6

Citizen Voice in Local Governance

The Citizen Perception Survey

S.M. Khatib Alam

Sumara Khan
March 2008 Mehreen Hosain

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

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 DFID
or 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.

 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
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”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This case study is the culmination of efforts by a number of individuals from government and
the technical assistance team. Firstly it is important to thank all those who have cooperated
with the team preparing this case study not only in the last few weeks but over the course of
the last four years. They have been critical to the work and demonstrated what is possible to
achieve in government when the right set of conditions prevail.

We would also like to thank the communities, elected representatives and Union Council
secretaries of the district that assisted the SPU team in implementing this project and its
various components.

The authors wish to thank Rana Zahid Tauseef, City District Nazim; Maj (Retd.) Azam
Suleman Khan, District Coordination Officer; and Dr. Tariq Sardar, EDO Finance & Planning
for their valuable contribution in making this project a huge success.

We are also thankful to: Mr. Ch. Zahid Nazir, ex-District Nazim Faisalabad; Mr. Tahir Hussain,
ex-DCO Faisalabad and Mr. Athar Hussain Khan Sial, ex-DCO Faisalabad for their valuable
contribution to the success of this project.

We are further thankful to all CDGF employees (past and present) and CDGF partner
departments but we would like to specifically mention by name the following: Mr. Mumtaz
Hussain Shah, EDO Education; Mr. Shabbir Ahmad Ch., EDO Community Development, Mr.
Dr. M. Javed, EDO Health; TMOs and TOs for accepting the Citizen Perception Survey
results with such an openness and for their efforts in successfully using the results of the
Citizen Perception Survey in their departments. We are also thankful to Mr. Qari Zia-ul-Haq,
ADLG for his support in engaging union council secretaries.

We are thankful to all DFID Project Advisers and Management that have assisted in this
project since its start and we would like to specifically thank Mr. Mosharraf Zaidi, Governance
Advisor, DFID Pakistan; Mr. Wajahat Anwar, Deputy Program Manager, Accountability and
Empowerment team, DFID Pakistan; Ms. Jackie Charlton, DFID; Mr. Alistar Moir, DFID
Pakistan and Ms. Nighat-un-Nisa, DFID Pakistan for their continuous support and
professional technical guidance since their involvement in 2004.

Our thanks are also to Dr. James Arthur, Dr. Richard Slater and Ms. Janet Gardener for their
valuable inputs throughout the project.

We are thankful to Mr. Mahmood Akhtar for his guidance in the design and implementation of
the Citizen Perception Survey and to Mr. Shahid Sharif for his contribution in analyzing the
results of the Survey.

We are thankful to the SPU team members for their dedication, hard work and the many late
hours spent designing, implementing and documenting the work of this project. These
include: Nadir Ehsan, Kashif Abbas, Maryam Ayub, Imran Yousafzai, Muhammad Shahid
Alvi, Muhammad Tariq, Ajaz Durrani, Farhan Yousaf, Muntazir Mehdi, Gul Hafeez Khokhar,
Mirza Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Sharif, Humaira Khan, Saima Sharif, Mubarak Ali,
Kashif Hameed, Sohail Anjum, Danish Iqbal, Faisal Najeeb, Noor Muhammad Khan, Nuzhat
Hanif, Syed Sheraz Akhtar, all the master trainers and training associates of the Institute of
Learning, GIS team members, all long and short-term international and national consultants.
 FOREWORD
This case study is the sixth of a series of case studies
produced under the “Strengthening Decentralised Local
Government in Faisalabad” Project and presents one of the
initiatives being undertaken under the reform programme
which was implemented in our district from 2004 to March
2008. The Citizen Perception Survey was conducted in all
289 Union Councils (the smallest administrative unit in
Pakistan) and almost 22,000 people were surveyed to
gauge their perceptions of the services being offered by our
departments.

Citizen surveys are not a regular feature of the local

governments in Pakistan and I am proud to convey that this
survey is the first of its kind that has been conducted in
Pakistan at such a large scale and at the local government
level. Citizen engagement and their participation in local
government are of utmost importance and their fundamental
right. Community' participation in local development can be
enhanced through actively engaging with them and by giving
them voice in decision making, which not only helps in
reducing poverty but also promotes the role of the
government as an accountable local government.

The results of the survey however have been sobering and

showed a great percentage of the people who were
dissatisfied with the services being offered by our
departments. We took the survey findings on board and took
another bold step to share these findings with various
stakeholders. We also started the process of using the
survey results for improving our services, by picking the
most deprived areas and by injecting investments in the
areas where people identified a need for it.

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 successes
outlined in this case study. 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 Khan

District Co-ordination Officer
City District Government Faisalabad
March 2008
The Clock Tower, symbol of Faisalabad
PREFACE
City District Government Faisalabad has been implementing its reforms agenda from 2004 to
2008 to improve service delivery standards for the ultimate users of its services though the
project called “Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad”. These four
years have been a watershed for our government and we brought tremendous changes in our
departmental systems and processes. Citizen focus and responsiveness to the needs of the
people have been the principles of our government. We have been wholly sensitised on the
importance of consulting our citizens. To enhance citizen voice and to promote participation
of our citizens in the decision making processes, we conducted a district-wide citizen
perception survey. We conducted this survey to gauge the perceptions of people regarding
the services being offered by our departments.

The survey is a great source of pride for us, I also view this survey as critical for meeting our
agenda of promoting a transparent and accountable local government. We are trying to make
our services effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of the citizens, especially those
that are poor and socially excluded.

The perception survey is one of the tools which we used to move towards evidence-based
planning mechanisms and the promotion of pro-poor policy formulation, and to analyse and
target the root causes of poverty.

The findings of the survey were not encouraging and showed deep levels of dissatisfaction of
our citizens with the services we are offering to them and many structural weaknesses in our
service delivery mechanisms. The results are also indicative of years of under investment in
our social sectors and lack of communication to citizens, even when positive results have
been achieved. We intend to rectify this situation. The issues raised by the people are also
well known to us and after sharing these findings with our line departments, we started the
process of addressing the critical issues identified by the survey. We now have a baseline
available to us against which we have benchmarked our services, and we are focusing on
resolving these issues.

I thank my City District Nazim for spearheading this initiative and my City District team for
receiving the survey results with such openness and with the clear intention of resolving the
issues highlighted by it.
Dr. Tariq Sardar
Additional Project Director
Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad
March 2008

Office of the District Co-ordination Officer, Faisalabad

 Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE
ACRONYMS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 01
BACKGROUND 03

Context-New Paradigms for Local Governance 03

The Reform and Citizen Engagement 04
The City District Faisalabad and Citizen Focus 05
The Continuum of Public Involvement 06
THE CASE 08

Evolving Modes of Engagement and the Need to Gauge Public Opinion 08

The Citizen Perception Survey 09

THE DESIGN 11

IMPLEMENTATION AND FINDINGS 13

Spatial Presentation of Findings 14

The Findings 14
To Share or Not to Share 15

IMPACT 18

SUSTAINABILITY 19

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES 20

Opportunities 20
Challenges 20
LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS 22

Political Context 22
Technical Considerations 23
Dissemination and Outcomes 24
CONCLUSIONS 26
BIBLIOGRAPHY 31

FIGURES

Figure 1: The process of the Citizen Perception Survey 13

Figure 2: Placing the report of the Survey on CDGF’s website
(www.faisalabad.gov.pk) 24
 Table of Contents

TABLES

Table 1: Public Involvement spectrum 07

Table 2: Details of the elected representatives surveyed 12
Table 3: Details of male communities surveyed 12
Table 4: Details of female communities surveyed 12
Table 5: A summary of some key findings
(percentage expressed of those surveyed) 16

ANNEX

Annex 1
Figure A1-1: Satisfaction levels of citizens regarding condition of
school buildings: across the district 28
Figure A1-2: Levels of investment in school infrastructure through City District
Government funding (2004-06): across the District 29

Annex 2
Table A2-1: Meetings for dissemination of findings of Citizen Perception Survey 30
 Acronyms

ACRONYMS

ADLG Assistant Director Local Government

CCB Citizen Community Board
CDGF City District Government Faisalabad
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
DCO District Coordination Officer
DFID Department for International Development
EDO Executive District Officer
ER Elected Representative
F&P Finance & Planning
LGO Local Government Ordinance
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MNA Members of National Assembly
MPA Members of Provincial Assembly
NGO Non-Government Organization
NLC National Logistics Cell
PCWSSP Punjab Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project
PDSSP Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme
PESRP Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme
PHED Public Health Engineering Department
P-PRSP Punjab Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PRSP Punjab Rural Support Programme
SDLGF Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad
SPU Strategic Policy Unit
TMA Town Municipal Administration
TMO Town Municipal Officer
TO Town Officer
UC Union Council
WASA Water and Sanitation Agency
 Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Case Study describes a process by which local governments can channel citizen 'voice'
with positive outcomes for both parties. It highlights the circumstances in which governments
can open themselves up to a critique of their own performance, and work with internal and
external constituents towards attaining mutually identified goals.

Building on the new opportunities afforded by the Government of Pakistan's radical

devolution programme, the City District Government Faisalabad (CDGF) has embarked on
its own reform programme, with a view to transforming the delivery of essential services and
meeting its commitments to reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). In achieving improvements in local governance, it is supported by the
Department for International Development's (DFID) through the Strengthening Decentralised
Local Government in Faisalabad (SDLGF) Project.

Reflecting the ethos of the devolution plan, the CDGF has placed citizen focus as a priority
amongst its key guiding principles for governance reform:

'To place citizens at the centre of service delivery processes through better targeted planning;
participatory decision-making; more effective service delivery; more accountable for results.'
(Corporate Plan)

Stakeholder consultation has been an important part of Faisalabad's reform processes. At

the initial stages of the reform, strategic operational plans were prepared for all major sectors,
and a limited but important stakeholder consultation process fed into these. This whetted the
District's and the stakeholder's appetites for a broader process to engage stakeholders, and
obtain views on the issues surrounded key services. As the reforms progressed, the CDGF
began to open up to more creative and deeper forms of engagement with its citizens. The
Citizen Perception Survey was one such measure. The idea was fast championed by both the
administrative and political heads of the District; the District Coordinating Officer (DCO) and
the City District Nazim. With his political constituents in mind, the City District Nazim took a
keen interest and leadership role in the process, but insisted that the proposed survey should
cover the entire district. The District's senior management agreed, and the team rose to the Introductory meeting with UC secretaries
on Citizen Perception Survey
challenge by developing a methodology which could be implemented on such a large scale.

The resulting method used focus groups as a basic tool, and a voting technique to quantify
findings. The survey was implemented in-house but with field staff and data analysts hired
specifically for this purpose. It was also implemented in close conjunction with local NGOs
and the Union Council tier in the field. Approximately 21,929 people were reached, which
included local elected representatives (UC members) and a broad cross section of the
population. As the results of the survey came in, it fast became evident that they were far from
favourable for the administration. In all the sectors surveyed (health, education and water
supply and sanitation), citizens had expressed deep dissatisfaction with the quantum and
quality of services available. This is with the exception of the rural health sector, where a
partnership model has shown positive results, reflected in a greater level of satisfaction with
these services. Disturbingly, most citizens were unaware of or had no confidence in the
formal mechanisms for accountability and redress of grievances.

Presented with a dilemma the team immediately shared the preliminary findings with the
DCO, who in turn shared them with the City District Nazim. This was the first true test of the

1
 Executive Summary

District's commitment to the principles of transparency, accountability and citizen focus. To

their credit, both the political and executive arms of the District Government, endorsed the
publication and widespread dissemination of the findings.

What had led to this unprecedented openness? How would stakeholders react to the findings,
and importantly, how would the findings be used?

Analysis indicates that the key factors contributing to the acceptance of the findings were:

Ÿ A high level of ownership by both administrative and political arms of the District of
the entire process, and importantly a close, transparent and mutually supportive
relationship between the administrative and political heads, which supported the
pursuit of mutually identified goals. Constant communication between the DCO and
District Nazim, with the survey team providing technical feedback, meant that no
surprises were sprung at the last minute;
Ÿ The momentum gained as a broad range of reforms related to accountability,
transparency and citizen engagement were embedded. The Citizen Perception
Survey did not take place in a vacuum, but was part and parcel of a series of reform
initiatives, with deepening modes of citizen engagement. This meant that
departments were already sensitised to the need to be more accountable and
responsive, whilst other stakeholders were slowly gaining an understanding of their
role in the new polity;
Ÿ The flexible, timely and well-placed technical and financial resources available to the
District through the SDLGF, which enabled innovative thinking and pragmatic local
solutions, and was able to influence their adoption as a result of being placed
strategically in the DCO office.

Importantly, the CDGF has been responsive to the feedback from citizens. Not only have
departments been instructed to address the issues raised in their strategic plans, but
significant investments have been directed to areas which appeared to have been deprived of
investments and where feedback was particularly negative.

However, certain challenges are also evident. Citizens had major concerns that they have not
found the state to be responsive in the redressal of their grievances. The dialogue with
citizens is at an early stage. Moreover, stakeholder reaction has been constrained by
limitations in the dissemination process, and the lack of clear feedback loops to express their
views and demand accountability. Findings have yet to be debated in the District Council, or
discussed with the media. A broader process of dissemination is needed. Departmental
resistance to transparency and social accountability remains a factor to be countered, and it
is clear that continued high level attention to these processes will be needed to affect a
change in institutional culture.

The challenge to the District is to continue to use the findings and respond to citizen concerns,
while also communicating both findings and actions to citizens and stakeholders. This will
ensure the credibility of the process, rebuild the eroded confidence and trust between citizens
and their government, and pave the way for citizen voice to play a positive role in transforming
governance in Faisalabad.

2
 Background

BACKGROUND
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.

Context-New Paradigms for Local Governance

In 2001 the Government of Pakistan embarked on a radical reform process, devolving power
to the grass roots and creating new local governments with responsibilities for a broad range
of functions. With social indicators ranking amongst the worst globally, the reform sought to
address the country's weak performance in service delivery, and the deep rooted governance
issues which beset its institutions. The Local Government Ordinance (LGO) of 2001, the
Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
principal pillar of the devolution programme, created new relationships between the state and elected representatives of UC 101
its citizens, and manifold new opportunities for more effective and responsive service
delivery.

As governments the world over modernise, they face two central challenges: to secure
sustainable improvements in public services; and to re-engage citizens with the institutions of
government. The 'reinvention' of governments has as a dominant paradigm the positioning of
the citizen as the principal client or customer/consumer. Importantly, the citizen is also
viewed as a key 'shareholder' in government, with inalienable rights to a sustainable quality of
life amongst other fundamental rights. Public services must meet the needs and expectations
of the public, both as customers and as citizens.

It is widely believed that bringing decision making close to communities, and engaging with
citizens, strengthens both civil society and the legitimacy of the institutions of government,
thereby revitalising democracy. Further, evidence suggests that the more effectively
communities are engaged in shaping services, the more likely it is that quality will be
delivered, and that services will be demand led and sustainable. Yet, citizens in most
countries still perceive government as distant and unaccountable. The erosion of confidence
between citizen and state is a key issue that reforms must attempt to address.

While decentralisation is recognised as a key mechanism for bringing government closer to

citizens, there is evidence to suggest that it will not always achieve the goals of making
government more responsive and accountable. Decentralised systems may be subject to
elite capture and may reinforce existing inequalities. Marginalised groups and the poor may Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
therefore not benefit fully from such changes. Concerted efforts are therefore needed to female community members of UC 100

introduce transparency, consultation, participation and accountability mechanisms that will

ensure that all citizens are given voice, and that local governments are responsive to their
needs.

3

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
male community members of UC 200
4
Background
The Reform and Citizen Engagement
That communities should be able to influence decisions affecting their lives, take direct action
where they choose, and seek redress where services are failing, calling both providers and
politicians to account, is central to these new approaches to governance.
The LGO put in place a three-tiered system of local governance, with the district at the top,
holding responsibility for overall decision-making and financial allocations, and the union (the
only directly elected tier, consisting of groupings of villages) closest to the public. The tehsil
mediates between these two tiers, while also holding responsibility for some key services. At
each tier, mechanisms for oversight, accountability and redress of grievances were also
provided for.
The new system was designed with the principle of subsidiarity in mind, and provides
platforms for the direct engagement of citizens in local governance. It sought to re-align
power structures to ensure that citizens were at the heart of governance. While there have
been several attempts at enhancing local control in Pakistan's history, the present reform is
distinguished by its explicit focus on the role of the citizen, both in service delivery (through
the Citizen Community Boards or CCBs), and in participating in vertical oversight and
accountability and dispute resolution mechanisms (e.g. Village and Neighbourhood
Councils, Monitoring Committees, Musalihat Anjumans).
There are a number of ways in which the LGO provides for citizen engagement in local
governance as indicated in Box 1 below. While specific tools for engaging with citizens are not
mentioned, the spirit of the LGO is clear; citizens should be engaged at all levels and should
be provided mechanisms through which they can participate and hold their local government
accountable. These principles are also embodied in the Government of Punjab's Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (P-PRSP), which states as one of its key goals, governance
reforms to achieve an efficient, accountable and service-oriented public sector. One of the
ways in which the P-PRSP captured citizen voice was through a Participatory Poverty
Assessment (PPA). The PPA indicates that,
‘Consultations with the primary target group for the P-PRSP viz. the poor were considered
crucial.'
The emphasis on providing citizen voice through a range of public consultation mechanisms
is evident in the P-PRSP document, which states as an objective of the Planning and
Development:
‘Institute mechanism to get regular feedback from stakeholders, institutes, academia, civil
society and business'.
The document highlights the role of NGOs and civil society at several points, in relation to
deeper forms of engagement in policy and programme formulation, as well as in
implementation.
The premise of the reform is that enhancing citizen 'voice' and participation, beyond the
electoral process, in their role as both clients and citizens, will shift incentives and create
critical pressure points on both providers of services and politicians, leading to improved
performance and better service delivery. Strengthening citizen 'voice' is thus a key guiding
principle of the reform. Providing new incentives and accountability structures, and
strengthening capabilities to allow public institutions to respond to citizen 'voice', forms
another key principle.
 Background

Box 1: The LGO 2001 and mechanisms for citizen engagement

Ÿ Section 76 indicates that union administrations should have responsibility for collecting and maintaining
socio-economic information.
Ÿ Section 88 indicates that the union councils should mobilise communities for infrastructure maintenance and
other development activities.
Ÿ Section 93 provides for the notification of Village and Neighbourhood Councils to provide citizens an
opportunity to participate in local governance, but does not articulate the role of these councils.
Ÿ Section 98 details the composition of Citizen Community Boards as a key mechanism for local development
and improvements in service delivery, and reinforcing Monitoring Committees.
Ÿ Section 102 provides for alternate dispute resolution mechanisms, the Musalihat Anjuman.
Ÿ Sections 114 (Accounts) and 137 (Transparency) clearly lay out rules for transparency and public access to
information, including statements of Accounts and information on the performance of offices.
Ÿ Section 119 provides scope for bottom up planning.
Ÿ Section 138 lays out the responsibilities of Monitoring Committees.
Ÿ Section 188 stipulates that Complaint Cells should be established for redressal of grievances at district, tehsil
and union levels.

Further, Budget Rule 2003 stipulates that the Budget Call Letter should be finalised after consultation with a range of
stakeholders including CCBs, NGOs and CBOs.

The City District Faisalabad and Citizen Focus

As Pakistan's third city and district, with a population of over 6 million, Faisalabad district had
grappled with the issue of ensuring that essential services reached its citizens, and social
indicators remained on course to meeting its commitments to the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). A relatively prosperous district and the heart of the country's textile industry,
the existence of pockets of extreme poverty and deprivation belied this prosperity.

The City District Government were committed to building on the opportunities provided by the
devolution of power initiative, to introduce a series of wide-ranging reforms in the District.
The devolution process initially served to create confusion, as old systems were abolished,
and new systems poorly understood. In an attempt to introduce cutting edge thinking in
addressing its issues, the District created a Strategic Policy Unit (SPU). Opportunity to build
on its commitment to reform, however, came in 2004, by way of the DFID supported
Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad Project (SDLGF).
Citizen Perception Survey meeting
with elected representatives of UC 155
The District had a vision; a poverty-free Faisalabad. It was quick to recognise the opportunity
to realise its vision, and used its technical resources to distil best practice and to provide the
guidance and technical support necessary for delivering on their mandated responsibilities to
the citizens of Faisalabad.

As a first step, the District Government articulated its mission statement in its Corporate Plan:

“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 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”

The District's plan for transforming governance focused on five key dimensions of good
governance; fiscal responsibility, citizen focus, organisational improvement, capacity
development and the use of information systems.

5

Devolution happened
overnight, and there were
many official hurdles. The
LGO was taken as a 'bible',
but there were so many rules
and processes that remained
unclear or did not exist.
There were also many new
roles that people were
simply not used to, for
example, the monitoring
and accountability
functions.
District Coordinating Officer
(DCO), Faisalabad
6
Background
Reflecting the ethos of the devolution plan, Faisalabad placed citizen focus as a priority
amongst its key guiding principles:
'To place citizens at the centre of service delivery processes through better targeted planning;
participatory decision-making; more effective service delivery; more accountable for results.’
(Corporate Plan)
In achieving its objectives, the District was supported by the Project, in three key aspects of
local governance which were central to its vision:
Ÿ Capability- its technical ability to deliver on its mandate;
Ÿ Responsiveness- its ability to respond to the identified needs of citizens; and
Ÿ Accountability- enhancing the ability of citizens and civil society to provide public
scrutiny and demand accountability.
The Corporate Plan was bolstered by detailed sector development plans (the Strategic
Operational Plans), and, in 2006, a Strategic Development Plan for the District (Pre-Empting
Poverty: Promoting Prosperity). These plans attempted to articulate how best each
department could reach out to its clients, and ensure that services were effective and
responsive to citizen demand.
The work towards a new model for local governance, with citizen engagement at its core, had
begun.
The Continuum of Public Involvement
While the LGO 2001 had, for the first time, introduced more formal mechanisms for the state
to engage with its citizens, the newly created local governments were limited in their
experience and capacities, resistant to the concept, and struggled to understand, let alone
fulfil their mandates.
While clear legislation or rules did not exist around all areas of the reform, the CDGF was
determined in its commitment to its vision and mission statement; importantly both its political
and executive arms were convinced that citizens must remain at the heart of their reform.
Box 2: Voice refers to both the capacity of people to express their views and the ways in which they do so through
a variety of formal and informal channels and mechanisms. Referring primarily to the efforts of the poor to have their
views heard by more powerful decision-makers, voice can include complaint, organised protest, lobbying and
participation in decision-making, service delivery or policy implementation.
Bringing Citizen Voice and Client Focus into Service Delivery. Goetz and Gaventa, IDS, 2001
In promoting participatory governance, there is a spectrum of different modalities for
engagement with citizens, as described in Table 1.
In practice, it is not always possible to place an institution at one clear point on the spectrum,
and elements of several strands may be operative at any stage with regard to different
aspects of its work. While in general the move towards an active and empowered citizen is
what is considered desirable, it is also understood that under certain conditions different
forms of engagement may be appropriate.
 Background

Table 1: Public involvement spectrum

Inform Consult Engage Collaborate Empower

Goal Provide the Obtain Work Partner with Place final
public with public directly with the public in decision
balanced and feedback on the public each aspect making
objective analysis, throughout of the authority in
information to alternatives, the process decision the hands
assist them in and/or to ensure in cluding the of citizens
understanding decisions that public development
the problem, concerns of
alternatives, and alternatives
opportunities, aspirations and the
and/or are identification
solutions consistently of the
understood preferred
and solution
considered

Source: Public Deliberation: A Manager's Guide to Citizen Engagement. Lukensmeyer, C. and Torres, H.T., IBM
Center for The Business of Government, 2006.
The District has attempted
to put citizens not at the end
Over the course of its reform programme, the CDGF worked towards developing pragmatic but at the centre of the
yet innovative approaches for engaging with its citizens. In line with its focus on process'.
responsiveness and accountability, a key area of attention related to enabling citizen 'voice'. DCO,
City District Government
Faisalabad

7

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
male community members of UC 20
8
The Case
THE CASE
Evolving Modes of Engagement and the Need to Gauge Public Opinion
There was a distinct emphasis on consultation from the outset of Faisalabad District's reform
initiative, driven by the CDGF's commitment to citizen-centred approaches. The citizen focus
agenda was housed at the corporate heart of the District, under the leadership of the
Executive District Officer (EDO) Finance and Planning. However, the Community
Development department played a key role in its delivery. Support was provided by the
CDGF's specialists within the SPU. During the initial stages there was a clear need for
stakeholder consultation in the preparation of the Strategic Operational Plans. A consultation
exercise was undertaken to understand what different stakeholders actually felt about the
District Government's services. A range of stakeholders from service providers, to civil
society organisations and consumers were consulted. Extensive formal and informal
consultations took place through formal workshops, focus groups discussions and one to one
meetings, interviews and surveys.
While limited in scope, the exercise whetted the appetite of the District administration for
embedding the consultative process, particularly given the enthusiasm with which it was
greeted by stakeholders.
Box 3: Stakeholders consulted
Ÿ Elected representatives both male and female
Ÿ Civil society organisations i.e. NGOs, CCBs and CBOs
Ÿ Monitoring committees of the UC, tehsil and district governments
Ÿ Public sector employees
Ÿ Academics, including teaching staff, school council members, students from schools and universities
Ÿ Consumers of water and sanitation services
Stakeholders indicated that they had never been consulted in such an open manner by the
government, and strongly stated that they felt such processes should be internalised in the
CDGF's mechanisms. The CDGF viewed the exercise as a baseline, and the intent was to
repeat it at regular intervals.
While consultations around issues and policies continued and became common practice in
the CDGF's operations, it was some time before a mechanism was developed for a more
extensive consultative process around public services. The seeds for this process, had,
however, been sown in the initial consultative exercises and the commitment of the CDGF to
engage with all stakeholders, and citizens in particular.
As the reform programme progressed, it became increasingly evident to the CDGF's senior
management that they had little sense of how effectively they were delivering their services.
As a result, the impact of the reform on governance and public service delivery would be
difficult to gauge. There had been no structured process to determine the perceptions and
preferences of citizens with regard to services, to enable the process of planning and
resource allocation. Further, the City District had little idea of the levels of the confidence
citizens had in their government and in public service delivery.
The CDGF understood that unless it knew what its citizens really felt about service delivery, in
terms of both access and quality, it would be difficult to bring about real improvements in
performance. The onus for channelling citizen 'voice', and linking it with a process of
 The Case

accountability with regard to public services, lay with the District itself. It became clear that a
comprehensive exercise was needed to determine the state of governance and public
service delivery.

This case study examines the evolution of a key tool developed by the CDGF to ensure that
the views of its citizens were captured, understood and considered at the policy, strategic and
operational levels. It specifically focuses on the process which led to the development of the
tool, and the conditions under which it gained widespread acceptance in the CDGF.

The Citizen Perception Survey

Public opinion surveys are not commonplace in Pakistan however there was one exercise
that had caught the attention of the CDGF as it sought to determine the best modalities for
gauging public feedback on its services. In 2001/2002 CIET, supported by CIDA, had
conducted a baseline 'Social Audit of Governance and Delivery of Public Services', across all
87 districts of Pakistan. The survey was repeated in 2004/05, and over the five years of 2004-
2009 is being repeated in alternate years to track progress under devolution and to inform
policy. No report has been published following the findings of the 2004 survey.

The survey provides a useful and important tool for channelling citizen feedback and allowing Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
elected representatives of UC 180
government to plan and implement services better. It combined a sample-based household
survey technique with focus group interviews at the community level and key informant
interviews. A sample of union councils were included from each district sampled (this varied
according to the population of the district). However, while this sample-based exercise
provided a useful comparison across districts, it did not provide information at the sub-district
(tehsil and union council) level. This meant that while Faisalabad could compare itself with
other districts, it could not determine how public satisfaction with services varied within the
District itself.

The Social Audit report highlighted that such processes should be undertaken at the district
level, yet also noted that district governments generally lacked the technical capacity and
resources to undertake surveys of this nature.

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with female community members of UC 160

9

A range of methods,
including the Social Audit,
and the Citizen Report Card
methods as developed by the
Public Affairs Centre in
Bangalore, were reviewed.
10
The Case
The Social Audit tool as a means for gaining important feedback from citizens was explored in
great depth by the CDGF's specialists. These discussions did not take place in isolation within
the technical team responsible. Ideas were shared as they were generated, with the District's
senior management and with the City District Nazim, both for their input and their
endorsement. There were certain limitations in the Social Audit methodology in relation to the
CDGF's needs, which soon became evident, and considerable discussion took place around
the 'sampling' mechanisms used in the Social Audit.
In theory, the sample based methodology as developed by the Social Audit could have been
adapted for use in Faisalabad. The team considered sampling a number of Union Councils
within the District. The issue related to the views of the City District Nazim, who had been
keen to find ways of gauging public opinion, and had taken leadership of the initiative. While in
fact enthusiastic about gaining citizen feedback, he was adamant cal expediency demanded
that the survey should be undertaken across the District, in all 289 Union Councils. The scale
of the exercise was daunting.
‘We were concerned with improving performance and enhancing systems. In our frequent dialogue with our
specialists, innovative ideas would emerge. In one such meeting we discussed the possibility of capturing public
opinion. This was related to our corporate vision and mission statement, and our commitment to addressing
poverty. It is also always helpful to the political leadership to assess the 'temperature' of public sentiments. There
were lacuna in the planning process, and we frankly needed help in targeting our investments. The trigger was the
DFID support which was helping us to think out of the box and be accountable to our citizens and not just elected
representatives as was the norm'.
EDO, Finance and Planning, CDGF
Under these circumstances, the team rose to the challenge, and held a series of
brainstorming exercises. A range of methods, including the Social Audit, and the Citizen
Report Card methods as developed by the Public Affairs Centre in Bangalore, were reviewed.
After considerable debate, these sessions resulted in an adapted methodology and tool
which could be applied district-wide; the Citizen Perception Survey. The survey would reflect
opinion from every union council in the District, and was distinctive in being the first public
opinion exercise to be carried out on a district-wide scale in Pakistan.
Male community members gathering for Citizen Perception Survey meeting
 The Design

THE DESIGN CITY DISTRICT GOVERNMENT FAISALABAD

Strategic Policy Unit

The methodology developed relied on focus group discussions to ensure the widest possible SELECTED SERVICES IN FAISALABAD
PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES

coverage. As a first exercise of its kind, it was decided that only key services would be A CITIZEN FOCUS INITIATIVE

included (education, health, water and sanitation), with follow-up exercises expanding in
scope, should this one be successful. The scale of the exercise meant that household level
surveys would not be feasible. Discussions with the City District Nazim, the DCO, and senior
management resulted in determining the following core objectives for the survey:

Ÿ Assess the extent to which services are meeting the needs and expectations of
citizens
Ÿ Determine how the City District Government is perceived with regard to its corporate
activities and services
Ÿ Support and enhance the City District's existing planning mechanisms through June 2007

participatory and evidence-based processes

Ÿ Measure the levels of awareness about the City District Government and its role and
services amongst citizens

The lines of questioning in the Perception Survey related to:

Ÿ Levels of satisfaction with selected public services

Ÿ The reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction
Ÿ Factors influencing choice of public vs. private sector provision
Ÿ Awareness of accountability mechanisms i.e. Monitoring Committees
Ÿ Levels of information on how departments work
Ÿ Accessibility and effectiveness of mechanisms for redress of complaints/grievances
Ÿ Key priorities for investment

A comprehensive questionnaire was prepared after an iterative brainstorming process in

which the CDGF's sector experts participated. The questionnaire and methodology were pre-
tested twice, and revised according to feedback. A database was prepared in SQL server and
data entry was carried out by data entry staff recruited specifically for the survey.

The survey was conducted at the Union Council level through a series of focus group
discussions. The use of focus groups allowed an in-depth exploration of issues identified and
causal relationships. However, the team recognised that qualitative feedback, while
necessary, would be insufficient for hard-nosed policy makers. To quantify results, a 'voting'
technique was developed, with participants voting on degrees of satisfaction.

It was critical that the diversity of constituents be represented, in particular socially excluded
groups. The three broad groups discussions were centred around: male community
members; female community members; and elected representatives at the Union Council
level. It was important to ensure that women could speak up freely in the prevailing cultural
context, and the team worked hard at providing a safe and secure environment to allow this,
with separate discussions being held with women.
Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
female community members of UC 10
Elected representatives were included in their role both as service users and as providers. In
fact elected representatives also play an important role as the channel for citizen complaints
on services. Discussions with elected representatives were carried out separately, so that
ordinary citizens would not be constrained in expressing their views.

11
 The Design

A total of 21,929 people were surveyed across the District. Within each broad group, attempts
were made to include a cross-section of society. Table 2 to Table 4 show the composition of
the sample. The average number of people surveyed in one Union Council was 76, with 34
men, 31 women and 9 elected representatives being covered.

Table 2: Details of the elected representatives surveyed

Category Number of people

Male Nazim 207

Naib Nazim 221
General Councillors 859
Peasant Seats 437
Minority Seats 215

Sub-total of the male members 1939

Female Nazim 1
Citizen Perception Survey meeting with General Councillors 383
male community members of UC 110
Peasant Seats 376
Minority Seats 3
Sub-total of the female members 763
TOTAL 2702

Table 3: Details of male communities surveyed

Category Number of people in each category
Farmer, Cultivation 2,746
Labourer 2,284
Business 2,163
Private Service 1,015
Government Services 530
Agriculture & Livestock 400
Government Services Education 358
Skilled Labourer 211
Medical Profession 87
Social Worker 50
Imam Masjid 36
Miscellaneous 164
TOTAL 10,044

Table 4: Details of female communities surveyed

Category Number of people in each category
House Wife 7,175
Government Services Education 637
Government Services Others 628
Medical Profession 370
Labourer 251
Private Service 64
Skilled Labourer 41
Business 4
Miscellaneous 13
TOTAL 9,183

12
 Implementation and Findings

IMPLEMENTATION AND FINDINGS

A team comprising local researchers and people from local NGOs was hired and provided
extensive field training. A total of five teams comprising one male and one female were used
to undertake the survey. While the possibility of using government staff and teachers was
also considered, an important constraint related to their availability, which could not have
been ensured over the six to eight months it took to complete the survey. At the field level,
NGOs, CCBs and Union Council Secretaries assisted in organising meetings with
communities and ensuring that people from all walks of life were represented. This also
served the purpose of building capacity at the Union Council level.

The preparatory work for the Perception Survey took almost four months. This included
planning, recruitment of field teams, development of questionnaires, pre-testing and revision
of the methodology and questionnaires, arranging meetings, and training of the teams. A Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
elected representatives of UC 21
further five months were taken for the field work phase. Meetings with different groups were
conducted at different times of the day, and sometimes at different locations. Meetings with
community members were frequently held in schools or colleges, while those with elected
representatives often took place in Union Council offices.

Figure 1: The process of the Citizen Perception Survey

Concept initiated
in the SPU

Strategic Decision
by the DCO
& the City District Nazim
to conduct the Survey

Defining Process
and Methodology
of the Survey

Review Amend

Pre-testing the Methodology

& the Questionnaire

Conducting the Sruvey

Analysis of the
Survey results

Sharing the results

with the DCO
& the City District Nazim
Decision by the DCO
& the City District Nazim
to Share the Survey results
with stakeholders
Sharing the results
with other stakeholders

13

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
female community members of UC 60
14
Implementation and Findings
Strict quality control was maintained by data supervisors, over the data collection and entry
process. The data entry and cleaning process took place simultaneously with data collection.
Following this, a further four months were taken to analyse and compile results. Overall, the
process took 14 months, from inception to the publication of the report.
Spatial Presentation of Findings
The task of presenting findings in a useful form was a complex one. The team spent
considerable time and effort on determining a mode of visual presentation, which would allow
policy makers to assess intra-district variations at a glance. Faisalabad had already
developed considerable experience of mapping information for planning purposes, and a
GIS system was under development. Using the base maps available, the team plotted
satisfaction levels for different services across the District on maps. Annex 1 (Figure A1-1)
provides an example, showing the satisfaction levels of citizens regarding the condition of
schools. To understand what may have been happening in areas of high dissatisfaction, the
team undertook further analysis using secondary data. Annex 1 (Figure A1-2) shows levels of
investment in school infrastructure across the District, mapped for comparison. Analysis and
overlaying the maps shows that where there was deep dissatisfaction, there was also
evidence of under-investment. In their analysis across all sectors surveyed, the team used
secondary data in conjunction with survey findings to deepen the understanding of the
situation, and help guide policy makers in their response to the survey findings.
The Findings
The findings of the survey are detailed in its report. As the findings emerged, it was becoming
evident that they presented a somewhat bleak picture of the state of service delivery in the
District, and highlighted systemic weaknesses which the CDGF could ill afford to ignore.
Across all services, with the one exception of rural health services which were being
managed through a partnership model, citizens were highly dissatisfied with the services
being offered by the District Government. In both the education and health sectors, this
dissatisfaction was being voiced by citizen's exiting public provision and choosing private
provision where it was available, frequently for reasons of quality. Those who could not afford
private provision were locked into public sector provision, due to its low cost, and suffered the
consequences of low quality and frequently inaccessible provision. The poor, therefore, were
being impacted most by the lack of or low quality services.
Citizen Perception Survey meeting with male community members of UC 202
 Implementation and Findings

The deterioration in physical infrastructure was a cause of great concern in all sectors, and it
was clear that investments were both poorly planned and inadequate. This was highlighted in
the water and sanitation sector, where system design could not cope with growing
populations, and deteriorating infrastructure was resulting in public health impacts.
Managerial issues such as under-staffing, staff absenteeism and attitudinal issues amongst
staff also came to the fore. With the exception of rural health provision, citizens felt that
services had deteriorated over the past five years.

Disturbingly, few citizens were aware of, or had confidence in the mechanisms for redress of
grievances and accountability which had been instituted through the devolution programme.
This was not surprising as frequently these mechanisms were not operational. Most citizens
relied on the Union Nazim to help them in times of need, and had little knowledge of how to
approach line departments themselves, or use other means to address their grievances. This
served to reinforce existing systems of power and patronage. Participation in local
development through CCBs was as yet embryonic, and many citizens were not aware of CCB
activities.

Overall, the findings reflected the extent of the problem that exists in the delivery of services to
the people of Faisalabad. However, there was a glimmer of hope as demonstrated in rural
health service delivery, where a well thought out partnership had resulted in improvements in
service delivery, as reflected in the generally higher levels of satisfaction.

Without losing any time, the team presented the preliminary findings to senior management,
and the DCO in turn did not hesitate in sharing the findings with the City District Nazim. A
corporate decision had to be taken on the course of action in the light of these negative
findings. This was the first true test of the Faisalabad's commitment to transparency,
accountability and citizen engagement. A snapshot of some findings are reflected in Table 5.

To Share or Not to Share?

How would a district government with responsibility for delivering quality services to its
citizens react to such negative findings on its own performance? Would the findings be
conveniently buried, as is frequently the case in the face of unpalatable and sensitive
information?

Sharing of the Citizen Perception Survey results with the TMAs and the District Departments

15
 Implementation and Findings

Table 5: A summary of some key findings (percentages expressed of those surveyed)

CCBs and Redressal

Category Education Health Water and Sanitation
Mechanisms
95% dissatisfied with 60% dissatisfied with 1% of urban 15% of rural and 13% of

Satisfaction with the public

services. In urban services. 38% satisfied respondents and 27% urban women aware of

services and their usage

areas only 28% using by NGO managed of rural respondents CCBs
government schools. In facilities (rural). 3% satisfied with water 46% of rural and 42% of
rural areas 52% using satisfied with supply. urban men aware of
public schools. government managed 7% satisfied with solid CCBs
facilities (urban). waste services (urban). 84% of rural and 89% of
In urban areas only 7% 4% satisfied with urban ERs aware of
use government sewerage and drainage CCBs.
facilities. In rural areas services.
37% use public
facilities.

5% of rural women, 6% 3% of urban women, 2% of urban women, 1% of women, 5% of

of men and 14% of ERs 21% of men and 16%of 2% of men and 13% of men, and 11% of ERs
aware of education ER s aware of health ERs aware of municipal aware of Insaaf
monitoring committees. monitoring committees. services monitoring committees (public
committees. safety) in urban areas
0% of women, 3% of
men and 10% of ERs
Citizen awareness

aware of Insaaf
committees in rural
areas.

3% of urban women, 1% of urban women, Only 10% of rural and

16% of men aware of 3% of men and 4% of 8% of urban
school councils ERs aware of how to respondents felt CCBs
access department. were an appropriate
3% of rural women, vehicle for local
10% of men and 31% of development.
ERs aware of how to
access department.

6% of urban women, 5% of rural women, 9% 46% of urban women,

12% of men, 14% of of men and 25% of ERS 54% of men and 70% of
ERs complained complained through ERs complained about
through official official channels. water supply services
channels. through official
channels. 95% got no
response. 4% had the
issue resolved.
96% of urban 86% got no response to 34% of urban women,
Redressal of complaints

complainants got no complaints. 15% had 52% of men and 66% of

response to complaints. their issue resolved. ERs complained about
3% had their issue Solid Waste services.
resolved. 90% got no response.
10% had the issue
resolved.

58% complained about

sewerage and drainage
in urban areas and 41%
in rural areas.
90% got no response in
rural areas and 92% got
no response in urban
areas. 8% had the issue
resolved in both urban
and rural areas.

16
 Implementation and Findings

At this stage, the CDGF demonstrated remarkable perspicacity. Instead of hiding or even
sanitising the findings, the City District Nazim and the DCO decided that the information must
be shared, and shared widely. It was decided that there should be no watering down of the
findings; this would be a trigger to jolt line departments and elected representatives into
action. However, before the information was to be shared, it was agreed that some 'ground-
truthing' was needed.

As described earlier, to contextualise the findings, the team reviewed secondary data on
investments and performance. This provided a useful backdrop to the findings, and in fact
further demonstrated that where citizens were vocal in their complaints, investments had ‘One does not want to
often been inadequate. publicly admit it, but I am
ashamed to say this is the
As a first step, a series of dissemination workshops were arranged with line departments. whole truth about the state
These were high profile meetings, led by the EDO Finance and Planning. Overall, the of our services'.
Departmental staff
response from the line departments was that of genuine dismay, but acceptance of the
validity of the findings. Line departments were asked to reflect on the results and consider
action plans to address some of the key concerns.

Findings were also shared with civil society (NGOs and CCB networks), in tandem with the
public consultations on budgetary allocations. This was, to some extent, useful in that
participants could relate key areas of need to budgetary decisions being taken. The process
of budgetary consultation is as yet nascent, and this proved to be a helpful starting point, with
lessons for improving the process in future rounds. It was hoped that the organisations invited
would disseminate findings further to their wider network, and they to their members and the
wider community. Thus the audience reached would be far larger than the limited number of
organisations invited to the meetings.

Faisalabad has been innovative in developing ways of communicating with its citizens; one
tool, street theatre, has been particularly popular. The CDGF also used the street theatre
platform to communicate the findings of the Citizen Perception Survey with citizens across
the District.

While the findings were meant to be shared more widely with elected representatives (local
councillors, MNAs and MPAs), especially those whose constituencies were identified as
problematic through the survey, this process was limited due to certain issues. These
included timing and the availability of elected representatives, but also a certain hesitancy
which emerged at this stage on the part of the CDGF executive.

While the findings are publicly available, some senior managers in the CDGF began to
question the extent to which local elected representatives would react constructively to the
findings. Thus, while the process of actively sharing findings with elected representatives was
initiated, it was limited to MNAs and MPAs, rather than engaging with local councillors. Annex Sharing of the Citizen Perception Survey
results
2 (Table A2-1) presents the list of consultation meetings held with line departments, elected
representatives and civil society for dissemination of the findings.

Finally, the experience and findings were shared at the provincial level, with line departments
and key decision-makers, and with other districts who may wish to learn from the experience.
The survey report was also distributed at the Faisalabad Reforms Seminar attended by
practitioners and policy makers from around the country. The report is available on the CDGF
website (www.faisalabad.gov.pk).

17

‘This is our very own
initiative. It has created
shock-waves up to the
Provincial Government, that
we have undertaken such a
vast and self-critical
exercise. Some have
questioned our methods, but
I say that the method is
immaterial; what is
important is that we now
have basic information on
what our citizens think and
our areas of weakness. This
has been an exercise for our
own benefit.’
DCO,
City District Government
Faisalabad
Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
female community members of UC 60
18
Impact
IMPACT
The overarching and most important impact is that the City District Government has taken a
significant and unprecedented step in promoting transparency and accountability, and
providing space to its citizens for expressing their concerns and demands. Citizens indicated
that this was the first time they had an opportunity to express their views and communicate
their priorities.
Both the public and the government thus benefit from the process; the former in finding a
channel for voicing views and grievances, and the latter in having baseline information on
how effectively their efforts are translating into frontline service delivery. This is a first step in
building a relationship of mutual trust and confidence, between citizen and state.
The high level of ownership of the survey by the CDGF has leveraged concrete follow-on
actions based on the findings. Specific steps have been taken to ensure that investments are
targeted where levels of dissatisfaction were deepest, and where secondary analysis
confirmed under-investment.
Ÿ Almost 90 percent of the 55 Million rupee investment made by the Punjab Devolved
Social Services Programme (PDSSP) on health service outlets has been
concentrated in the areas where people indicated a strong need for investments in
health infrastructure.
Ÿ The Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP), the organisation responsible for the
delivery of rural health services, has also taken action on the issues identified in the
survey, for example in the allocation of more doctors, especially women, greater
regularity in the attendance of health professionals, and the improved quality and
availability of medicines.
Ÿ CDGF has funds available from Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme
(PESRP) and Rs. 104 Million have been allocated to the National Logistics Cell
(NLC) to invest in schools where people identified the greatest need for
infrastructural investments.
Departments have been instructed to address the issues identified in the survey through
Action Plans, with an emphasis on improving the operation and maintenance of infrastructure
that has deteriorated.
The survey confirmed to the CDGF the validity of their concern that citizens needed clear and
widely publicised channels for communicating their grievances to the District Government.
Based on the learning from a study tour, the CDGF had introduced another innovation- the
'Customer Complaint and Call Centre', where citizens could call in using a toll free number.
Citizens are guaranteed a response within a certain time-frame even if their issue cannot be
resolved. At the same time, the CDGF is delivering a comprehensive training programme for
elected representatives of the Union Councils, on the role of Monitoring Committees and
CCBs- both areas where the survey found knowledge to be lacking.
This will reinforce mechanisms for accountability and participation which are central to the
success of the devolution programme. While these outcomes are not a direct result of the
Citizen Perception Survey, the survey confirmed to the CDGF that these were indeed areas
where specific focus was required.
 Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY
The Citizen Perception Survey was designed and implemented for the CDGF by its 'I am so happy that someone
specialists, drawing on support from the SDLGF project. However, a considerable portion of from government is asking
the effort (time and resources) went into the design of the methodology, which is now us about the kind of services
available for those who wish to repeat or replicate the process. we receive. This is the first
time this has happened'. I
am really thankful to the
The fundamental questions in relation to sustainability are; were the findings useful to District district government for
Government, and did citizens perceive any benefit from the process? It is evident that there giving us this opportunity to
was a deep sense of ownership of the survey at the senior-most levels of the CDGF, and this express our views and make
translated into clear instructions to employees to make full use of the findings. our demands known'.
Citizen
In the light of strong political will and ownership of the instrument, and directives from senior
policy makers, the survey played an influencing role on sector allocations in the critical
sectors such as education and health. As such, it is viewed as an extremely useful exercise by
the Finance and Planning department. The Department feels that it has provided a sound
basis for allowing it to make rational budgetary choices, whereas in the past they felt that
many decisions were ad hoc.

'The survey is of critical importance and value for the District Government, but it also has a real value for citizens.
Such exercises create awareness in the citizens and communities of their rights. On the other hand, if government
takes actions on the survey's results, it will help in building the confidence of the communities with regards to public
services. If on the other hand the Survey is conducted again without any actions having been taken or
improvements in service delivery, it will only anger communities, and will not do the government's reputation any
good'.
District Manager Faisalabad, Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP)- Rural health sector provider

Now that a baseline is established, it is likely that the CDGF will want to update the information
at a later point to establish whether there have been improvements in performance. With a
citizen engagement process in motion, it would be unlikely that Faisalabad could withdraw
consultative initiatives that have been established, without attracting comments from
observers; public scrutiny can carry its own momentum.

While citizens have valued the process of being consulted, their interest in the process will
only be sustained where it is clear to them that concrete actions have resulted from the time
they gave to provide their views. As the previous section indicates, concrete actions have
indeed been taken; however, it will not necessarily be apparent to citizens that these resulted
from the survey. If the CDGF embarks on a clear communication process with civil society
organisations (and through them, citizens), and the media, on the impact of the survey, it is
likely that this will also create a pressure group/ lobby to sustain the initiative.

There remains the issue of technical and financial capacity to undertake such a survey in the
future. If the CDGF is indeed committed to the process, financial resources should not be an
insurmountable issue. The survey was carried out with local teams, at a reasonable cost. Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
male community members of UC 287
With a methodology developed, repeat exercises should be less intensive and could be
carried out over a shorter time-frame. However, the process was still intensive and time-
consuming, and a more viable modality would be to out-source the survey to an independent
third party, whether an NGO or a market research organisation.

19

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
elected representatives of UC 21
20
Opportunities and Challenges
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Given the scale and complexity of such a major survey, it would not have been possible
without certain enabling factors. It is also intuitive that many challenges were encountered
during the course of the survey. Some of these opportunities and detracting factors are
described in this section
Opportunities
High Level Support and Ownership
The exercise would not have been possible in the absence of the support of the District
administration and political leadership at the highest level. Not only did the District Nazim and
DCO take a personal interest in the whole process, but they made it clear to senior and mid-
level staff, that the exercise was to be taken seriously. With the DCO 'championing' the
process, and the Nazim providing an umbrella of political support, the elements for an
effective process were in place, Once findings emerged, the political will, ownership and pro-
active attitude of senior management ensured that these were translated into direct impacts,
for example in targeting budgetary allocations.
Availability of Timely and Flexible Resources and Support
While the exercise fit into the CDGF's on-going agenda in relation to citizen engagement, the
trigger for the exercise came through the ideas generated by the CDGF's specialists, and the
support of DFID's SDLGF. The team had thoroughly reviewed best practice in relation to
public opinion surveys, but was also able to demonstrate the flexibility to adapt methods to
the needs of the CDGF.
Momentum from on-going Processes
The Perception Survey did not emerge from a vacuum. There was an on-going and evolving
process of citizen engagement, and experimentation with different modes of consultation and
participation which formed a prelude to the exercise. The momentum from this agenda,
enshrined in the District's vision and mission statements, framed the circumstances in which
the survey was conceived. Similarly, the lack of resistance by line departments was in part
due to their being accustomed to a new 'performance oriented' culture, as a result of the on-
going reform process. This acceptance was also helped by the qualitative nature of the
survey and presentation of findings, where the rationale for dissatisfaction was clearly
articulated by citizens.
Challenges
Methodological and Logistical Complexities
It was difficult to devise an instrument which could be deployed across all 289 Union
Councils, and which presented results in a quantitative as well as qualitative form. The option
of a household survey was initially considered, but soon discarded due to the difficulties of
establishing a sampling frame and the unwieldy scale of a representative exercise at the sub-
district level. The team agreed that it would be useful to gain a qualitative sense of why people
felt a certain way about a service. To appease hard-nosed policy-makers, however, a voting
technique was established, which provided quantitative feedback. This was later converted
 Opportunities and Challenges

to degrees of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the analysis. While the methods were not
entirely orthodox, they presented a useful compromise and adaptation to suit local
requirements and priorities.

Local NGOs, CCBs and Union Council Secretaries assisted in organising the focus groups,
but with no financial incentives to attend, this proved to be a time-consuming and difficult task.
To encourage women to attend, teachers, health workers and other professionals also
helped in the mobilisation effort. It was difficult to motivate women to travel to meetings given
the socio-cultural context, and at times, transportation had to be provided to ensure that
women did indeed attend meetings.

Breakdown of Trust between Citizens and the State

Survey findings indicate that there are many weaknesses in the provision of service delivery
by CDFG to its citizens. Participants in meetings were sceptical of any change coming about,
and reluctant to participate fully. Many stated that they had been consulted through numerous
surveys, and had yet to see results. People relied on personal relationships, and political
patronage to resolve issues, and not on the government. It took a concerted effort on the
team's behalf to convince people to share their views openly, and to see the initiative as a first
step by a District Government committed to engaging with its citizens and bringing about real
change.

Acceptance of Methodology and Results

Some have questioned the methodology used by the survey and hence the results. For the
CDGF the precise methodology was less important than the fact that they now have a sense
of the manifold issues facing their district, and have been able to home in areas where there
are severe issues and under-investment. A combination of secondary data and the findings
from the survey has helped in lending some credibility to the results, in the eyes of those who
were initially sceptical. For the District, this is a practical exercise, intended to highlight broad
issues. More detailed poverty targeting work is being developed by the District, using its GIS
system, but is yet at an early stage.

Citizen Perception Survey meeting with male community members of UC 145

21

The mindset of the District
Government did not change
overnight. This has been a
gradual process over the
past few years, nurtured by
the presence of specialist
resources to help us think
'out of the box'. As a result
we now believe we should be
more responsive and
accountable to citizens'.
EDO, Finance and Planning,
CDGF
22
Lessons and Reflections
LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS
The experience of undertaking such an extensive district wide survey, a path-breaking one in
many ways, has yielded many lessons which may be helpful to those local governments who
may want to consider similar methods for ascertaining the views of their citizens. Some of the
key lessons are outlined below.
Political Context
Political-administrative Nexus is Critical to Success
Perhaps the most important lesson which can be gleaned from the experience is that where
there is a strong, mutually supportive and transparent relationship between the political and
executive arms of a local government, outcomes can be optimised. The objectives of the City
District Nazim, to reach out to his constituents, and the DCO, to improve planning, targeting
and overall performance in delivery of services to citizens, converged, which gave impetus to
the whole process. Importantly, the Nazim and the DCO worked closely together, and the
DCO kept the Nazim fully apprised at all stages. Thus, by the time the findings of the survey
were discovered to be critical, there was so much joint ownership of the process that both
Nazim and DCO were open to discussing and sharing the results widely.
The CDGF took a brave step in sharing what could be inflammatory material with a broad
range of stakeholders; but this was in itself enabled by the sense of ownership that had been
built, and the conviction that it was correct to open oneself up to feedback from constituents.
The corporate team openly admit that none of this would have been possible without the
political will and full support of the District Nazim, and this support would not have been
forthcoming without the efforts of the DCO to be open and flexible in accommodating the
Nazim's political agenda (to ensure a full coverage district wide survey). With two champions,
the process was well supported and protected.
Broader Engagement with Elected Representatives could have Ensured Better
Outcomes
The close collaboration between the political head of the District and the corporate
management has been discussed. Yet, the body politic extends beyond this, and evidence
indicates that it is local councillors and politicians who are most accessible to citizens.
Elected representatives formed part of the focus group discussions, in recognition of their
important role. However, while results from the survey were discussed with a very small
group of provincial and national politicians, local councillors were not engaged fully in the
dissemination process (though findings are publicly accessible). There were a number of
reasons for this, but learning indicates that it is important to engage with local level politicians,
who are involved in service delivery and who engage with citizens on a daily basis.
Engaging with the wider body of politicians would have ensured more of a debate and
enhanced the process of departmental accountability. It would perhaps also have revitalised
the Monitoring Committees required by the LGO to overlook public services and that remain,
for the main part, ineffective.
 Lessons and Reflections

Technical Considerations
Well-placed, Flexible and Timely Technical Support Enables Innovation

There is general agreement that the specialists and resources available to the CDGF have
been critical in both catalysing and supporting the reform programme. While Faisalabad had
a vision, it took its policy think-tank to help it to generate ideas and bring them to life.

In this, the flexibility of the SDLGF and the donor, DFID, has also been important; had DFID
been rigid in its approach, much of the innovation would not have been possible. All of this
highlights the need for technical assistance to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the
local government (in this case).

Well Presented Findings will be Optimally Used

The spatial mapping of levels of satisfaction, and thereafter of secondary information related
to investments, presented the findings in an accessible manner to policy makers. It was
relatively easy for decision-makers to home in on geographical areas where issues seemed
most prevalent, and to target resources accordingly.

Stakeholders should be Engaged with at the Design Phase

While the development of the Citizen Perception Survey process took place through a closely
knit relationship and dialogue between the CDGF senior management and the District Nazim,
the departments themselves were not involved at the early stages, and nor were civil society
organisations (though some assisted at the local level with the survey itself).

In hindsight, a better structured consultative process would have engaged with key
stakeholders at an early stage, rather than at the point where findings are being presented.
This would ensure 'buy-in' from a broader group of stakeholders, and also help to refine the
methodology at an early stage.

Replication will Require Consideration of Scale and Detailed Documentation of

Methodology

At the behest of the political leadership, the Citizen Perception Survey was carried out on an Citizen Perception Survey meeting with
unprecedented district wide scale, covering all Union Councils. The scale itself created female community members of UC 98
enormous complexities in methodology and logistics, even given the support of the SLDGF.

While the methodology has now been developed, replication of the effort is not likely to be
feasible at this scale. A repetition of the exercise in Faisalabad, as well as replication in other
districts, would need to consider a sample-based exercise, which would be smaller scale, yet
provide intra-district comparisons for decision-making.

Also, while the Survey report outlines the broad methodology, a far more detailed 'tool-kit' will
be required to allow replication of the exercise. This would include details of the design phase,
questionnaires, community mobilisation techniques, data entry and analysis, mapping of
results, presentation and dissemination methods. Without this, the replication of the exercise
could be compromised.

23
 Lessons and Reflections

Dissemination and Outcomes

A Communication Campaign for Findings is Essential

While the survey has had some dissemination, there was a need for it to be disseminated on a
far wider scale; through the media, public meetings, in the District Council, through Union
Council meetings and through all other means possible. It is useful that it is publicly available
on the CDGF's website www.faisalabad.gov.pk (Figure 2), but a more active process of
sharing and discussing findings would make it accessible to a wider audience, many of whom
may not be aware of its existence. It should have provided the platform for government
departments to engage in a meaningful dialogue with elected representatives and citizens
around critical issues which affect the every day lives of citizens and the poor in particular.

The dissemination effort was rushed, due to the heavy workload of officials and other
pressing political considerations. Importantly, the media was not involved to help disseminate
findings on a much larger scale. Citizens, for the main part, therefore have had limited
exposure to the survey findings, which limits the utility of the Survey as a social accountability
tool. One of the key issues marring the relationship between government and citizens is the
lack of or inappropriate communication. This has been an area of great focus for the CDGF,
and many innovative initiatives have resulted (e.g. the street theatre programme).

In the case of an important exercise such as a Citizen Perception Survey, it is essential that
citizens are informed, not only of findings, but of the actions that have been taken to address
identified issues. This will help to build a credible relationship between the local government
and citizens. In this, it is important to work with both civil society organisations and the media.
The survey findings were shared with departments and some civil society groups, with
positive feedback. However, a broader and more structured dissemination process would be
instrumental in ensuring that any follow-up work is supported by a larger constituency.

Findings Need to be Communicated in the Appropriate Language and Medium

Sharing of the Citizen Perception Survey
results with the MNA
The dissemination process to varied audiences was to some extent tailored to convey the
messages from the Perception Survey in the most appropriate form. Formal presentations
were used for departmental staff, while street theatre was used to good effect in low-income
and rural areas. The process could have been further refined, as formal presentations were
well formulated and useful for departmental staff. However, they were also used for local
NGOs and CCBs, some of whom found it difficult to absorb the messages. Interactive
sessions or a 'town-hall' setting would have been useful in some instances, with the
participation of elected representatives and discussion around the political implications and
what of the findings meant for citizens.

Figure 2: Placing the report of the Survey on CDGF’s website (www.faisalabad.gov.pk)

CITY DISTRICT GOVERNMENT FAISALABAD

Strategic Policy Unit

SELECTED SERVICES IN FAISALABAD

PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES
A CITIZEN FOCUS INITIATIVE

June 2007

24
 Lessons and Reflections

Feedback Loops are Critical

While there was dissemination of the findings, there has been little reaction or feedback from
civil society. The exercise would have been more effective had feedback loops been provided
to civil society. Even where citizens may be aware of findings, the process of social
accountability requires that they be provided appropriate channels to demand accountability
of the public sector and elected representatives. The experience of citizen's as the Survey
indicates, is that using formal channels of complaint has not worked in the past. A new
process has to be put in motion by employing effective mechanisms for civil society to be able
to access public servants and demand accountability of them, and the process has to be
nurtured to build confidence in the public.

Some of the mechanisms which have been put in place by the devolution programme, in
particular the Monitoring Committees and CCBs, could play a role, yet Monitoring
Committees have either not been formed or remain ineffective and CCBs lack the capacity to
do so. It would have been useful to activate mechanisms of feedback and engage in a
dialogue with citizens on the implications of the findings and the roles of both government and
citizens in resolving issues.

Responsiveness will Build Confidence and Trust

A survey of this kind will only be credible if concrete actions are taken in response to its
findings. Channelling citizen voice is one step, but the institutions of the state must respond
to concerns and issues raised. Faisalabad demonstrated its commitment to the process by
initiating a process for departments to take account of the findings in their operations, and by
using the findings to help target investments (in conjunction with other tools). A structured
process of follow-up and monitoring is important in this regard, as are the communication
loops mentioned above.

It is important that the government's response to survey findings is also communicated to

citizens, whether through civil society organisations or through the media. This will ensure the
credibility of the process, and encourage greater confidence in the government machinery.

Sharing of the Citizen Perception Survey results with the NGOs and CCBs

25
 Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
The CDGF has embarked on a credible programme of reform, which places the citizen at its
centre. With its commitments to delivering high quality services and ensuring responsiveness
to its citizens embodied in its vision and mission statements, the CDGF has sought to
innovate in its approaches to citizen engagement. Starting with the process of information
sharing and standard consultation, the CDGF has progressively moved along the spectrum
of public involvement, and is now attempting to engage in more creative ways with citizens.
The Citizen Perception Survey has been an important step in this journey.

Traversing uncharted territory, the CDGF chose, in the interests of political expediency, to
ascertain the views of its citizens on a district-wide scale. While the findings of the survey itself
were highly critical of the performance of public sector service delivery, its success lay in the
symbiotic relationship it highlighted between the political and executive arms of the District,
with both working towards mutually agreed and synergistic outcomes.

It is this relationship, placed in the context of an on-going process of institutional change that
drove the acceptability of an exercise which in reality was highly critical of its proponents. The
CDGF has been a beacon in this regard, leading the way for other districts to follow suit. That
other districts have taken interest in the findings and process, is important. By choosing to
publicly share critical findings, CDGF has remained true to its core values as articulated in its
Corporate Plan:

'Honesty, Openness and Accountability: We are committed to honest, open and accountable
local district government and we will try to ensure that these qualities are apparent in all our
actions at all times.’

and the guiding principle:

'To place citizens at the centre of service delivery processes through better targeted planning;
participatory decision-making; more effective service delivery; more accountable for results.'

Importantly, the CDGF demonstrated responsiveness, by taking action on the basis of

findings. Resources were directed where issues were pronounced and under investment
apparent and departments were asked to take findings into account when strategies and
action plans were prepared. The Survey had, to some extent, enhanced internal
accountabilities. The cultural shifts towards a more transparent, accountable and responsive
District had already been set in motion, though there is some way to go before real change is
embedded.

The Survey findings themselves starkly pointed to the extent of problems that exist in service
delivery by CDGF’s departments. There was little confidence in the state's mechanisms to
resolve grievances, the few citizens who attempted this course had little response. This left
most citizens to the mercies of traditional systems of power and patronage. Few citizens had
been consulted in this manner on their views on public services, and suspicion still tainted the
dialogue. Yet, people attended meetings and expressed their views.

The Perception Survey is an important tool which will help the District in channelling citizen
'voice', and building an evidence-base which will help to target investments better to achieve
poverty reduction goals.

26
 Conclusions

However, there are some challenges which remain. Refinement is required in the process
and further work needs to be done before it can truly be an effective tool for channelling voice
and enhancing accountability. Findings indicate that the dissemination process requires
broadening and new approaches. There are many citizens and elected representatives who
are unaware of the findings of the survey, and while findings have been shared with some
stakeholders, there has been little opportunity for debate and dialogue between service
providers, government, elected representatives and users of services.

At present, civil society does not have a clear forum through which to interface with
government on the findings (although there are some platforms that have been developed
through the reform process, such as the District Coordination Council of NGOs). Ordinary
citizens who would wish to add their views or demand a response from government, do not
have a channel to go through. This channel could be the new Citizen Call Centre, Monitoring
Committees, CCBs or elected representatives. However, the mechanisms have to be
publicised and made effective.

The process of building confidence and trust between citizens and government is a
particularly challenging one, and one that has to be nurtured with care. While the CDGF has
been initially responsive, further action and follow up is needed to ensure that departments
are taking action and are opening themselves up to citizens. There is evidence to indicate that
while accepting of their failings, departmental staff remain resistant to opening themselves up
to be more transparent, participatory and accountable. A cultural change needs to be
effected, and this can only happen with constant attention to the issue over time. Monitoring
Committees also need to be activated to play their role in accountability.

With a methodology now developed, repeating the survey in Faisalabad, or replicating it in

other districts, should not be problematic. It is recommended that a tool kit with the details on
how to undertake the replication should be developed over the next few years or earlier. In the
context of Faisalabad, there is evidence to indicate that the utility of the findings in guiding the
allocation of scarce resources may already have created a lobby for the repetition of the
survey.

A continued focus on dissemination, public debate and government action is now required to
ensure that the process is mainstreamed. The real challenge for the District is to ensure the
credibility of the process not just by taking remedial actions, but also by communicating
findings and responsive measures actively to key stakeholders and citizens, and providing
them with the right channels to demand accountability of their public service delivery
mechanisms.

27
 Annex 1

Annex 1

Figure A1-1: Satisfaction levels of citizens regarding condition of school buildings: across
the District

179 191 178

196
192 200
193

7
LAYALLPUR TOWN 190 199

19
189 194 201

198 202
186 195

5
188

20
27

8
206 203

20
275 6 18
27 7 20
7 215
280 7 204 177

20
21 219
0 214 6

9
9
1
185 21

27

8
28

27
274
27 3 2 85 22
180
2 83 28 4
184 213 21
8
4 222
3 Chak Jhumra
22

2 8 87
181 230
272 286
Town

2
289 183 220

8
JINNAH TOWN

9
271 267 22 221
266 5 26
264

23 2
270 4 228
26 263 3 231
26 268 23 234 23 225
5

N
9 226

W
241

236

TO
262 227
242

A
240

IN
1
26

AD
23 7
260

9
23
243

M
182 9 24
25

5
7
IQ

8
25 6 25 4

24
24

23
6
BA

3 24248

7
248
L

City 25 8
25
TO

251 250
W

255 254 25 249

24 9
N

Layallpur
Town
Jaranwala
Town

Jinnah Town

Iqbal Town

Madina
Town

Sammundari
Town

L E G E N D
Degree of dissatisfaction:
Category Percentage of Number of
respondents who UCs in
were dissatisfied each band
in each UC for the
district

Not raised as a major issue(0%) UCs=9

Tandlianwala Dissatisfied (1% - 20%) UCs=22
Town Fairly dissatisfied (21% - 40%) UCs=12
Very dissatisfied (41% - 60%) UCs=58
Extremely dissatisfied (61% - 80%) UCs=32
Totally dissatisfied (81% - 100%) UCs=148
Perception that no schools exist in Union Council UCs=8

Note: Total=289

Of those areas, where this issue was raised as a priority, the percentage of Total number of schools in each Union Council
respondents who felt that it was a key concern was noted. These percentages as per Government information
have been distributed into bands corresponding to a 'dissatisfaction' scale. The
numbers of Union Councils in each band are also noted on the right. 1 2 4 8 16 29
3- 5- 9- -
17

28
 Annex 1

Figure A1-2: Levels of investment in school infrastructure through City District

Government funding (2004-06): across the District
179 191 178

196
192 200
193

7
LAYALLPUR TOWN 190 199

19
189 194 201

198 202
186 195

5
188

20
27 8
206 203
20
275 6 18
27 7 20
7 215
280 7 204 177
20

21 219
0 214 6
9
9
1

185 21
27

8
28

27

274
180 27 3 2 85 22
283 28 4
184 213 21
8
4 222
3 Chak Jhumra
22
2 8 87

181 230
272 286
Town
2

289 183 220

8
JINNAH TOWN

9
271 267 22 221
266 5 26
264
2 32

270 4 228
26 263 3 231
26 268 23 234 23 225
5

N
9 226

W
241
236

26 2 TO
242 227
A
240
IN
1
26

AD
23 7

260
9
23

243
M

18
1822 9 24
25
5
7
IQ

25 6 25 4
24
24

23

6
BA

3 242
7

48
L

City
25

2 58
TO

251 250
W

255 254 25 249

N

Layallpur
182

Town
Jaranwala
Town

Jinnah Town

Iqbal Town

Madina
Town

Sammundari
Town

L E G E N D
Amount in millions Number of
(Pak. Rs.) UCs in
each band

No expenditure UCs=191
0.01 - 1.00 UCs=68
1.01 - 2.00 UCs=15
2.01 - 3.00 UCs=5
Tandlianwala
3.01 - 4.00 UCs=1
Town
4.01 - 8.00 UCs=3
5.01 - 16.00 UCs=3
6.01 - 30.00 UCs=2
More than 30 million Rs. UCs=1
Total=289

Total number of schools in each Union

Council as per Government information

8
1 2 4 5- 16 29
3- 9- -
17

29
 Annex 2

Annex 2:

Table A2-1: Meetings for dissemination of findings of Citizen Perception Survey

Sr. Department/Organisation Date of the meeting
No.

1 Health deperment 9 thApril 2007

2 Education department 10 th April 2007
3 -
NGOs ( Al-Janat, Shining star, Women Shelter organisation, Anjuman Rafa-e-ama,
12 th April 2007
Human Guides, Al-Khair Welfare Society, Shadow, The hope)
4 Community Development department 13 th April 2007
5 CCBs (Welfare group, Panah, Zior, Karakaram, Rehnuma-e-nojawan,
Baghicha-e-itfaal, Clock tower, New youth, ldren, village, Al-Azeem, 13 th April 2007
Al-Bashir, Madina, Al-meezen, Old Citizen, Shamas, Anjuman Tarqee dehaat
6 WASA 13 th April 2007
7 Finance & Planning and Agriculture department 16 th april 2007
8 TMAs (TMOs, and tehsil officer Planning & Coordination and TO Infrastructure &
Services) 18 th April 2007

9 PHED (executive engineer, sub - director) 18 th April 2007

10 PCWSSP (Prjoect d irector and deputy project director) 18 th April 2007
11 MNAs 30 th May 2007
12 MPAs 31 st May 2007

30
 Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter. ODPM/ Home
Office, 2005
East Asia Decentralises: Making Local Government Work. The World Bank, 2005
CCBs are grass-roots citizens' groups who are expected to act as partners to government in
developmental activities
Committees created to promote the amicable settlement of disputes
Devolution in Pakistan: Overview of the ADB, DFID, World Bank Study, July 2004
Social Audit of Government and Delivery of Public Services, 2004-2005. CIET, 2005.
Selected Services in Faisalabad; Perceptions and Realities. CDGF/SPU, 2007

31
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

S.M. Khatib Alam - Project Manager and Overall Team Leader

Khatib Alam is an international management consultant with considerable experience of

leading large and diverse teams on multi-disciplinary, complex and challenging projects
around the world. He has a particular expertise in strategic management, organisational
change management, institutional strengthening, urban development and corporate
social investment. Since 2004, he has been the Overall International Team Leader on
the innovative DFID funded SDLGF project.

Mehreen Hosain - Development Consultant

Mehreen Hosain is a policy analyst with a multidisciplinary background in environmental

management and social development. Over the past two decades she has worked for
international and bilateral agencies, central and local governments, and the NGO sector
across Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Her expertise includes
social policy analysis, institutional development, decentralization and local government
reform, monitoring and evaluation and environmental management. She has been
involved with the Support to SDLGF project over the past four years, where she has
supported the work on poverty analysis and citizen engagement.

Sumara Khan - Research Analyst

Sumara Khan has been working with the SDLGF project since 2004 as a Research
Analyst. During her time with the City District Government Faisalabad, she has
contributed extensively to the Project's research portfolio. Sumara led the district-wide
“Citizen Perception Survey” focusing on critical social sector services, the first initiative
of its kind carried out on a district wide scale in Pakistan. Her main areas of interest are
social development, local government and social sector reform.
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Faisalabad, Pakistan

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