IPF Fellowship: Interim Activity Report

No.

Activity

Timeframe

Status

1

Preparatory Work

1.1

Informal/formal discussions on proposal with officials/colleagues/experts

1st & 2nd months

Extensive discussions, both formal and informal, were held with members of civil society and government officials to seek their views about the project. In total, the consulted people included 15 officials and 21 civil society activists/ active members of communities.

1.2

Feedback from supervisor/ fellows

3rd month

It was primarily received during the meeting held at Bhurban.

1.3

Proposal revised

3rd month

In the light of discussions with members of civil society/communities and government officials, as well as the feedback received during the Bhurban meeting, it was felt that there was no need to revise the proposal in any significant way. The proposal, however, needed to have a clear focus and, for that purpose, I decided to focus on the ministry of education, although I continued to interact with officials from other ministries as well in order to develop an in-depth understanding of the culture and attitudes pervasive in the government. This, I thought, would allow me to place the attitudes and practices prevalent in the ministry of education within the broader framework of the culture of governance in Pakistan. This would make the policy recommendations generally relevant too (i.e. across ministries), although most of the empirical data would be from the ministry of education.

2

Literature Review

2.1

Collection and review of secondary literature

2nd to 4^th months

Almost all the literature available in Pakistan, including through websites, has been collected and reviewed. I am currently working on the bibliography, which will be shared soon. This could serve as a useful tool in itself for advocacy and for other researchers working on the topic. This would, however, remain a dynamic document, which would be continuously updated, as and when more literature becomes available and is reviewed.

2.2

Relevant notes

2nd to 4th months

Relevant notes have been taken, although in most cases, these are not available as a separate document. Instead, for the sake of efficiency, these are printed and cross-references on the literature reviewed.

2.3

Bibliography

4th month

As mentioned above, it is being prepared and will soon be finalized –hopefully before the end of September. A basic draft exists but it needs to be updated.

2.4

Table of contents for policy/research paper

4th month

Table of contents for the policy paper as well as for research paper has been prepared. Both are attached with this report.

3

Primary Data Collection and Analysis

3.1

Identification of relevant offices and officers

4th month

A list has been prepared, although it needed to be continuously reviewed and amended in the light of new information leading to identification of potentially more relevant officials or the unavailability/ unwillingness of already identified officials to cooperate. Total number of officers on the list so far is 16.

3.2

Establishment of contacts

4th & 5^th months

Most of the officials identified have been contacted / approached for data or request of interviews.

3.3

Collection and review of official documents, archival data etc.

4th & 5^th months

Most of the required documents have been collected. However, I am still pursuing concerned officials – just in case, there exist further useful data/ documents.

3.4

Identification of officers for interviews

4th month

16 officers have been identified, although the list remains a dynamic one.

3.5

Interviews of officers

5th month

12 officers have so far been interviewed.

3.6

Identification of CSOs/staff for interviews

4th month

12 members of CSOs have been identified for interviews.

3.7

Interviews of CSO staff

4th & 5^th months

6 interviews have been conducted so far.

3.8

Identification of legislators for interviews

5th month

6 legislators have been identified for interviews.

3.9

Interviews of legislators

6th month

No interview conducted yet, but I am now following up on this.

4

Reporting

4.1

Activity report + Research outline

6th month

Under preparation.

4.2

Interim report

6th month

Under preparation.

5

Data Collection on Int. Best Practices/ Int. Linkages

5.1

Identification of institutes/ organizations/ individuals to visit abroad

4th & 5^th months

Some institutes/ organizations have already been identified. These include Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi;  Parivartan, New Delhi; MKSS, Jaipur, India; Article 19, UK; Campaign for Freedom of Information, UK; and Bank Information Centre (BIC), Washington. More will be identified in due course.

5.2

Visit to India for contacts/data collection

6th month

It is currently being planned.

5.3

Visit to UK for contacts/ data collection

8th months

It is currently being planned.

5.4

Visit to North/Eastern Europe for contacts/ data collection

8th months

It is currently being planned.

6

Preparation of Policy Paper

6.1

First draft prepared

8th month

6.2

First draft shared with advisors/ others for feedback

9th & 10^th months

6.3

Talks given/ organized to share tentative findings and obtain feedback

10th month

6.4

Draft finalized & posted on website

11th month

6.5

Lay-out and designing of policy paper

11th month

6.6

Policy paper published

12th month

7

Research Papers

7.1

Draft paper

7th to 10^th months

7.2

Draft shared with advisors/others foe feedback

10th & 11^th months

7.3

Draft finalized

11th month

7.4

Finalized paper submitted

12th month

8

Dissemination of findings/ policy paper

8.1

Launch of policy paper

12th month

8.2

Talks at other forums

12th & 13^th months

8.3

Dissemination through post etc.

12th month

9

Final Report

9.1

Activity report and final research paper

12th months

10

Training III

13th months