Managing Change for Improving Service Delivery - Learning to Embrace the Challenge of Good Governance

8/8/2019 Managing Change for Improving Service Delivery - Learning to Embrace the Challenge of Good Governance

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S.M. Khatib AlamKarin Tang

Mahmood AkhtarMarch 2008

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

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Learning to embrace the challenge of good governanceManaging Changefor Improving Service Delivery


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This document is produced as part of the Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad (SDLGF)Project for the purpose of disseminating lessons learnt from the project. The views are not necessarily those of DFIDor the City District Government Faisalabad

(c) SDLGF March 2008

Parts of this case study may be reproduced for educational use, provided that such material is not printed and sold.The authors expect that, any material which is used will be acknowledged accordingly.

Printed by: FaizBakht Printers, The Mall, Jhang (Punjab) Pakistan.


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VISION

Pre-empting Poverty, Promoting Prosperity

MISSION STATEMENT

We will provide high quality services which compare with

the best in the country. We will work with everyone who wants

a better future for our District. We will establish an efficient,

effective and accountable District Local Government, which

is committed to respecting and upholding women, men and

childrens basic human rights, responsive towards peoples

needs, committed to poverty reduction and capable of

meeting the challenges of the 21st Century. Our actions will

be driven by the concerns of local people


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FOREWORD

City District Government Faisalabad is changing. We are

seeking to improve service delivery with particular emphasis

on pro-poor sectors through reforms in local systems and

processes to manage public resources. In order to achieve

this, we have reviewed the various systems and processes

that we have in place for managing our own internal affairs

and relationships with key stakeholders.

The context of this case study is how the CDGF is moving

towards improving the service delivery within the context of

Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO 2001) by

concentrating initially on improvement of systems and

processes. This research mainly focuses on our efforts on

the different dimensions of good governance; namely fiscal

responsibility; citizen focus; organizational improvements;

capacity development and development of reliable

information systems.

It is clear that Faisalabad has found that to become more

efficient and effective it is extremely important to change the

behaviors and mindsets of the people especially the

employees of the City District Government. We can only

deliver if we are forward thinking, embrace new technologies

and management thinking and it pleases me to see that we

are now more transparent and accountable to the citizens.

Faisalabad is now a new trajectory and becoming the

benchmark for other districts and provinces.

This case study is the first of a series of very interesting

research being undertaken by the SPU team of the City

District Government Faisalabad. The case study should be

beneficial for the other districts to review and improve their

existing systems and processes and who are considering

bringing about change with a limited amount of resources.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank our City District

Nazim for his valuable support to the reforms in our district. I

would also like to congratulate my city district team members

especially all the EDOs for working to achieve the objectives

in their departmental reforms programme. Finally, I would

like to thank our major partners in development, the

Department for International Development (DFID) UK and

their management consultants GHK International Ltd., for

assisting Faisalabad City District through the project

Strengthening Decentralized Local Government in

Faisalabad.

Maj. (Rtd.) Azam Suleman KhanDistrict Co-ordination Officer

City District Government Faisalabad

March 2008

The Clock Tower, symbol of Faisalabad


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PREFACE

The measures we have taken during the course of the last four year is a testament of our

commitment to changing the way we have conducted business in the past. We acknowledge

that there were deficiencies in our systems and processes which resulted in the level of

service that was being delivered, falling short of the standards that our citizens expected of its

local government.

City District Government Faisalabad is committed to reform and change and has set itself a

series of challenges. This will result in marked improvements in local governance and public

services. The first major step has been to establish a good governance framework, which

underpins the reform process and injects life into public services.

This case study discusses a number of very important areas where the CDGF has made

progress. Firstly, in systems development this is at the heart of our programme. We have

developed a number of information systems that, for the first time, really allowed our

administration the opportunity to make informed decisions. Key functions such as Human

Resource Management and Finance are now performed methodically with strategic purpose.

The establishment of the Institute of Learning is a major advancement and typifies the

innovation that we are striving to harness and support. The implementation of our

communication strategy has proved our commitment for being citizen focused. The system

of performance appraisals for senior management is a way of introducing performance

oriented culture within our administration.

Development in the district is being viewed through a long term lens. Our focus is now trying to

embed systems, processes and practices that are sustainable and leave lasting change in

the way services are provided for our citizens. Ultimately our aim is to achieve good local

governance, though sometimes this is constrained by change in policy and resource

availability.

We will continue with our endeavors to build a strong local government that is able to respond

to the needs of our communities with innovation.

Dr. Tariq SardarAdditional Project Director

Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad

March 2008

Office of the District Co-ordination Officer, Faisalabad


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORDPREFACE

ACRONYMS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

THE CASE

THE DESIGN

IMPLEMENTATION

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

IMPACT

LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS

CONCLUSIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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05

General Context 05

Specific Context 05

The Reform Process and Change Management 06

07

08

Overview 08

Change Management Model and Framework for Value Creation 08

Situation analysis and Strategic Operational Planning 12

13

Fiscal Responsibility 13

Orgainisational Improvement 16

Citizen Focus 19

Capacity Development 21

Information System 23

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27

Strategic 27

Inclusive 27

Integrity, Ethical 27

Efficient 27

Effective 28

Open, Consensual, Participative and responsive 28

Transparent, Accountable 29

Summary of Impacts 29

Sustainability 29

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35

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Table of Contents


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FIGURES

TABLES

Figure 1: Change Management Model and Framework for Value Creation 08

Figure 2: Strategic Operational Plans linked to District Corporate Governance Plan 12

Figure 3: City District Government Cash Flow projections (as of November 2007) 14

Figure 4: The Geographic Information System application 24

Figure 5: The Traditional PIU and the SPU Strengths, Weaknesses and Solutions 34

Table 1: CDGF Guiding Principles for Change 09

Table 2: Finance & Planning Change Issues 14

Table 3: HRM Recommendations 18

Table 4: Progress Against Guiding Principles of Change 30

Table of Contents


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ACRONYMS

ADB Asian Development Bank

CCB Citizen Community Board

CDGF City District Government Faisalabad

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

CSO Civil Society OrganisationDAO District Accounts Office

DCC District Coordination Council

DCO District Coordination Officer

DDC District Development Committee

DFID Department for International Development

DO District Officer

DTCE Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment

EDO Executive District Officer

FMIS Financial Management Information System

GIS Geographic Information System

HR Human Resources

HRMIS Human Resource Management Information System

IoL Institute of Learning

IT Information Technology

LGO Local Government Ordinance 2001

MIS Management Information System

NAM New Accounting Model

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

P&D Planning & Development

PIFRA Project for Improvement in Financial Reporting and Auditing

PIU Project Implementation Unit

PRMP Punjab Resource Management ProgramSDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SDLGF Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad

SPU Strategic Policy Unit

TMA Town / Tehsil Municipal Administration

UC Union Council

UNDP United Nations Development Program

Acronyms


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An Administration Falling Behind

A District which Compares with the Best in theCountry

In April 2004, in the context of Pakistan's ongoing process of

devolution, district government in Faisalabad embarked

upon an ambitious institutional change and reform effort

which sought to change the ways in which local government

works and thereby improve service delivery. This wassupported with funding by the UK's Department for

International Development (DFID), through its

Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in

Faisalabad (SDLGF) project.

The starting point was in 2004, an administration with facing

fiscal insolvency with large deficits, lack of strategic

direction, an under-developed workforce and poor

management systems. It was hampered by low fiscalresponsibility, inadequate planning capacity, poor

information and weak financial management. There was no

real human resource management, no workforce planning

and staff morale was low. The administration was typically

absorbed by its own internal procedures and processes, and

largely deaf to the needs of citizens and communities.

Despite devolution, provincial authorities continued to

exercise significant formal and informal control, especially

over appointments, promotions and transfers. A critical

constraint was the lack of adequate information systems.

Information was still managed using a manual, paper-based

system with a high level of inconsistencies, long outdated

records and difficult access and retrieval. This made for ad

hoc, arbitrary decision-making with neither transparency nor

accountability.

Nearly four years later in 2008, City District Government

Faisalabad (CDGF) has seen a step change in the way it

does business, and other districts are asking how they can

replicate its success. Financial and human resource

management information systems are in place, deficit has

been turned to surplus, the administration has demonstrated

a clear strategic planning capacity, and has started listening

to elected representatives, citizens and some of its poorest

communities and consulting with them on how the district

budget is to be spent. There is still a widespread need for

improvement, but most importantly the administration

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Executive Summary


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knows the challenges it faces in delivering on its mission, and it can quantify those

challenges. It has developed and applied the tools for doing so, and is able to identify

solutions to its challenges, and plan and budget to implement those solutions.

CDGF's reform and change management programme was governed by a Corporate Planand a set of departmental Strategic Operational Plans (SOPs), formulated on the basis of the

initial information gathering exercise. These defined the mission and values to be adopted by

CDGF, and identified the focus areas for reform initiatives: fiscal responsibility; organisational

improvement; citizen focus; capacity development; and information systems. It also defined

parameters for improvement:

Strategic: Information tools were put to use in a number of planning exercises which,

together with management training and the exercise of leadership, built the capacity

of senior staff to think and plan strategically.

Inclusive: CDGF opened up its decision-making processes to a wide and

representative constituency, internally and externally. Meetings among senior staff

were formalised and regularised. A large number of staff was engaged for the task of

implementing the change agenda, building ownership and motivation at all levels of

the organisation.

Integrity and ethical: Improvements in transparency placed an expectation of

integrity on the administration, which it strives to live up to. CDGF has transformed

itself from an inward-looking organisation to one which is much more customer-

focused and service-oriented. The definition of a district vision, mission statement

and core values has been underpinned by team and morale building initiatives which

have taught staff to view their roles strategically, and as part of the larger mission.

Efficient: The introduction of a financial management information system has

brought the budget preparation cycle down from 45 to nine days, with the

involvement of some 60 officers instead of 1,500. Prudent financial management has

created fiscal space allowing district government to address its development and

service delivery priorities. Utilisation of the development budget increased 131 per

cent in 2007. Similar efficiencies have been achieved in human resource

management and the management of CCBs. The ability to rapidly retrieve

information on both current staffing levels and projected staffing needs puts CDGF in

a better position to deploy resources more effectively.

Effective: CDGF is now in a position to translate efficiency gains into improved

effectiveness of service delivery. The creation of fiscal space has created flexibility to

undertake social sector targeting, with a poverty reduction agenda informed by an

evidence base of survey and GIS data. CCBs in Faisalabad are now an established,

functioning institution, prioritising and delivering development projects for their

communities. By the end of 2007, the Community Development Department had

approved 129 projects, compared with just 16 in June 2004, for which some Rs 175

million had been released.

Open, consensual, participative and responsive: CDGF is reaping the benefits of

having opened itself up by sharing information, engaging in public dialogue and

inviting participation to stakeholders and the public in general. It has engaged with

elected representatives, local NGOs and community members in the local budget

How did CDGF Get here?

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Executive Summary


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setting process. Collaborative partnerships have been developed with national and

provincial programmes as well as local NGOs. A CCB network has been established

to strengthen CCBs and enable them to voice and action their demands on

government. A Citizens' Complaint Centre has been established as a channel for

ordinary citizens' demands on government. Communications and outreach activities

notably street theatre programmes have both informed and sought the views of some

35,000 of the district's poorest communities, including the slums and katchi abadis. Transparent and accountable: Channels for transparency and accountability have

been put in place to serve as an effective check on the powers of government. A key

focus has been to promote a culture of evidence based planning and performance

based budgeting through the regular publication of financial information.

Technical change paved the way for deeper institutional change Wide use of existing

(human) resources built traction, ownership and sustainability.

A Strategic Policy Unit, insulated yet integrated, was an effective mechanism for

delivery of the change agenda. As a non-departmental unit within the office of theDCO, it was ringfenced from the day-to-day pressures and political influence that

prevented departments from thinking, planning and acting strategically. But SPU

consultants worked within departments and alongside their counterparts to build

trust and morale, and to institutionalise the thinking the change and reform agenda,

building acceptance and buy-in and underpinning sustainability.

CDGF formulated targeted messages for different stakeholder groups. Training,

performance management, the Employee Motivation Survey and the evolution of an

HR capacity signalled to staff that the organisation sees them as a resource, to be

used strategically and invested in. Wider training for councillors, NGOs and other

stakeholders has taught them about the goals of Faisalabad's reform agenda, and

the role they can play in bringing about change. The Citizen Perception Survey andother poverty surveys, and their wide dissemination, have signalled to communities

that the district takes its service delivery obligations seriously, and that it wants to

know what its failings have been so that it can begin to address these. Street theatre

performances have ensured that these messages are communicated to precisely

those citizens who depend most on adequate provision of public services.

CDGF has seized opportunities when they presented themselves, in pursuit of

strategic objectives. For instance, the visit of the President of Pakistan catalysed a

concerted strategic planning effort across departments. This has served to leverage

individual interventions for wider impact.

CDGF has accommodated political pressure. While the availability of reliable, up-to-

date data and information has provided CDGF with stronger bargaining power in the

District Assembly, it has at the same time looked for ways to incorporate

transparently and objectively development priorities identified by councillors. The

pressure from the District Assembly for development spending was an important

driver of the administration's efforts to create fiscal space.

Key Lessons

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Executive Summary


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Where Next?

Until now, the emphasis in Faisalabad has been on building capacity to deliver services. This

has catalysed some specific improvements in service delivery, but perceptions of service

delivery are still poor. The challenge for the future is to shift emphasis to the point of delivery:

to apply the tools and skills that have been learned for the visible benefit of communities, and

especially the poorest.

In order to do so, CDGF is now in a better position to strengthen its relationships with

provincial government, donors and other stakeholders. A firm foundation has been laid in

establishing those relationships: CDGF now has the evidence and capacity to articulate its

needs and priorities, and to make coherent demands of its partners. In short, it is in a stronger

bargaining position vis--vis its international, national and provincial partners. The challenge

now is to use that bargaining position to ensure that Faisalabad's reform trajectory is not

derailed by lack of funds or political headwinds.

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National Education Conference (March 2008)

Faisalabad Reforms Seminar (June 2007) attended by provincial government and DFID

Executive Summary

ty District Nazim Faisalabad sharingrm initiatives at Faisalabad Reforms

Seminar (2007)


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BACKGROUND

General Context

Specific Context

The Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) was set up by the Faisalabad district government in 2002, as

a policy think-tank. Its key aim was to act as a conduit in the district from which all

development programmes could be initiated. In 2004, the United Kingdom's Department for

International Development (DFID) agreed to provide technical assistance to the district using

the SPU as the platform from which change would be driven.

The SPU over a four year period has acted as a key resource fostering social capital within the

city government and often being the focal point for local and international technical

assistance and programme development. With a cohort of key technical resources and

change management agenda it plays a key role in facilitating public sector reforms and is

replicable. It has been instrumental in assisting Faisalabad become a modern administration.

In August 2001, Pakistan initiated its devolution programme with a set of changes to the

structure of local government which created nearly 6,500 new local governments with

responsibility for a broad range of devolved functions and services. District governments

were given functional responsibility in the areas of health and education, agriculture and intra-

district roads. Towns and tehsils were assigned municipal service responsibilities; and union

administrations became responsible for small-scale development projects funded from

district government allocations. With the new local government structures came new

arrangements for sharing of government resources, new electoral arrangements and new

opportunities for citizens to participate in the affairs of government. These new

responsibilities rested on a set of governance and institutional changes which put in place a

new framework of accountabilities for all tiers of local government.

The challenges of organisational restructuring, new functional and service delivery

responsibilities, and greater fiscal authority and autonomy together with requirements toensure citizen focus, accountability and transparency have been huge. The challenges have

been complicated by political opposition, of varying degrees, in all provinces; and the lack of

visibility on political continuity together with a changing security climate has sometimes

worked counter to the smooth implementation of the devolution programme.

The challenges have been particularly great for district governments, which have absorbed a

large proportion of the devolved functions and powers. These functions were again expanded

in 2005 when Faisalabad became a City District. Faisalabad district government also has one

of the largest workforces in the country, with nearly 35,000 employees to manage. A critical

enabling factor for meeting the many challenges has been the implementation of acomprehensive reform and change management process.

In Faisalabad, this has been initiated by City District Government Faisalabad (CDGF) with

support from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) in the form of the

Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad (SDLGF) project. The project

has worked towards the realisation of CDGF's stated ambition of building an institution of

excellence in district administration and good governance that delivers high quality services

to all of its citizens, especially the poor.

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Background


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Many of the structural and technical issues this work has sought to address applied equally to

other cities and districts in Pakistan. The system which existed prior to 2001 did little to

promote fiscal responsibility: there was little public access to financial information, and

financial reporting was limited. Planning capacity, undermined by poor information and

inadequate information and accounting systems, was generally weak.

Organisational improvements envisaged under the devolution programme through thetransfer of functions and the physical relocation of staff did not immediately emerge. There

was a serious loss of morale among provincial and federal staff posted to districts, and

provincial authorities continued to exercise informal control over appointments, promotions

and transfers. With little in the way of human resource management or workforce planning,

departments were often understaffed and sometimes overstaffed.

Districts have struggled to introduce greater citizen focus to administrations traditionally

absorbed by their own internal procedures and processes. Although a new department was

introduced at the district level with responsibility for community development (and specifically

Citizen Community Boards, CCBs), in Faisalabad this department was severely under-

resourced and demonstrated limited technical expertise in key areas of community

development.

A critical constraint to the operations of local government was the lack of adequate

information systems. Some departments may have had one or two computers, but

information was still managed using a manual, paper-based system with a high level of errors

and inconsistencies, long outdated records and difficult access and retrieval.

Devolution and the creation of new departments, procedures and protocols led to an increase

in the volume of vertical and horizontal communications between provincial and district

governments that the old, paper-based system could no longer handle. Provinces increased

their demands for information from districts though not necessarily through formal or

structured mechanisms. Much reporting was on an exceptional basis. Although Faisalabad

district government had made progress in managing data, it was struggling with managing

information and knowledge as a basis for making informed decisions.

Since 2004, Faisalabad's district administration, with the support of the SDLGF project, has

worked towards the goal of enhancing the capacity of local government by improving the

efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of district, tehsil (town) and union

administrations, and ensuring that local government is responsive to the needs of

communities and is capable of addressing the priorities of poor people.

This has taken the form of sector-specific components reflecting a focus on service delivery in

education and other departments. Underpinning these sectoral interventions has been an

ambitious institutional change and reform effort which has sought to change the ways in

which local government works some of them very widespread and long-entrenched as a

means of yielding improved service delivery outcomes. This effort has focused on the

thematic priorities of: fiscal responsibility, organisational improvement, citizen focus,

capacity building and information systems.

The Reform Process and Change Management

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Background


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THE CASE

Faisalabad has long enjoyed a reputation for innovation in the provision of public services,

and for the willingness of its political and administrative leadership to engage with change and

reform. Its response to the service delivery and poverty reduction challenges that have

accompanied the implementation of devolution has rested on a comprehensive reform and

change management process to build efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency,equity and gender sensitivity; and to establish further principles of good governance such as

inclusiveness, integrity, openness and responsiveness (especially to the needs of poor

people).

This case study examines the extent to which CDGF has achieved or is achieving this, and

identifies areas where there is still more to be done. It seeks to promote an understanding of

the type of enabling environment which will nurture and progress reform. In particular, it will

highlight successes in catalysing and institutionalising change, identifying the system and

process improvements through which change has been effected over the past three and a

half years. It will document the specific challenges to good governance; and it will analyse the

technical and strategic means by which those challenges have been addressed, and exploreopportunities for continuing and deepening results and achievements.

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The reforms agenda to address poor school conditions

The Case


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THE DESIGN

Overview

Change Management Model and Framework for Value Creation

This section focuses on the approach, design and implementation of the change

management and reform process which was intended to address the issues highlighted

above.

This case study examines the key steps that CDGF has taken to undertake a change

management programme. The goal of the overall reform and change management process

in Faisalabad has been to build an institution of excellence in district administration and good

governance that delivers high quality services to all of its citizens. This goal has rested on the

objective of improving the efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency, equity and

gender sensitivity of local government; and ensuring that local government is responsive to

the needs of communities, especially the poor.

Faisalabad district government's strategic response to the identified challenges is laid out in

its Corporate Plan: 2004-2009; and in greater detail in a set of Strategic Operational Plans for

nine departments of district government.

The Corporate Plan envisaged a change management model based on a framework for value

creation which was designed along the lines of a 'balanced scorecard' (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Change management model and framework for value creation

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District Vision,Mission Statement

andCore Values

Fiduciary Perspective Customer Perspective

If we succeed, how wilwe look to our taxpayers

(or donors)

To achieve our MissionStatement, how must welook to our customers

Internal Perspective

To satisfy our customersand financial donors,

which business processesmust we excel at?

To achieve our vision,how must our

district Local Governmentlearn and improve?

Learning and GrowthPerspective

The Design


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The model served as a means of introducing concepts of value creation and value for money,

in pursuit of the district vision, mission and core values. These were:

District Vision

Pre-empting Poverty, Promoting Prosperity

District Mission

We will provide high quality services which compare with the best in the country. We will work

with everyone who wants a better future for our District. We will establish an efficient, effective

and accountable District Local Government, which is committed to respecting and upholding

women's, men's and children's basic human rights, responsive towards people's needs,

committed to poverty reduction and capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st Century.

Our actions will be driven by the concerns of local people.

Core Values

Setting high standards;

Equality, fairness and respect for human rights;

Honesty, Openness and accountability;

Building partnerships;

Protecting the environment.

The Corporate Plan lays out a set of guiding principles for change, and identifies possible

interventions against each of the guiding principles. The Strategic Operational Plans provide

further detail on how these interventions are to be implemented. The guiding principles reflect

the objectives of the change management programme. Table 1 lists the principles, with a

definition of each.

Table 1: CDGF guiding principles for change

Guiding Principles for Change

The Design

Strategic Ensuring consistency between vision, mission statement, goals and objectives andplanned use of resources

Inclusiveness Services are delivered in a fair and equitable manner that benefits all groups

according to need and entitlement

Integrity All transactions are undertaken in an honest and ethical manner

Ethical Promoting equitable, fair and honest practices

Openness Transparent consultative and participatory processes and systems

Efficiency Promoting best use of resources, including finances, people, time and physical

attributesEffective Service delivery outputs and outcomes meet agreed policy objectives

Consensual Strengthening representative decision-making processes and mediation of differing

interests

Part icipative Developing mechanisms for civic engagement and inclusive decision-making

Responsiveness Service delivery is consistent with citizen demands

Accountable Departments and individuals can be held to account for service results or standards

Transparent Enhancing clarity of procedures, systems and decisions


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Key Features

Implementing Bodies

The key proposed mechanisms for instituting change were designed to serve five dimensions

of good governance:

Fiscal responsibility: Responsible and prudent fiscal management through:

effective management of revenue and expenditure allocations; improved budget

policy estimation and targeting; streamlined accounting; effective auditing;

transparent reporting. The design aimed to support CDGF in the formulation of clear

fiscal allocation criteria, improving financial management, raising revenue

mobilisation and introducing pro-poor budgeting.

Organisational improvement: Improved deployment of resources, systems and

processes to increase internal efficiency and provide more effective and responsive

organisation and management to meet strategic objectives. The design aimed to

introduce formal organisational development policies, workforce information and

planning, and a formal training and development programme.

Citizen focus: Placing citizens at the centre of service delivery processes through:better targeted planning; participatory decision-making; more effective service

delivery; greater accountability for results. The design aimed to support CDGF to:

establish a Citizen Community Board help desk; develop partnerships with civil

society organisations (CSOs); develop a CCB/NGO management information

system; introduce communication, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; build

capacity for communities; and introduce a rights-based, pro-poor approach to

development.

Capacity development: Developing competencies, knowledge, skills and attitudes

of stakeholders through training, mentoring, coaching and job based learning to

improve performance and utilisation of resources. The design included: a workforce

and skills audit; a training needs assessment; training plans and budgets; and thendelivery of skills and knowledge training; a management development programme;

and a programme to strengthen district monitoring committees.

Information systems: To ensure that local government makes decisions in an

informed manner through the development of management and financial information

systems. The design included: development of information management systems for

human resource management, community development, and finance & planning;

support to strengthen district performance monitoring frameworks; support for

improved district communication mechanisms; and the delivery of information

technology and systems management training and capacity building.

The main unit for implementation of the reform and change management process has been a

Strategic Policy Unit (SPU), which had been created by Faisalabad district government in

2002 to act as a think tank and to help implement the changes relating to devolution. In

2004, the SPU became the lead unit for the implementation of the reform and change

management programme, staffed with technical assistance consultants who would work

alongside district government officials in the various departments.

DCO Faisalabad sharing reformsatives with City District Nazim Multan

The Design


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The participating departments were:

The key stakeholders guiding implementation have been the District Nazim and the District

Coordination Officer (DCO). With the local government elections that took place in the

second half of 2005, the Nazim was replaced and a new political administration took office.

There was also a change in DCO in December 2005 and then again in early 2006.

The Executive District Officers (EDOs) in-charge of the participating departments have taken

day-to-day responsibility for implementation; there has been a considerable reliance on the

cooperation of the EDO for Finance & Planning.

Beyond these frontline stakeholders, CDGF has engaged a broad range of stakeholders both

within and outside of government. The most significant of these are: the provincial

Government of Punjab, and particularly the Local Government, Finance, Planning &

Development department and Change Management Unit; the City District Council;

Town/Tehsil Municipal Administrations; the District Development Committee (DDC), which

approves the development budget. Outside of government, CDGF has established important

relationships with the CCBs which have been created since devolution (with the support of

the Community Development Department); and a network of CSOs and NGOs, especially

those working through the District Coordination Council (DCC) of NGOs.

The SDLGF project is implemented with funding from the UK Department for International

Development. The stakeholders also include other donor-funded initiatives such as the

Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE, funded by UNDP, DFID, Norad and

SDC) the Punjab Resource Management Program (PRMP, funded by the Asian

Development Bank) and the Urban Unit P&D Department Punjab.

Strategic oversight of the SDLGF change management programme has been by a Project

Management Committee headed by the District Nazim and including the DCO, EDOs from

key departments and the Project Manager / Overall Team Leader.

The Local Government Ordinance 2001 (LGO) provides for an extensive monitoring network

at all levels of local government, consisting of monitoring committees covering a range of

local government functions. Establishing the full complement of monitoring committees, as

prescribed in the LGO, has proven a considerable challenge and none have yet been

established at district level. At lower tiers of government, those that exist have often been too

weak to be able to effectively monitor government activities. Nevertheless, CDGF has

provided capacity building to strengthen their ability to hold government to account and

sought to foster regular reporting relationships between the monitoring committees and their

respective departments.

StakeHolders

Oversight Bodies and Monitoring Arrangements

11

Agriculture Information Technology

Community Development Municipal Services

Education Revenue

Finance & Planning Water & Sanitation (TMA Jaranwala)

Health Works & Services

Human Resource Management

The Design


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12

Situation Analysis and Strategic Operational Planning

The first six months of implementation, starting from May 2004, were dedicated almost

exclusively to information gathering and detailed planning activities. In order to be able to

start planning for change, Faisalabad district government had to first create an information

base which would serve to inform planning decisions. This was a laborious task of tracking

down information that was difficult to access, not always reliable and often incomprehensive.

Basic information such as expenditure and revenue data, staffing numbers and employee

details could only be pieced together through many repeat visits to various offices and with

the help of a large number of departmental staff.

Putting together a basic, coherent picture of the district's status in terms of available

resources and resource use (in the form of departmental situation analysis) was a critical first

step for formulating the departmental Strategic Operational Plans. This was one of the

earliest exercises to be conducted in consultation with departmental staff, and their

participation served to demonstrate a planning process that was based on evidence using

available information to inform and substantiate decisions. This was a marked contrast from

traditional planning and budgeting practice whereby decisions were made in an ad-hoc,

arbitrary manner with neither transparency nor accountability-for sheer lack of good

information. Figure 2 provides an overall conceptual layout of the reforms agenda in

Faisalabad.

Figure 2: Strategic Operational Plans linked to District Corporate Governance Plan

Agreement

with

EDO

Education

Rs3,000,000Outsourced

June

2005Nov

2004

Mobilisation

reports

NA

materials

available

Financial

statements

Baseline

local

study

NA

report

Data

on

3

clusters

available

Training

plan

designed

Identification

of

3

pilot

school

clusters

in

3

Tehsils

Needs

Assessment

developed

Team

identified

and

trained

Data

collected

Data

analysed

Training

needs

defined

Provide

relevant,

practical

training

related

to

the

needs

of

teachers

Area

5:

School

Management

and

Teacher

Training

Risks

/

Assumptions

In

Budget

Resources

RequiredPersons

involved

Time

Allowed

Start

Time

Means

of

Verification

Performance

&

Achievement

Indicators

Detailed

TasksObjective

- Pro-poorbudgeting- Genderfocused- Principals

of

good

- Dimensionsgovernance

ofgood

governance

District Vision,

Mission Statement

& Core Values

- Value Creation- Gender- Poverty

- Principals ofGoodGovernance

- Dimensions ofGood

Governance

Human ResourceManagement

Literacy

Health

Finance andPlanning

Revenue

InformationTechnology

Law

AgricultureWorks andServices

CommunityDevelopment

EducationExample

- Fiscal responsibility

- Citizen focus

- Organisational improvement

- Capacitydevelopment

- Inclusiveness- Integrity

- Openness

- Accountability

- Responsiveness

- Efficiency

- Effectiveness

- InformationSystems

EDOEducation,team members,SPU teammembers

The Design

Brainstorming to identify key changemanagement issues


25/52

IMPLEMENTATION

Fiscal Responsibility

Though some preliminary activities were undertaken in the course of 2004, implementation

did not begin in earnest until after the approval of the district Corporate Plan and departmental

Strategic Operational Plans by the District Assembly in December 2004. 2005 was very much

a year of gearing up, as systems were developed and training was delivered, with system and

process changes beginning to be rolled out in December 2005. The change programme wasnot implemented exclusively by senior staff and the technical assistance team, but involved

many hundreds of officers across the administrative hierarchy.

As the main implementing unit, the SPU was staffed mostly by full-time locally recruited

consultants assisted by short-term international technical assistance consultants. These

worked chiefly through the district departments. EDOs were assigned team leader positions

for their respective reform areas, and given responsibility for driving the reform agenda within

their department, as well as leading meetings and discussions with the donor.

Technical and financial proposals were prepared for implementation of all reform activities,

which could be discussed with the relevant EDO, the Additional Project Director and the

DCO, who all had to sign off on the activity before implementation could start. As part of a

'cascading' strategy, EDOs appointed 'master trainers' within their departments who were

responsible for passing on training to other departmental staff. Master trainers from the

Education Department, for instance, are now in a position to run the Institute of Learning (IoL).

Change initiatives focused on building systems that were absent as a basis from which local

government could start delivering quality public services. This building process proved

painstaking, but necessary. Progress was charted against a set of key guiding principles, and

reported through six-monthly Performance Reports.

By 2007, a consultation process had been initiated for the development of a sustainability

strategy which would ensure that key reform initiatives were embedded when the technical

assistance came to an end. The exit and sustainability strategy would focus on further

developing linkages at provincial and federal level, and continuing to build partnerships with

other relevant initiatives and programmes that could help sustain the momentum of reform

over a longer time frame.

Below we look at implementation in each of the dimensions of good governance separately,

although interventions were necessarily integrated.

The Strategic Operational Plan for the Finance & Planning (F&P) Department identified 9

change issues to be addressed over the 2004-09 period, each corresponding to differentaspects of the overall guiding principles of change (Table 2).

In 2005, district government in Faisalabad found itself in a precarious financial position. Early

preparation activities in the F&P Department brought to light the real financial position of the

district's accounts a sizeable deficit, due to a large provision that had to be made to adjust for

over ambitious development spending prior to 2004. District administration had to accept that

the budget for 2005-06 would fall short of resources to implement new development

schemes.

13

Implementation


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AmountinMillions(PakRupees)

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Aug-05

Sep-05

Oct-05

Nov-05

Dec-05

Jan-06

Feb-06

Mar-06

Apr-06

May-06

Jun-06

Jul-06

Aug-06

Sep-06

Oct-06

Jul-05

Actual MonthlyExpenditure

Original Bank Balanceat State Bank of Pakistan

Bank Balance withoutCCB & Vertical Programe

Table 2: Finance & Planning change issues

The deficit came to light just as the district was planning to begin dissemination to the general

public of budget and expenditure information, beginning with the budget for 2005-06 and

expenditure for 2004-05. The objective and expectation of increased transparency served

as an important driver of a number of change processes: not only would district government

have to account to its stakeholders for its deficit position, it would also have to justify to the

District Assembly the likelihood that it would have to temporarily stop new development

schemes.

These considerations were a significant motivation for district government to be as well

prepared as possible for public scrutiny. Dissemination of district financial information meant

that information needed to be systematically collected collated, and coherently presented. It

needed to be accurate, and reconciled. All of this required new processes, technologies and

skills. Furthermore, opening up the district's finances to public scrutiny meant that officers

needed to have figures at their hands to be able to address queries and explain anomalies;

and, more importantly, they needed to have a planning system in place that allowed for

strategic, objective, efficient and pro-poor budgeting and forecasting, so as to be able to

justify budgetary decisions to the District Assembly and other stakeholders, and defend them

from political partiality.

Figure 3: City District Government Cash Flow projections (as of November 2007)

14

F&P change issues Related guiding principles

1 Develop Financial Management Information System Efficiency, transparency

2 Introduce devolved (bottom up) planning Responsiveness, openness

3 Instil professional working culture Integrity, ethics

4 Release increased funds from provincial government Effectiveness

5 Build staff capacity for effective planning and budgeting Effectiveness6 Planning and budgeting for poverty reduction Responsiveness

7 Streamline accounts reconciliation process Efficiency, transparency

8 Adjust budget planning calendar for improved utilisation Efficiency, effectiveness

9 Streamline procurement processes Efficiency, transparency

Sr. No.

Implementation


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Jan-07

Feb-07

Mar-07

Apr-07

May-07

Jun-07

Jul-07

Aug-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

Apr-08

May-08

Jun-08

Adjustment entry of Rs. 329.31 Million from account IVo account I in June 2006 (The adjustment account consisted ofenevolent funds, GP fund, group insurance etc.)

Actual Data

as of 30th November 2007

Extrapolation

Early on, the Finance & Planning Department recognised that it needed to include elected

representatives in awareness raising activities around finance-related activities. It needed to

address the low ability of staff to deliver professional services, both in terms of their technical

skills and their attitude to work. It recognised that it would need to work closely with the District

Accounts Office (DAO) if it was going to improve reconciliation of accounts: this was a

considerable challenge given that the DAO was a non-devolved office and remained

accountable to provincial rather than district government. It recognised that inadequate auditprocedures would have to be tightened up. These were the broader, institutional fronts on

which the reform and change management programme would work.

In its first year, CDGF embarked on a wide-reaching training programme to bring the skills of

Drawing & Disbursing Officers, clerks and accountants in line with what would be required of

them to prepare budgets in line with new rules and regulations prescribed by the LGO and

provincial government, which required districts to prepare budgets in line with its New

Accounting Model (NAM).

At the same time, work began on developing a simple Financial Management Information

System (FMIS) which would be compatible with systems developed as part of the World

Bank's Project for Improvement in Financial Reporting and Auditing (PIFRA). Theexpectation was that the budgeting process would be sufficiently streamlined to produce an

accurate 2005-06 budget, in line with provincial requirements.

By the end of 2005, the Finance & Planning Department was using the FMIS to produce up-

to-date monthly information on cash flow and expenditure and allowing officers to forecast to

the end of the financial year (Figure 3). The ability to provide departments and corporate

management with consolidated monthly statements and regular, reliable figures, meant that

management could now exercise closer control over departmental expenditure, helping to

bring expenditures more in line with the budget.

Following the local government elections which took place in the second half of 2005, the

administration presented to the new District Assembly the status of the district's finances,including the severe financial constraints it was currently under. The administration decided

15

Implementation

Training of DDOs on budget &


28/52

to halt plans to implement new schemes in the current financial year in order to repay

outstanding liabilities. When the budget for 2005-06 was presented to the District Assembly it

met with considerable consternation, highlighting the ongoing challenge of how to retain fiscal

discipline in the face of political pressure for continued new investment in development

projects. Yet at the same time, it served as a driver for renewed emphasis within the

administration on exploring avenues for creating 'fiscal space' for new projects.

The administration had in the intervening months come a long way towards rectifying its

fragile financial position. In consultation with provincial government, a number of changes

were made in the way the provincial grant was allocated, the grant increased, and some

liabilities were deferred. Together with strengthening financial management practices and

increased fiscal responsibility-only possible because of the ready availability of sound

information these efforts succeeded, so that by the middle of 2007 CDGF was able to report a

surplus budget and to begin allocating resources for reform projects that would enable it to

fulfil its mandate of delivering more effective and pro-poor services. The ready availability of

information made immediate differences in the ability of departments to make important

decisions in an informed manner. System changes resulting in improved cash flow were

instrumental in improving budget utilisation rates and increasingly meeting budget targets

thereby increasing operational efficiency. For 2007-08, improved systems and processes

resulted in CDGF producing a budget which created a fiscal space of Rs. 1.5 Billion which was

then allocated to development purposes.

By the end of 2005, CDGF had invested in streamlining the budget preparation process and

building commensurate skills, and was posting financial reports to the district government

website on a monthly basis, with a summary available in both English and Urdu. Reporting

practices had become part of the organisational culture (not just in the area of finance); and

the practice of reporting performance against targets at monthly EDO conference meetings,

linking expenditure to project or programme goals, shows continued progress in the evolution

of a performance culture in the organisation. A document management system through which

financial information is presented and delivered has further helped to streamline resourcesrequired for document retrieval.

Making its financial information publicly available was a first step towards a genuinely

participatory budget. In 2005-06, the administration opened up the budgeting process to as

many stakeholders as possible, including departments, local NGOs and CSOs, and

councillors. A number of stakeholder meetings helped the administration identify areas for

improvement, and confirmed that its emphasis on social sector spending (education and

health) was consistent with stakeholder priorities. The fiscal space created also enabled the

administration to improve responsiveness and start targeting poverty reduction in its budget,

through evidence-based planning which would make use of the data and information being

generated across a number of activities.

Organisational improvement interventions consisted, as laid out in the Corporate Plan, of

three main components:

Organisational development;

Workforce information and planning;

Training and development.

Organisational Improvement

16

IT training for the EDOs

Implementation


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6

st th(1 June 2007 to 30 November 2007)

PERFORMANCEREPORT5

PERFORMANCEREPORT6

Organisational Development

Organisational development rested in large part on the development of the management

information systems. These systems served as the process tools through which it would then

be possible to tackle change at a more structural and institutional level. CDGF moved rapidly

to get new information systems in place and to train staff to use them. This rapid start served

to maximise the time available to get the use of the new systems truly embedded in the work

of district government; as well as enabling CDGF to move to the substantive change issues.

It was recognised at an early stage that organisational development would require the

restructuring of certain departments (specifically the Human Resource Management,

Information Technology and Education Departments) in order to provide the right mix and

number of resources, and to ensure that resources would be efficiently deployed. Some

departments were simply unable to perform their required functions as a result of inadequate

structural arrangements or because technical positions were not adequately provided for.

The Education Department lacked coordination, and the duplication of formal and informal

roles considerably undermined the effective delivery of services. The Human Resource

Management Department was severely understaffed.

However, there was no clarity at first over the powers of the district to undertake restructuring.

Over the next three years, district government worked on a number of fronts to build a closer

relationship with provincial government counterparts recognising that the initiative needed to

come from the district. The Human Resource Management Department took the lead on

restructuring, and presented a case to the provincial government. Restructuring plans were

finalised in 2007, and presented to provincial government for approval.

One of the priority areas for reform identified under the LGO was the creation of a

comprehensive monitoring framework for local government. Faisalabad district government

recognised from the outset that, given the weak institutional base of monitoring in the district

at the time, one of the first areas of intervention would need to be support to districtgovernment to constitute monitoring committees, and to educate both government officials

and the members (and potential members) of the monitoring committees as to their role and

function.

In the event, this remained on the periphery and implementation was significantly delayed,

partly due to the delay in completing the local government elections. Planned capacity

development activities were scheduled to take place following the elections. There was also

an internal resistance to the monitoring function, out of a fear that monitoring committees

would be abused by their members to police the work of government rather than as a means

of informed inspection.

Within district government, there was perhaps a perception that monitoring committees were

less of a necessity, especially given the performance management framework that was

gradually being established as part of an overall system of checks and balances. From the

outset, district government committed to reviewing and reporting on performance on a

regular, six-monthly basis, and presenting the findings to the District Assembly.

Financial information began to be reported on a monthly basis. Internally, formal quarterly

performance appraisals were instituted for EDOs; and the practice of predominantly ad-hoc

17

DCOs monthly meeting w

Implementation


30/52

meetings was gradually replaced by a formal schedule of regular meetings between the DCO

and the District Nazim, and between the DCO and EDOs. Improved communications

between officials and departments were further helped by the introduction of email

communications in all departments.

Improved communications and the sharing of information among government officials played

an important role in building a widespread understanding of the rationale for the changesbeing embarked upon. This was underpinned by the extent of participation in implementing

the changes within the administration: there was wide consultation from the outset, with

departmental officials consulted on the preparation of the Strategic Operational Plans and the

development of new systems and processes.

Changes to financial and HR policies, in particular, were some of the most consultative, with

officers at almost every tier of local government providing input into the reengineering of

processes. This was a conscious strategy, not only to leverage professional development

opportunities offered by the SPU, but also to involve the entire administration in the process of

change, to teach it to become a 'learning organisation', and to begin to build a systemic

collaborative working culture within and across departments.

So, for instance, Management Information Systems (MISs) were rolled out by departmental

officials (rather than the technical assistance consultants), following training where

necessary. Officers from the Community Development Department computerised data on

CCBs whereas Assistant Education Officers and clerks from the Education Department

administered an Employee Motivation Survey and collected personnel and career

information on employees for the Human Resources MIS (HRMIS). By the end of 2005, 124

local government officials were working on a daily basis in support of the reform programme.

An important driver of staff cohesion around the reform and change agenda was the visit of

the President of Pakistan in June 2007. The visit was preceded by a concerted exercise,

mobilising staff across all departments, to prepare short, medium and long-term development

strategies and implementation plans for federal and provincial funding. This resulted in an

overall Strategic Development Plan for the district, prepared through a participatory process

which was subsequently showcased at a conference for DCOs from across the Punjab.

The Strategic Operational Plan for the Human Resource Management Department made six

recommendations for ensuring an effective human resource function which would contribute

to the change management agenda (Table 3). These were:

Table 3: HRM recommendations

Workforce Information and Planning

18

Implementation

Efficiency, transparency

2 Provision of staff development and training Strategic, effective

3 Introduction of performance management Efficiency, effective,

accountable, transparent

4 Introduction of reward and recognition mechanisms Effective, accountable

5 Build employee relations Inclusiveness, openness

6 Establish effective communications with employees Openness, transparent

Related guiding principles

1

Sr. No. HRM recommendations

Develop Human Resource Management Information System


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Development of the HRMIS was the backbone to workforce information and planning

improvements. The objective was to move away from an organisation in which resource

requirements and resource availability was sometimes very mismatched, to one which would

not only know what its resource requirements and resource availability were, but could

predict them into the future. HRMIS data also supported the job descriptions and person

specifications that were being produced by the Human Resource Management Department

in developing a robust framework for performance appraisal.

A critical, but elusive goal of the change agenda was to instil in the administration a

professional working culture, in line with principles of integrity and ethics as well as serving

principles of efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness. CDGF began by undertaking an

analysis of how non-financial incentive mechanisms might be used to promote better morale

and commitment to corporate goals and objectives. This led into an Employee Motivation

Survey, canvassing some 29,000 employees, which would, in turn, inform a reward

management strategy focusing on non-financial incentives.

The findings of the survey were stark: 71 per cent believed they were not rewarded for extra

effort, 41 per cent saw no career progression, and 31 per cent had received no training. The

survey revealed high levels of dissatisfaction among staff. A series of meetings have taken

place between management and staff to discuss the results, and will provide material for

future management training programmes.

A draft Employee Reward Management Policy Framework was under review at the time of

writing, which seeks to address the weaknesses highlighted by the survey to improve

motivation and performance. At the same time, however, CDGF had incrementally instituted

some measures to improve motivation. These included the performance appraisals of EDOs,

and a quarterly award for the best performing EDO. The provision of training at all levels, from

senior management down to department clerks, together with the large involvement of staff in

delivering the reform and change management programme, also served to instil a sense of

purpose in the workforce.

As CDGF depended on trained staff to carry forward the reform agenda, a priority in the first

six months was to draw up a technical skills-based training programme aimed at middle

management and frontline staff to enable them to use the new systems and processes to be

implemented across the district.

At a more strategic level, the administration embarked on a strategic training programme for

management and leadership including study tours, and external and internal training. These

are described in greater detail in capacity development sub section.

Responsiveness to citizen needs has been a key principle behind devolution in Pakistan but

one which has been difficult to institute given the fundamental change of orientation it

required of local governments that were traditionally inward-looking and dismissive of citizen

voice. Although reorienting the work of government to reflect and respond to citizen needs, as

articulated by citizens, is an ongoing, long-term process, CDGF has gone to considerable

Training and Development

Citizen Focus

19

Implementation

Shield for the best employee of th

District Government employin the employee motivati

ques


32/52

20

effort to instil in its workforce more of a service orientation, and an appreciation of the role

citizens can play in defining and improving service provision. This has been through a

process of education and training, both formal and informal, with SPU staff working alongside

counterparts within departments. It has been bolstered by CDGF's willingness to make public

as much information as possible on decisions and decision-making around public

expenditure, which has built the capacity of citizens to feed into government processes.

The key mechanism for responsive, participatory, citizen-focused service delivery under the

LGO is the CCB. As this was a new initiative, districts were, in 2004, still struggling to institute

a functioning system for delivery of community development projects through CCBs. CDGF,

therefore, prioritised support to the newly-formed Community Development Department, with

a focus on enabling it to constitute and register CCBs, and support them through project

proposal and implementation.

Some of the early achievements were therefore related to CCBs, which were at the time a

high-profile and politically contentious innovation. CDGF established the CCB 'one-window'

operation, which streamlined the CCB registration process (and is now being replicated in

other districts); and implemented a CCB MIS for the effective management of CCB and

project data, as well as funds. Over time, processing times have been reduced from several

months to 45 days. Over the course of the next three years, allocations for CCB projects,

which had been accumulating over previous years, began to be released and projects began

to be implemented.

These system level improvements were accompanied by institutional initiatives to improve

coordination and ownership of CCB work by district government departments.

Representatives from relevant departments now attend a monthly meeting at which major

CCB issues, as well as processing times, are discussed and solutions identified for improving

efficiency and effectiveness. CDGF has also focused on building citizen capacity more

broadly, with an emphasis on strengthening civil society organisations to be able to better

participate in and contribute to planning and implementation of development projects. CDGF

Implementation

Public board showingCCB one window desk

A focus group discussion on Citizen Perception Survey (2006)


33/52

reactivated the District Coordination Committee (DCC) to serve as a platform through which

the district would work together with a network of civil society groups. Where necessary,

NGOs received training before joining the DCC; and ongoing training has built the capacity of

the members in NGO administration and management.

As the DCC has been strengthened, it has taken on an increasingly important role, facilitating

consultation exercises and monthly meetings. It has been networked with other projects and

programmes including the National and Punjab Rural Support Programmes and UNDP's

National Urban Poverty Alleviation Programme. Increasingly, the DCC is taking on a

prominent role in lobbying, advocacy, scrutiny and monitoring of local government service

delivery.

A preliminary exercise in improving service delivery was a Citizen Perception Survey,

launched in April 2006. The survey covered all 289 union councils in the district, and

interviewed 22,000 people. The findings which revealed deep dissatisfaction with public

service provision were widely disseminated, including civil society, local politicians and the

private sector, as a first step in planning improved service provision. More recently, an audit of

existing mechanisms for participation in key service delivery departments has been planned,

with a view to developing practical ways to improve participation and responsiveness tocitizen needs. Government is now able to allocate funds to target those areas identified by the

survey as in need of investment.

In order to engage citizens at the community level, CDGF has embarked on a substantial

outreach and communications exercise. It has built a website, through which government

activities are reported and data and information disseminated, and publishes a monthly

newsletter in both English and Urdu. In order to reach those who cannot read, CDGF

produced a series of radio programmes, and it has staged a series of street theatre

programmes as a means of reaching the poorest communities in the slum and katchi abadi

areas. In total, these street theatre performances have reached more than 35,000 people

with messages such as the role and function of local government, or information about the

Citizen Perception Survey. These performances have had considerable success in engaging

communities to give voice to their views and needs and for gauging which issues are of most

importance to them.

These outreach efforts are complemented by the establishment of a series of 'complaint cells'

which encourage citizens to exercise their 'client power' in demanding accountability from

local government in service provision. Complaint cells were established within the district

departments over the last few years; and in 2007 a district level Customers Call Centre was

opened which provided a toll free facility for citizens to lodge complaints about service

delivery by the district and lower tiers of government. A forum of focal persons from relevant

departments has been constituted to address the complaints lodged.

One of the earliest priorities was to identify training needs, specifically for officers involved in

preparing the district budget. Within a year, more than 900 Drawing & Disbursing Officers and

accounts clerks had been trained to prepare the 2005-06 budget in accordance with the new

requirements of provincial government. At senior and middle management level, a

programme of leadership and management training was started in the second half of 2005.

This included workshops for EDOs and District Officers (DOs) on such subjects as time

Capacity Development

21

Implementation

District Coordination Counciwith

Chairman P&D viCDGFs c


34/52

22

management, leadership, new public management and administration tools, finance, IT

skills, human resource development. A programme of training was delivered at the Pakistan

Institute of Management in Lahore, to be followed up by refresher training to be delivered on

site. The provision of a planned, coherent training programme has served the purpose of

demonstrating to officials that continuous professional development is now an important

consideration for CDGF, and that it is prepared to invest in its key staff. It has visibly

strengthened team morale, raised self esteem, and motivated staff to view their roles from amore strategic perspective.

In 2007, senior officers took part in study visits to UK, Hong Kong and Malaysia, with the

objective of experiencing how highly efficient and effective local governments function. As

well as providing examples of community cohesion and development, stakeholder

consultation, performance management systems and public accountability, the visits

provided CDGF with a means of benchmarking itself against highly performing

administrations. A number of education department staff also visited Sri Lanka and South

Africa to fully understand the Whole School Development Process being undertaken in

Faisalabad (See separate case study).

Training for all local councillors (3063 in total) and UC Secretaries started in March 2007 and

it covered key aspects of local government functions, including CCBs, participatory planning

and the role of monitoring committees. The capacity of City District Council members (413 in

total) was also built in the areas of Budget & Planning and Gender sensitive budgeting and

Governance, Gender and Poverty. After an extensive internal Training of Trainers, a multi

disciplinary team of master trainers were drawn from the Community Development

Department, DCC and the project team which successfully implemented the whole training

program.

One of the most significant long-term investments of CDGF has been the establishment of an

Institute of Learning (IoL). A number of master trainers for education specific trainings for

teachers, head teachers, school councils, community etc, have been prepared that wereinducted from the permanent establishment of the education department that have carried

forward the capacity development program since the start of implementation.

Implementation

me management training for EDOs

Training of district council members


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The IOL was intended originally as a training institute for teachers, but over time its mandate

has been extended: proposals are now with provincial government for broader subject

coverage, and funds have been set aside for development of the institute. The capacity of the

DCC of NGOs has also been focussed and were part of many capacity building initiatives,

notably among that is an extensive training on advocacy and Lobbying which was carried

out after conducting a proper TNA.

CDGF was quick to embark on work in the area of developing information systems, focusing

initially on the HRMIS, the FMIS and building a GIS. A prototype FMIS was ready in the first

half of 2005 and by the end of the year a simple system was in existence generating financial

data in support of the key functions of the Finance & Planning Department. Financial reports

were already being discussed at monthly EDO meetings, thereby helping to improve fiscal

responsibility and helping the Finance & Planning Department to advise other departments in

the confidence that advice was based on accurate and timely information. Further

refinements were made to allow for monitoring of expenditure against budget on a monthly

basis, enabling closer performance management; and the accumulation of historical

information would in time allow for scenario planning. Information that was previously only

accessible by senior management can now be accessed (remotely) by decision makers

further down the hierarchy. The introduction of online budgeting has reduced the budgeting

cycle from 45 days to nine days; and the number of officers involved from 1,500 to around 60.

For the HRMIS, data has been collected on some 32,000 employees, allowing managers to

analyse data on staff including frontline staff in the education department. This has been a

significant contribution to the internal human resource function, with significant saving in

terms of cost and time. The system allows for improved planning of resources (to 2025), and

provides a centralised, accessible system that enables rapid and easy communication of

information between departments and sub-departments. Previously, more than 400 Drawing

and Disbursing Officers would have been involved in the task of preparing data on vacant

positions across departments, with each officer spending several days on the task. With the

HRMIS, now only one officer is required to prepare the same information.

CDGF has also developed a biometric attendance system which has been installed at pilot

locations in an effort to control the incidence of absenteeism, improve leave records and

identify 'ghost employees'.

The CCB MIS was implemented in the Community Development Department in April 2006,

allowing officers to track project progress, verify CCB registration details and monitor project

expenditures. The system enables the department to communicate more effectively with

CCBs, and provide them with information in a more timely way.

The Revenue MIS includes modules on advertisement boards, commercialization,

Commercial Properties (Rent), License fees (Industries), General Bus Stand (GBS), Local

Rate and Other Receipts. To date, modules related to Advertisement Boards,

Commercialization and Commercial Properties (Rent) have been developed. Information

related to commercial and non-commercial properties has also been updated on the Asset

Management Module of the Revenue MIS. The staff of the Revenue department is also being

trained on this information system.

Information systems

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Implementation

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The Road Management Information System (Road MIS) has been developed to computerize

the physical assets of the District government that are related to roads and highways. This

MIS serves the purpose of maintaining the details of the District's road profile through road ID

numbers. This MIS will help the District government in completing its records pertaining to

roads and to manage their repair and maintenance. The provincial government has already

instructed the District to prepare complete information on road networks so that sufficient

maintenance funds are allocated to protect government assets.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) was launched in 2007, mainly for rural union

councils (Figure 4). The urban union councils were to be covered by the World Bank's Urban

Unit, placed in the P&D Department. The system will enable evidence based planning

especially at the district and UC levels based on up-to-date and accurate data and spatial

information; and all UC systems will be integrated so as to feed comprehensive information

on local development needs into the CDGF strategic planning process, avoiding duplication

of work and enabling resources to be deployed strategically.

All the individual MISs mentioned earlier have now been integrated in the GIS which can

generate updated information pulled from these systems, and can collate the same withgeospatial information collected as part of the GIS itself.

In short, the introduction of information systems across departments has resulted in fewer

personnel taking less time to execute key functions. It provides the basis for improved

forecasting and planning capacity, putting district government in a good position to deliver

more efficient and effective services. To ensure the sustainability of the MISs, technical and

functional documentation regarding each has been prepared for future users, amenders and

replicators.

Figure 4: The Geographic Information System application

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Implementation

Education Management Information System (EMIS)

Financial Management Information System (FMIS)

Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)

Geographic Information System (GIS)

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Managing Change for Improving Service Delivery - Learning to Embrace the Challenge of Good Governance