support program.

Q 4. In what form was the aid provided to you?

All respondents received Food and Infrastructure aid. While discussing the

forms of aid, nearly all respondents did not consider infrastructure as part

of aid, in fact it was considered more of a duty of the state. When

reminded that infrastructure development is also a form of aid, all

respondents replied positively. Technical trainings and assistance such as

agricultural help for farmers was provided to a very few respondents (onlyabout 1/6th of the total sample size). The income support program and

microfinance provided monetary help but it was only available to about

1/3rd of the people surveyed and they complained about the high interest

rates.

Q 5. Was the aid provided enough to fulfill your need?

2/3rd of all the respondents felt that the aid that was provided to them was

not enough. When asked to further explain, the respondents felt that the

aid that was being provided to them although helpful did not meet all

their requirements. It is pertinent to mention that 1/3rd of the people who

believed the aid was enough to fulfill their need had all received monetary

aid as part of the aid package.

Q 6. Did the aid provided to you help?

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Asked simply if the aid had helped at all, every respondent agreed that

aid had made a difference and that without it would have been very hard

to start again after the conflict. In most cases people mentioned the food

aid provided by WFP by name as being the most helpful type of aid

provided to them given that there was a food shortage once the IDPs

started coming back to Swat.

Q 7. Was the aid delivered to you in an organized manner?

In answer to the question, that if the aid was delivered in an organized

manner, the opinion was divided. Those respondents who were living in

the cities (Mingora, Saidu Sharif) replied with a Yes while those residing in

villages and peri-urban areas replied with a No. Upon further discussion it

was noticed that most of the aid was being funneled through the cities

and as it was the base of operations, senior staff was overseeing the aid

distribution and delivery while in villages it was either third parties orlower staff overseeing it.

Q 8. Were you well informed about the sort of aid available to

you?

Over 80% of all respondents were not fully aware of the types of aid and

help that was available to them. When asked how was this possible given

the governments massive awareness campaigns, the overwhelming reply

was that the awareness campaigns only said aid was available but did not

specify what type of aid and from where it was available. In addition tothat it was also noted that a number of respondents complained about red

tape and long processes that the people do not understand and are not

comfortable with. Still the overwhelming majority said if they had known

what types of help was available to them, they would have used it.

Q 9. What kind of infrastructure projects carried out in your area?

Overall every respondent had roads and bridges rebuilt in their areas.

About 2/3rd of respondents had benefitted from rebuilding of Schools and

Basic Health Units (BHUs). While retreating the TNSM and Taliban fighter

had blown up grid stations resulting in a power crisis that still continues in

Swat. Only 1/6th of all respondents had benefitted from the work being

done to get Swat back on line with the National Grid. Only 7 of the

respondents had benefited from aid for rebuilding their houses, it should

be noted that these were government employees who during the conflict

had lost their homes and had become IDPs.

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Q 10. Did you need the infrastructure projects?

Respondents were asked if they did actually need the infrastructure

projects that were being done for them. Majority did say yes as obvious

from the chart, but a good number of people answered with a No. When

asked why they had replied with a No, the respondents said that theirmajor concern is monetary help and that roads and bridges were not aid

but in fact the duty of the government. For all immediate purposes they

wanted monetary aid that could make a difference to them. It should also

be noted that everyone who replied with a No, was based in rural areas.

Q 11.Out of the three choices, choose one. (ADMs)

Respondents were first explained what each ADM means and then asked

which one they prefer based on their experiences. Even though most

people had a lot of complaints regarding the traditional model thatinvolves government and its machinery to deliver aid, 50% of the

respondents still preferred it over the others. The community based aid

delivery model where there are village councils and local organizations

providing aid was the next most popular choice with 1/3rd of respondents.

When asked the key reason was that local organizations understood the

needs better and were able to provide aid accordingly. Also people

related more to their own community organizations as compared to large

international organizations. The least popular mode of aid deliver was the

one that includes International NGOs and outsources contractors. It

should be noted that everyone who preferred this model was based in theurban areas. Most people did not like this model as they did not trust

international agencies and claimed that their aid delivery was biased in

favor of those with connections. It was also noted that the delivery

mechanism with which aid is provided to them were all too complicated

and devoid of any public feedback. During discussions a number of

respondents repeatedly mentioned how none of the ADMs take in to

account their genuine needs and fail to address the most pressing issues

like the economy and jobs. Instead money and time is spent on projects

like technical assistants and report writing. As an example a respondentmentioned that if they were given the money spent in 1 month Save the

Children on their office expense in Swat, they could get a whole new

hospital.

Q 12. How would you rate the impact of the aid provided to you?

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Most the respondents replied to the question saying that the aid that was

provided to them did make a difference. Only about 17% of all

respondents said that it made a high impact on their lives. During

discussions it was established that people on whom aid had the highest

impact were people who had lost everything during the operation, so the

aid provided to them ensured their survival. Aid to them was deliveredusing all three ADMs and the delivery mechanism had no part to play on

how the aid impacted them.

Q 13. Do you think the aid was distributed in an unbiased

manner?

An overwhelming number of respondents claimed that the aid being

distributed was in a biased manner. During group discussions severalexamples were presented of cases where aid was being given out in a

clearly biased manner. It should be noted, that regardless of what ADM

was being used, and there was a bias in on ground aid distribution to

victims. Respondents even named programs whose on ground aid

distribution was biased in nature. The most common example was the

Bacha Khan Rural Support Program that provides a host of services such

as micro-finance and community based loans to people mostly in the rural

areas. Respondents claimed that the program only gave out micro loans

to people who were on good terms with the village council or were

directly related to them. Another popular example was the food aidprogram, where people who had connections within the implementing

partner agency got more food than the others. This statement was also

confirmed during key personnel interviews that were conducted.

Q 14. Based on your experience, which if any ADM is the most

biased?

Follow up to the earlier question that if aid delivery was biased, this

question explored what ADMs if any were the most biased according to

the people getting the aid. Nearly half the respondents thought thatcommunity based model of aid delivery which works with communities

directly to give out was the most biased. After that Private Enterprise

Model was biased but to clarify the respondents do not mean the

International Organizations that were funding the programs, instead they

are referring to the implementation partners of such organizations who

were delivering aid in a biased manner where people were getting undue

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advantages based on their family and clan connections. The Traditional

model was not biased according to most people although people thought

it was slowest and probably the most corrupt method.

Q 15. What improvements would you make to the aid delivery

system?

This being an open ended question got a host of replies, everything from

fast aid delivery to bigger relief set ups was mentioned. However nearly

all respondents agreed on 3 key things that they believe would improve

the Aid Delivery Mechanisms.

1. Faster Processing/ Less Red Tape/ Simpler Procedures

All respondents think that the current ADMs are all too slow and

include a lot of paperwork before aid is actually given out. This

means that if a person needs immediate relief they will have to waita bit before they actually can receive it and in most cases by then

the purpose of the aid is already gone. With regards to the

Traditional System, respondents believed that it was a good system

due to its coverage even in the remote parts of Swat but it could be

improved further by cutting the red tape and long processing times.

With regards to the other two ADMs, complicated procedures were

the issue. For example in order to get a micro loan, the applicant

needed collateral of equal or higher value as well as a guarantor.

This condition is hardly met by most people who truly deserve andneed the micro loans. In a number of cases most of the paper work

is either in Urdu or English, languages not understood properly in

this region. This made all documentation a problem for people who

had to pay to get their forms filled and submitted even though the

whole application procedure is supposed to be free.

2. Need Based Aid

Another issue that was repeatedly raised during conversations was

that the sort of aid being provided is not what is needed. People

interviewed stated that in most cases they do not understand why

they are been given technical assistance when they would benefit

much more from Micro-Finance. According to the survey, people feel

that there is a clear disconnect between people who are designing

and implementing development programs and those who are using

it. Numerous examples of failed programs were mentioned out of

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which technical training institute was mentioned the most times. As

an example, respondents discussed the case of mobile shops that

had popped up everywhere. Now there were so many shops that

none of them was making enough money to support them. A crucial

point that was raised during the discussions was that while the

Government of Pakistan Aid is slow, it is the closest to the needs ofthe people. International Aid agencies were criticized by

respondents as having little or no idea as to what was required and

in most cases respondents felt that the programs implemented by

them were not needed and were wastage of money. One such

example was a handicrafts training facility that was close to the city

run by a local NGO in partnership with an INGO. Although the idea

was valid, women in the region do not travel alone to the city. So

the facility was practically running at 20% capacity. But if the same

facility was based in a rural setting it would attract more women asthey are free to move within their villages. So in essence, Aid being

delivered is not the aid people want. In addition to that, the way it is

delivered is hampering its impact on the target audience.

3. Investment in Key Industries

A key issue that was raised during the discussions with respondents

was the fact that although a lot of aid was flowing in, none of it was

being targeted at the major industries that made Swat famous and

have a strong footing for. Given its tax free status, Swat used to be

a prime producer of cosmetics and Textiles before the conflict

came. According to respondents aid needs to be targeted towards

these industries instead of introduction of new industries. It was

also mentioned that although it was helpful to train people in mobile

repair work, construction work, plumbing and so on, it simply did

not create enough jobs. In order for jobs to be created at a large

scale, investment needs to go in to SME sector for Cosmetics and

Handi Crafts. This would not only create more jobs but also stabilize

the local economy. Also mentioned was improving farm to market

access for farmers who produce high grade fruit that can be sentout to the rest of the country and even exported, bringing in much

needed regular revenue for the local economy. Only the Traditional

Model of aid delivery was working in this direction while the other

two ADMs do not have this as a priority.

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Q 16. What relief did you expect from the government?

Three most common answers to the question were:

Jobs/Micro-Finance/Financial Aid

Food and Shelter

Education

Q 17. What is your perception of Aid in general?

Overall the perception of Aid among the respondents was positive. All

respondents agreed that aid regardless of its source was necessary in a

situation like Swat where the conflict destroyed everything. People did

have reservations about aid being misused but they were unanimously

positive about how the perceive aid.

Q 18. What is your perception of Government Aid Operations?

In response to this question people had a number of things to say that

cant all be mentioned here. The five most common reactions were:

Corrupt

Inefficient

Slow

Focused on Urban Cities

Insufficient

It should be noted here that people did not consider Armys aid operationsas part of the Government of Pakistan Aid operations. Army Aid

Operations were generally well respected and praised for being exactly

the opposite of the Government of Pakistans Aid Operations. It is

pertinent to mention that the Armys aid operation initially included food

supplies but for majority of the last two years have only focused on

building roads and bridges.

Q 19. What is your perception of INGOs and NGOs working in your

area?

Like the earlier questions, there were a host of answers that were given

by the respondents, the most commonly used ones are:

Insufficient

Irrelevant

Biased

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Detached from reality

Lack of practical work

It is pertinent to mention here that people did not think that INGOs

working within the region were biased. The remarks of being biased are

targeted at local NGOs and Implementation Partners of INGOs thatactually delivered aid. In most cases, the respondents believed that the

INGOs spent more money being there then helping the victims. People

also perceived INGOs as trying to look good while doing little for the

people of the area. It was also mentioned that the sort of programs that

such agencies were introducing had little or no target audience and that

they hardly work outside of the cities in rural areas.

Q 20. What are your 5 Development priorities?

A lot of discussion was generated by this question. People were quick togive the first three preferences that were identical in nearly all cases but

took time to think of the other two. Following the most commonly

mentioned 5 development priorities. The first three were same for all

respondents the 4th and 5th ones mentioned below are the ones that were

mentioned the most.

1. Jobs

2. Roads/ Bridges

3. Food

4. Education5. Health Care

In addition to the Survey that was conducted, Key Personnel interviews

were held in Peshawar and Swat as well. These interviews were

conducted with personnel from various Organizations and Institutions that

play a major role in the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort. While the

survey presents the story from the point of view of the demand side and

the end user, the key personnel interviews represent the story from the

point of view of the supply side. In this regard all major institutions that

are present in Swat were interviewed. These include:

1. Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority

(PaRRSA), Peshawar

a. Interviewee: Shakeel Iqbal and Mohammad Yasir

2. Commissioners Office

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a. Interviewee: Naeem Akhtar, Assistant Commissioner

Development

3. Pakistan Army

a. Interviewee: Brigadier Sajjad Chaudhry, Brigade Commander

Swat-Malakand

4. Local Mediaa. Interviewee: Rasheed Iqbal, Editor Daily Chaand and Former

Nazim

5. Civil Society

a. Interviewee: Farook Swati, Aid Coordinator Swat

The interviews are tabulated in the Institutional Response Matrix (IRM) for

comparison purposes. The IRM highlights the glaring gaps in coordination

among various institutions vis--vis their operations and aid delivery in

the region. This is discussed in detail in the next chapters.

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Institutional Response Matrix

Questions Respondents

PaRRSA Commissioner's

Office

Army Local Media Civil Society

How do you

define your

PriorityAreas?

Mandate of

PaRRSA is to fix

whatever isbroken and

nothing more.

This means that

although work is

being done on

long term

development

program, the

immediate

concern for

PaRRSA is to

rebuild allinfrastructures

that were lost

during the

conflict such as

roads, schools,

hospitals and so

Priority areas

are defined

based on theneeds of the

local population.

Before the

conflict is over

the priority was

to get everyone

out of Swat

safely. Since the

conflict has

ended the

priority has

changed to longterm

development

projects.

Based on the

mandate the

priority is of maintaining

peace at all

costs. Ensuring

that the volatile

peace continues

by working

closely with law

enforcement

agencies.

Patrolling and

high visibility of

soldiers are keyto maintain

peace.

Priories are

defined by

listening andtalking to the

public. Most of

the issues that

the media raises

locally are based

on discussions

with local leaders

and public

opinion.

Priority is

decided based on

the source andamount of

funding. In most

cases the

funding is for a

specific program

so that is taken

up as a priority.

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on.

What are

your 5

priority

Areas?

1. Roads

2. Food

3. Education

4. Health

5. Water

1. Restoratio

n of Basic

Amenities

2. Food and

Agriculture

Produce

3. Education4. Health

5. Compensat

ion

1. Roads and

Bridges

2. Economic

Growth

3. Clean

Drinking

Water4. Doctors

and

Medicines

5. Schools/Te

achers

What ADM

do you

prefer?

Private

Enterprise Model

Traditional

Model

Traditional

Model

Traditional

Model

Private

Enterprise Model

What is an

ideal ADM?

An ADM that

simplifies

program design

as well as service

delivery. This

Ideal ADM

provides aid

through the

Government Set

Up. This is good

The Traditional

Model works

better as there is

a clear chain of

command and

An ideal ADM

would combine

elements of the

traditional model

with those of the

Private

Enterprise Model

coupled with the

Community

Model would be

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would include

cutting the red

tape and getting

work done. In

that regard, the

Private

Enterprise Model

is great as it isfocused on

getting things

done.

as the

Government in

any area has the

largest set up

and the

maximum reach

so if Aid has to

be delivered itcan be done so

even to the

farthest places.

delivery is

directly to the

people. Armys

processing times

are short and

action is taken

immediately.

community

based model.

This way the end

users will have a

say in the

process and aid

monitoring cud

be easier.Stronger

oversight also

needed.

ideal where the

work is

outsourced to

third parties and

planning is done

in coordination

with local

communities tobetter address

their needs.

How do you

measure

the

effectivene

ss of your

Aid

Delivery?

Effectiveness of

Aid is measured

through the

Monitoring and

Evaluation

Studies carried

out along with

each project.

The

commissioners

office has a

strong oversight

mechanism

whereby the

Assistant

Commissioner of

Developmentoversees all

projects while

also leading

working groups.

Effectiveness is

measured in how

many people an

Army has

internal

mechanisms to

do so. The

Commanding

officer reviews

the projects for

aid delivery

along with histeam of advisors.

Effective Aid

Delivery is

measured based

on the amount of

people it has

covered as well

and how much

time it has taken

to do so.

Aid Delivery is

measured in

terms of program

targets being

met and

completion rates

being achieved.

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aid project

covers.

How are

programs

planned?

Programs are

planned

according to the

priority list.

Based on the

DNA and thePCNA.

Programs are

mostly planned

according to the

priority list and

the urgent need

of the people asunderstood by

the

Commissioners

office.

Army only

undertakes

infrastructure

projects that are

decided based on

internally definedneeds.

Based on the

funding priority.

Programs are

planned

according to the

agenda for whichfunding is

secured.

Do you take

input from

the people

when

planning

aid

interventio

ns

No Time to Time No

How much

financial

autonomy

do you

have?

Autonomous but

under monitoring

of USAID and

UNDP

Finances are

handled as per

guidelines of the

provincial

Government

Completely

Autonomous

Under the

Monitoring of the

Donor

Organizations

Who funds INGOs, Government of Pakistan Army Donor

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your

operations?

Government of

Pakistan and

Foreign

Governments

Pakistan and UAE

Government

Organizations

How do you

rate your

own Service

Delivery?

Good Good Excellent Excellent

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Chapter 5

Analysis of Survey and Key Findings

The survey and key personnel interview paint a very different picture. To

start out one thing is very clear that the peoples perception of Aid and itsdelivery mechanisms are very different from the perceptions held by the

Institutions providing and delivering this aid. As seen in the survey,

people believe Aid in principle to be a good thing but they are not

satisfied with the way it is being provided to them. They are still skeptical

of the very people providing them the aid. Rightly so because the

organizations, at least the local implementation partners and Local NGOs

in the region do not have the trust of the population they are working for.

This was even accepted during interviews by Government Institutions who

thought there were short comings associated with working with NGOs but

had no other choice. Another deduction that can be made based on the

survey results is that peoples perception of aid changes based on the

delivery of it i.e. if it is a smooth process say for example in the case of

World Food Programs food delivery, people start trusting it more and

hence end up believing it to be a good thing. While in other cases, for

example the GIZ backed canal improvement project where the roads and

surrounding houses were constantly blocked without notice, the

perception became negative.

Another thing that was crucial to this whole discussion was the glaring

exception all program planners and implementers took with regards to

getting public feedback. It is true that nearly every single program and

project implementation had some sort of a Monitoring and Evaluation

portion built in to it, but that does not take in to account the opinion of

the public. In a situation like Swat, where the focus is to get people back

to normality the simplest thing to do for any organization would be to ask

people what they require rather than deciding it for them. Throughout the

project development and implementation phases of nearly 100% of the

projects in Swat there were working groups and trainings as well as local

round tables but sadly there was no public representation at any of theseforums. This has resulted in programs being developed that have a very

narrow audience. An example of this was quoted during the key personnel

interviews, where the respondent mentioned programs by an organization

called ACTED that had published reports and claimed to have done tasks

which no one else knew about. Another example was an Italian

Government funded program aimed at giving seeds for free to farmers

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who had lost their crops during the conflict. The issue in this case was

that the seeds being handed out were not suitable for the local area and

the executing agency failed to mention this.

With regards to the ADMs being used, based on the interviews and the

survey, it is clear that none of them is perfect; instead each of themsatisfies a certain need. An aid delivery mechanism that can embed the

public opinion and perception into its working can greatly improve the

effectiveness of aid being delivered. The logical thing to do in such an

area would be to utilize the government setup which is large enough to

cover all parts of that area and then improve it with adding public private

partnerships to make service delivery better. Also there is a need to

understand & accept the fact that not everything handed over to the

NGOs will be a great success, because it is a commercial venture even if it

might be non profit at times. It still requires money to make the wheels

turn so their main concern is getting things done according to the donors

requirements which might not be close to what the requirements of that

area. This also raises the issue that in a post conflict situation not all

donor organizations have the same thing on their minds; a lot of them are

trying to further their own agendas instead of working with a unified aim.

Additionally in a post conflict situation like Swat, majority of the issues are

economic in nature. As obvious from the priority lists put forward by the

people, Jobs is the biggest issue. This means that even though the aid in

most of these cases is aimed at humanitarian issues, people would much

rather have jobs and a working economy then get more tents or new

roads. It should also be noted that even the government institutions

accept that most of the issues that come to light in a post conflict

situation are governance related such as working government institutions,

government presence and simplified operations. So while the aid money

is aimed at providing simple and measurable items, it is the intangible

items such as jobs and security that people desire the most.

Following up on these findings, a core issue that came to light during this

research was that of corruption at nearly all levels of Public and PrivateAid delivery. There are at least 6 cases that were presented by the

Commissioners office of corruption by NGOs in Swat. In addition to that at

least 4 separate cases were presented by the Local Media during this

research. In a post conflict situation like Swat, corruption is a genuine

issue that happens on the ground during aid delivery and yet it is

something that is not mentioned in any report or evaluation of programs.

Not only does this hurt the reputation of organizations that are working on

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things done quickly. This not only ensures most of the money actually

goes to actual aid but it also improves the overall performance and local

interaction.

Recommendations

Based on the data collected and the analysis provided, following is a set

of recommendations that can potentially improve the Aid Delivery

Mechanism and make it much more effective than it is currently. The

recommendations are drawn from public opinions and the survey data

collected in Swat as well as comments made by key personnel during

their interviews.

1. Embed Public Opinion in Project Design

Based on this research it is clear that the current disconnect

between the projects designers/planners and end users areaffecting how the projects perform. In addition to that it is

only natural to get public feedback. So while a program is

being designed it would be sensible to run a baseline survey

to ask the people what interventions they value the most. This

way the project would have a rock solid audience that will

utilize to it efficiently as they feel they are a part of the

project.

2. Focus on Public Private Partnerships

Working in a post conflict situation like the one in Swat, it

would be highly effective to have Public Private Partnershipsin a manner where the Private Sector can design and plan

programs and hand them over to the Government to

implement. This reasoning behind this argument is simple, the

government blames its inefficiencies on slow decision making,

planning and money matters. If that were to be cleared out by

the private sector organizations such as NGOs and INGOs,

based on the research the Government is fairly quick to

implement projects for a large population. In addition to that it

would also be helpful to have Government work in partnershipwith local organizations in a region or even help build local

organizations that can carry out operations locally instead of

wasting money on getting experts from other areas to do the

exact same work.

3. Task Based Financial Oversight

The issue of corruption in aid operations is a fairly old one. In

the case of Swat there have been multiple cases so in order to

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simplify and cut the chances of corruption. The logical thing

would be to do is add Task Based financial oversight in to the

project design so that it covers all stages of the project. This

means every task is financed and the whole project is divided

in to tasks. This way smaller unit would have targeted funding

which is much harder to squander as compared to lump sumamounts of money. This would also help with evaluations for

the project as it could pin point exactly where the problem is

i.e. what task is the issue so that it can either be stopped or

amended accordingly.

4. Long Term Planning

Instead of using aid as a reactionary tool, it needs to be used

as a long term development strategy. Learning from the case

of Swat where the initial projects were designed on the

Disaster Need Assessment study conducted by the WorldBank that was inherently flawed as it had data that was pre-

conflict. It is essential to take time after the conflict and plan

out a long term strategy and divide aid accordingly over

various phases. As discussed in the literature review, research

shows aid has twice the impact in a conflict zone after 3

years, so a phased aid plan for a conflict region is the only

sensible thing to do. Plus the focus needs to be on large scale

projects instead of small interventions. Majority NGOs and

INGOs might not agree with this statement but this research

provides evidence that people are more concerned with their

economic state then the availability of a school with 1 KM of

their home.

5. Aid Legislation

In a post conflict situation there is a natural hurry to start with

relief work but it is crucial at the very start to pass a

legislation that legitimizes roles held by various institutions

and provides a clear mandate. For example in the case of

Swat, although there are 25000 troops currently posted there,there has been no legislation by the provincial assembly or

the national assembly in this regard. This means that their

mandate has not been clarified to them once the fighting has

stopped. If there is legislation that also centralizes and

clarifies the decision making processes that go in to planning

and implementing aid projects. Overall this provides clarity

and fulfills the legal status of aid operations.

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6. Centralization of Operations

Based on interaction with the Army and the Government

Institutions, it is now accepted that the decentralized way of

doing things has failed to perform in a post conflict situation.

Instead the best way to work in such a situation is through a

centralized command system which may be an authority or acouncil. The decentralized system allows for more corruptions

and different levels of improvement. In order to maintain the

type of impact aid and relief operations have across the whole

region, there needs to be a unified command system where

the quality is ensured across the board.

An alternative ADM is also being presented based on the findings and

lessons of this research study. The Hybrid ADM embeds these

recommendations to create system that is tailored for a post conflict

situation and may be used in other disaster situations as well. The idea is

to simplify the process and provide people centric services that aim for a

long term impact and utilize the public and private resources of

Governments, INGOs and NGOs.

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Project Planning and Design conducted by INGOs and the Government Authorities. The INGOs

provide technical assistance with project design while the government provides implementation and

logistical knowledge.

Public perception and need survey done through village councils and key personnel group

discussions conducted by the Army as they are already present within the area and have a well

respected standing with local communities as they see the Army as their liberators.

Including local priorities and opinions would help create a sense of localized ownership of projects

within the communities they are designed to help.

Development Projects designed based on the public opinion and priorities. Designed projects

presented to the Government authorities and implementation strategies chalked out. Government

Authorities implement the projects through their own setup within the conflict region while also

engaging with a few local organizations if any. In absence of any local organizations, government

can help create new ones by training at educational facilities run by the government such as

universities or colleges in the conflict area.

Phased long term development agenda with tasks specific for each phase clearly identified and

planned. This allows for money to be spent over time instead of being spent in reactionary activities.

Phases2 need to be clearly marked as following and tasks planned according to the timelines:

Humanitarian (First 6 Months)

Short Term Development (6 Months to 3 years)

Medium Term Development Goals (3 Years to 10 Years)

Long Term Development Agenda (10 years +)

Centralized oversight through a council of INGOs and Government Authorities. The INGOs provide

the funding, the Government implements. Task based funding approval and evaluation to help point

out least effective interventions that can be killed off in the next phase.

Large Scale Projects to be conducted using localized labor as this would act as a stimuli to the local

2 The Phases motioned are based on literature review, data gathered for this study and interviews with International DevelopmentProfessionals.

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project teams.

Regular evaluation of projects by central council for aid operations. This way all projects will be

evaluated regularly and issues can come to light at regular intervals instead of popping up at the

end of the year.

Strengthening local communities to plan and manage their own small scale development programs

that may be funded by INGOs or the Government. This will allow local communities to take a more

active role in the development process.

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Documents

Effectiveness of Aid Delivery Mechanisms