P&D Dept KP Initiates Institutional Optimization Study

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2020 ) :The Planning and Development Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has initiated an institutional optimisation study to analyse the existing systems and processes to improve district administration in the merged areas.

According to a press release issued here Wednesday, an experts' group consisting of Deputy Commissioners of Kurram and Khyber districts had been created under the leadership of the Chief Economist (Nauman Afridi), which had been tasked to conduct the study covering all the newly merged districts.

The study will be conducted by the Planning and Development Department with the technical assistance of the UNDP Merged Areas Governance Project.

During the first meeting of the experts' groups chaired by the Chief Economist here at the Planning and Development Department in Peshawar, it was agreed that a set of context-specific questionnaires would be prepared so that officials at multiple hierarchies could be covered including Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and Heads of Line Departments of Health, education and Communication & Works. Law enforcement sector will also be covered with specific reference to the integration of levies force in the police service.

It was also agreed during the meeting to include the political leadership and local elders as part of the optimisation study to analyse their perceptions and experiences following the merger of the former Tribal Areas in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The mode of the study includes in-person meetings, telephone interviews, online surveys as well as desk study of available information. Literature review of the existing resources on district governance and service delivery will also be conducted before the commencement of field activities for the institutional optimisation study.

Once the fieldwork is completed by August 2020, the follow-up steps will be data analyses and compilation of findings, which will be concluded by the end of September 2020.

The key findings of the institutional optimisation study after the endorsement of the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary will be presented to the Chief Minister so that the findings can be taken up for implementation with the objective to bring improvements in the district governance of the Merged Areas, including all the tribal sub-divisions.

It is anticipated that these measures will significantly contribute to improving service delivery in the province under the Accelerated Implementation Programme.