Seven projects completed since 2021

Seven policy-relevant projects completed since our incorporation in 2021, for government departments, research programmes and international development partners.

Education

Uneven State Capacity: Political Economy of Sub-National Variation in Education Provision

DARE-RC, UK International Development · School Education Department, GoB

15 Months
Coverage Gwadar, Kachhi, Killa Abdullah & Musakhel

Objective

Explain why the same education policies produce different results across districts, through a comparative political economy analysis of education governance and delivery in Gwadar, Kachhi, Killa Abdullah and Musakhel.

Key achievements

  • Combined key informant interviews, documentary analysis and GIS-based school accessibility analysis
  • Showed that district gaps stem from implementation capacity and local power configurations, not inputs alone
  • Delivered the final research report and a policy brief to DARE-RC

Education

UNICEF Balochistan Study on School Language Policy

UNICEF Balochistan · Secondary Education Department, GoB

8 Months
Coverage Province-wide

Objective

Map the languages children speak at home and assess teaching practices and learning materials against the language of instruction, to inform an evidence-based school language policy.

Key achievements

  • Mapped home languages across Balochistan and their potential as languages of instruction
  • Analysed teacher and student language proficiency and teaching and learning materials
  • Delivered a research report, stakeholder workshops and a final presentation to UNICEF and the department
Read more about this project

This study mapped children’s home languages across Balochistan, analyzed teaching practices, and evaluated Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM) concerning the Language of Instruction (LoI). The findings informed an evidence-based School Language Policy to enhance learning outcomes.

Objectives included: (i) mapping languages spoken at home and their integration as instructional languages or subjects, (ii) analyzing the linguistic context and proficiency of teachers and students, and (iii) identifying practical components for policy formulation. The study, executed under a Joint Project Contract between JPC and SOCIETY, employed quantitative and qualitative tools to produce actionable insights for policy development.

Education

Research for Improving Education Systems (RISE) in Balochistan

RISE small grant, Harvard University · with Oxford Policy Management

12 Months
Coverage Balochistan

Objective

Pilot the RISE Education Systems Diagnostic, under Harvard’s Building State Capability Center, to understand how Balochistan’s education system can overcome the learning crisis.

Key achievements

  • Won a RISE research grant in December 2021 from a highly competitive pool of proposals
  • Piloted the diagnostic framework with the VERSO team in Balochistan
  • Shared results in a blog on the RISE website and a report published by LUMS
Read more about this project

JPC won a RISE research grant on 14th December, 2021 as a Small Grant to Pilot the RISE Education Systems Diagnostic under the Building State Capability Center for International Development of Harvard University. The RISE Research programme seeks to understand how systems of education can overcome the learning crisis in developing countries. Among an extremely competitive pool, our research proposal and research team stood out as exceptionally strong.

Governance

Political Economy of School Education in the Post-18th Amendment Period

RASTA research grant, PIDE (Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives)

10 Months
Coverage Balochistan

Objective

Assess whether decentralization under the 18th Constitutional Amendment has improved education service delivery in Balochistan, taking the education sector as a case study.

Key achievements

  • Analysed two decades of data on budgets, laws, rules and learning indicators, before and after the amendment
  • Applied Political Settlement Theory to explain the deeper causes of the learning crisis in public schools
  • Research output published by RASTA
Read more about this project

This study assessed whether decentralized public management of education has resulted in improvements in school education planning and management, implementation, monitoring, financing, transparency and governance in Balochistan. The findings are useful for policy-makers, practitioners and designers of public sector reforms.

Alongside secondary data covering both pre- and post-18th Amendment periods, the project conducted KIIs and FGDs for a qualitative assessment of accountability failure in the education system in Balochistan.

Economic Development

Survey of Informal Border Crossings along Pakistan’s Western Border

Federal Board of Revenue, through ReMIT (Adam Smith International)

6 Months
Coverage KP and Balochistan

Objective

Identify and analyse informal border crossing points along Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, using primary and secondary data.

Key achievements

  • Conducted a situation analysis of informal crossing points on both provinces’ borders
  • Built prioritization scorecards weighting connectivity, population, services, trade potential and distance
  • Submitted reports on the Balochistan–Afghanistan, KP–Afghanistan and Balochistan–Iran borders
Read more about this project

The Border Crossing Point (BCP) prioritization scorecards assigned weights to the parameters required for making a border crossing viable: the state of connectivity of each crossing, existence of population on both sides, access to basic public services and utilities, potential for trade, and distance from the nearest border crossing point. The scorecards helped prioritize the relatively viable and mature crossing points.

Governance

Mapping Sludge in the Functioning of Government Departments

PIDE Sludge Series grant (RASTA)

6 Months
Coverage Balochistan

Objective

Understand ‘sludge’, the unnecessary friction in government processes, in vital public service delivery initiatives of Balochistan’s departments.

Key achievements

  • Selected as PIDE’s partner organization for Balochistan in its national Sludge series
  • Analysed sludge in 10 public service delivery initiatives
  • Delivered technical reports identifying friction points and recommending process improvements

Climate & Finance

Training Module for Green Financing in Pakistan

EU-funded ILES project, WWF-Pakistan and ILO · for NIBAF

45 Days
Coverage National

Objective

Build the capacity of mid-level commercial bank professionals on green financing instruments and their practical application.

Key achievements

  • Developed a comprehensive training module and manual on green financing instruments
  • Delivered under ILES, which applies international labour and environmental standards in Pakistan’s SMEs
  • Supported trainings for commercial bank professionals organized by NIBAF
Read more about this project

Trainings were organized under the European Union funded project “International Labour and Environmental Standards Application in Pakistan’s SMEs (ILES)”, implemented by WWF-Pakistan and the International Labour Organization (ILO). ILES aims to improve environmental sustainability and livelihoods in Pakistan by supporting sustainable economic growth and development.

Portfolio at a glance

#ProjectFunded byDuration
01 Uneven State Capacity: Political Economy of Education Provision DARE-RC, UK International Development 15 months
02 UNICEF Balochistan Study on School Language Policy UNICEF Balochistan 8 months
03 RISE Education Systems Diagnostic in Balochistan RISE, Harvard University (with OPM) 12 months
04 Political Economy of School Education, post-18th Amendment RASTA, PIDE 10 months
05 Survey of Informal Border Crossings FBR, through ReMIT 6 months
06 Mapping Sludge in Government Departments PIDE Sludge Series 6 months
07 Training Module for Green Financing EU, WWF-Pakistan and ILO 45 days

Clients and partners

Trusted by public and development partners

  • UNICEF
  • Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives
  • Government of Balochistan
  • Federal Board of Revenue
  • DARE-RC
  • UK International Development
  • Adam Smith International
  • ReMIT
  • Oxford Policy Management
  • RISE, Harvard University
  • Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
  • RASTA, PIDE
  • WWF-Pakistan
  • NIBAF Pakistan

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