Communication for Effective Social Services Delivery (CESSD) - Pakistan

In its design and implementation, CESSD worked with the GoP to improve communication skills and systems to document, disseminate, and support the adoption of best practices in the area of social service delivery. For instance, Citizen Community Boards were provided with information so that they might have more input into village planning and effective volunteer monitoring of the working of their local governments. The focus was on providing citizens with the tools needed to record, identify, and disseminate successful examples of collaboration between citizens and government. These examples, it was hoped, would demonstrate the possibility of overcoming vested interests and making governments accountable to their communities.

In order to address communication needs related to the change in social services delivery, CESSD conducted research and pre-testing of messages and media to figure out how best to address the needs of the people. Four districts in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) (Abbottabad, Bannu, Nowshera, and Swat) provided input on the development and refinement of printed materials (like pamphlets, flyers, and newsletters), media campaigns (conducted, for instance, on community radio), and activities (like popular theatre. Through these channels, lessons learned and case studies about the practice of local government were communicated across districts and up to provincial and federal decision-makers.

In addition, the project focussed on capacity-building efforts. CESSD offered action-based learning opportunities that took into account the particular organisational, political, cultural, and religious context. CESSD staff acted only as facilitators, with the learners setting the curriculum and many other features of the learning experience. Local councilors, members of Citizen Community Boards and civil society groups, government functionaries, and interested citizens used these sessions to learn how to communicate with each other and with the community at large.