Decentralization Support Program, Pakistan

DECENTRALIZATION SUPPORT PROGRAM
Support to Implementation of Decentralization

About DSP

Steering Committees

Support Offices

ADTA Team

ADTA Team
	ADTA Objectives and Responsibilities
		ADTA Objectives
		Component 1: Support to PSOs
		Component 2: Technical Assistance to Implementing Agencies
		Component 3: Monitoring and Evaluation
		Component 4: Strategic Exchanges and Policy Development
	ATDA Management and Relations
	ADTA TORs
	ADTA Member Profiles


	ADTA TEAM

The Advisory Technical Assistance (ADTA) Team is funded by a $450,000 grant from ADB. This has been supplemented by a further grant of $2.55 million, co-financed by ADB, DFID, CIDA and the Netherlands Government.

The objective of the ADTA is to provide interim technical and strategic support to the Government of Pakistan in its implementation of decentralisation reforms.

The ADTA's responsibilities are to:

a.	Provide support to the PSOs
b.	Provide technical assistance to the Implementing Agencies
c.	Assist with monitoring and evaluation
d.	Promote strategic exchanges and policy development

The ADTA team works under the overall guidance of the National Programme Director. It is headed by a Team Leader, and includes consultants with expertise in the following areas: reform programme management, capacity development, performance monitoring and evaluation, policy research, documentation and public communications.

The ADTA has to date played a very important role in establishment of the PSOs, and in design and implementation of the TA1 Annual Work Plan process. The ADTA team has worked on a highly flexible basis, adapting its assistance (technical, strategic, etc) to meet the needs of the PSOs and DSP clients


	ADTA OBJECTIVES AND RESPONSIBILITIES


	ADTA Objectives

The ADTA's objective is to provide interim support to the Government of Pakistan in its implementation of decentralisation reforms.

The ADTA team will support implementation of DSP through three primary outputs:

a.	Effective utilisation by federal and provincial implementing agencies of resources, including aid-financed grants and loans, allocated to support decentralisation.
b.	Established monitoring and evaluation arrangements providing timely and strategic information on:
	i. progress with implementation of reforms ii. compliance with budget management and accountability requirements iii. the quality of institution and capacity building efforts
c.	The creation of an informed and articulate constituency for the decentralisation process through regular exchanges of information and consensus building among stakeholders, both domestic and international.

ADTA activities within the DSP implementation arrangements are focused on achieving these objectives.

ADTA team tasks fall into four components.


	Component 1: Support to PSOs

-	Assist government staff located in the PSOs to maintain the momentum of initiatives aiming to articulate the provision of recent ordinances for decentralised local government, accounts and audit into institutional and organisational change.
-	Assist the NPSO and PSOs to implement the Decentralisation Support Programme, and especially to manage TA1 for Local Government Performance Enhancement.
-	Assist the PSO in the Ministry of Women's Development to implement the Gender Reform Action Plan.
-	Expertise requirements include: decentralisation and local government reforms; intergovernmental fiscal restructuring and local government budgeting, revenue management and expenditure planning; physical asset management; management of TA focussing on capacity development; a full commitment to gender mainstreaming through decentralisation reforms.


	Component 2: Technical Assistance to Implementing Agencies

-	Assist federal, provincial and local government agencies to define their requirements for capacity development and ensure that appropriate expertise is secured to meet these.
-	Assist the Government to review the workplans of implementing agencies at federal, provincial and local levels, provide advice on contracting procedures, assist in identifying critical areas for the success of the reforms, and design appropriate responses.
-	Expertise requirements include: capacity development and substantive expertise in areas corresponding to the points of focus of the Government's decentralisation programme.


	Component 3: Monitoring and Evaluation

-	Assist the Government establish a monitoring and evaluation system for decentralisation to:
	i. ensure and demonstrate accountable use of public resources availed to implementing agencies both through the normal budget process and special purpose, externally supported capacity building projects; ii. ensure that budget and technical resources are well tailored to implementing agency requirements and are allocated to priority activities in light of decentralisation, and that incentives are created for their effective use; iii. progressively evaluate and inform policy-makers of the impact of reforms (on access, equity, sustainability of services).
-	Promote an Annual Performance Review (APR) approach to decentralisation, whereby local, provincial and federal stakeholders and supporting assistance partners can provide systematic input on decentralisation reform and contribute to a policy dialogue on the reform process. ADTA will provide support for:
-	i. designing APR process ii. compiling data and evidence for the reviews iii. communicating objectives, scope and details of the process to all stakeholders iv. developing process monitoring indicators.

ADTA will also assist the Government to report the outcomes of the APR and assess the quality of the process.


	Component 4: Strategic Exchanges and Policy Development

-	Provide federal, provincial and local governments; civil society; and Pakistan's aid partners with strategic information, based on well-researched lessons from experience, through which to regularly review, consult on and where necessary, modify the legal, policy and organisational arrangements made in support of improved local governance.
-	Analyse and publicise policy and programme lessons, garnered from a range of nationwide and province-specific decentralisation reform projects and initiatives, through electronic and print media, special purpose conferences and public exchanges.


	ADTA MANAGEMENT AND RELATIONS

The ADTA team works under the overall guidance of the PD from the NPSO.

ADTA consultants are deployed by the ADTA team leader to carry out tasks in accordance with periodically agreed work plans and outputs.

Consultants recruited under the ADTA report in the first instance to the ADTA team leader, who is responsible for the quality of their performance. Modifications to the scope, terms and activities of consultants recruited under the ADTA are decided jointly by the ADTA team leader and NPSO Director, and communicated to the consultants by the ADTA team leader.

Quarterly tripartite meetings, between the MoF, ADTA consultants and ADB, are held to review TA implementation progress, address issues arising and provide guidance to consultants. The meetings are chaired by the Secretary Finance.

Performance of consultants hired under the ADTA will also be subject to evaluation through the Annual Performance Review process.


	ADTA TORs

Team Leader

1.	Assist the PSO Director to manage the TA
2.	Provide strategic advice and support the management oversight responsibilities of the PSO Director, including direct responsibility to manage and ensure the quality of consultant inputs provided under the TA.
3.	Ensure a management information database is established and maintained;
4.	Liaise with Implementing Agencies (IA) including the PSO for TA2 Gender and Governance Mainstreaming, established in the Ministry of Women Development, Social Welfare, and Special Education; coordinate and prepare regular project documentation as required.
5.	Assist the IA to review requirements and prepare detailed terms of reference for consultants under the DSP TA loans and assist in the selection and contracting of consultants.
6.	Assist implementation of the Annual Performance Review tasks and preparation for DSP tranche release reviews.
7.	Review all relevant documentation relating to decentralization including government's Devolution Plan; establish and maintain an information database on aid support to decentralization to assist government coordination and better matching of aid commitments with all the stakeholders; Establish and ensure upkeep of information and lesson learning website and promote associated public access to information best practices.
8.	Undertake, document, and disseminate, in formats suitable to professional agencies and evaluations, studies, reviews, and TA assignments concerned with implementation of decentralization.
9.	Assist federal and provincial implementation agencies to identify and promote appropriate modifications in the policy, legal, and institutional arrangements made in support of local governance as a result of implementation experience.
10.	Oversee and provide strategic lead to research and evaluation of local government systems, service delivery and outcomes, and develop the research component of the TA for the purpose of providing information to decision makers concerned with decentralization reforms.

Capacity Development Specialist

Principal responsibility to support the PSOs located in Ministry of Finance and provincial implementing agencies in the provinces.

Support the PPSOs in DoF.

Major focus on assisting the implementing agencies (IA) to define their requirements and also to ensure appropriate technical expertise is sourced, contracted, and supervised to meet the requirements of the IAs.

Provide expertise on Capacity Development as follows:

i.	Assist the IAs to assess capacity development requirements, and prepare annual rolling plans to address requirements.
ii.	Assist the IAs to prepare terms of reference / scope of service, contract, implement, and monitor training and related activities in support of capacity development.
iii.	Coordinate and support national and provincial training and workshops as requested by the IAs.
iv.	Support development of strategies to enhance the capacity of public and private human resource development agencies, and foster innovative delivery arrangements for capacity development.
v.	Review and provide recommendations on proposals from IAs for TA loan resources for training.
vi.	Assist the monitoring and evaluation specialist and IAs to periodically monitor the quality and effectiveness of capacity development activities, including Annual Performance Reviews of the DSP.
vii.	Conduct workshops to support coordinated and common understanding of the objectives, processes, and activities of the proposed DSP and, other externally supported devolution activities.
viii.	Assist in preparing of systems for building the client capacity of local governments and institutionalization of best practices for capacity building.

Provide substantive expertise in areas corresponding to the 11 thematic areas of the proposed DSP TA loan Local Government Performance Enhancement, especially focusing on performance budgeting, administrative and political reform and administrative redress of grievance.

Following responsibilities entail:

i.	Primary requirement is to provide specialist input to IA decisions, to be articulated through the provincial and national steering committees, to ensure their effective use of the loan.
ii.	Augment and build the capacity of implementing agencies in their client responsibilities, including defining scope of services required, preparation of TORs, sourcing, supervising and monitoring the effectiveness of technical services.

Research and Communication Coordinator

Principal responsibility to support the PSOs located in Ministry of Finance and provincial implementing agencies.

Major focus on assisting in development and implementation of a research and documentation programme to provide empirical basis for the reform related debates.

To develop and implement a communication strategy for effective and wide ranging dissemination of information relating to local government systems, reforms and research based evidence

To design and implement a policy dialogue supporting decision making concerning the decentralization reform

Assist the clients in planning and implementing initiative aiming at institutional development

Provide expertise on Capacity Development, for specially designated institutions and agencies including bodies of elected representatives, as follows:

i.	Assist clients to assess capacity development requirements, and prepare annual rolling plans to address requirements.
ii.	Assist the clients to prepare terms of reference / scope of service, contract, implement, and monitor training and related activities in support of capacity development.
iii.	Coordinate and support national and provincial training and workshops as requested by the clients.
iv.	Review and provide recommendations on proposals from the clients for TA loan resources for training.
v.	Assist the monitoring and evaluation specialist and IAs to periodically monitor the quality and effectiveness of capacity development activities, including Annual Performance Reviews of the DSP.
vi.	Conduct workshops to support coordinated and common understanding of the objectives, processes, and activities of the proposed DSP and, other externally supported devolution activities.
vii.	Assist in preparing of systems for building the client capacity of local governments and institutionalization of best practices for capacity building.

Provide substantive expertise in areas corresponding to the 11 thematic areas of the proposed DSP TA loan Local Government Performance Enhancement, with a special focus on Thematic Areas 3, 9, 10 and 11.

Following responsibilities entail:

i.	Primary requirement is to provide specialist input to IA decisions, to be articulated through the provincial and national steering committees, to ensure their effective use of the loan.
ii.	Augment and build the capacity of implementing agencies in their client responsibilities, including defining scope of services required, preparation of TORs, sourcing, supervising and monitoring the effectiveness of technical services.

Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

1.	Ensure that the PSO is able to achieve 3 key purposes: (i) ensure and demonstrate accountable use of public resources availed to the Implementing Agencies (IA) (ii) ensure that DSP resources are well tailored to implementing agency requirements and are allocated to priority activities; and (iii) progressively evaluate the impact of reforms (on access, equity, sustainability of services).
2.	Review documentation arising from government and aid support initiatives; and liaise with the IAs including the Ministry of Women Development PSO, specifically assisting them to ensure TA-financed activities are designed to facilitate effective monitoring and evaluation; coordinate and prepare regular project documentation as required.
3.	Assist the IAs to establish a management information system database to monitor implementation of the program.
4.	Support the IAs to implement the performance review tasks for the DSP and develop monitoring mechanisms for annual work plan of the IAs.
5.	Collect information on work plan implementation and submit report to the Team Leader.
6.	Help review the schedule and prepare detailed terms of reference for consultants under the TA loan, and help select and contract consultants.
7.	Help prepare and implement a procurement plan.
8.	Help design and implement Annual Performance Review processes, evaluate the quality of that process, and prepare reports for the NPSC.
9.	Support development and institutionalization of M&E system to monitor implementation of the decentralization reform.


	ADTA Profiles

Asad Abbas Maken	Senior Grants and Contract Management Specialist (Islamabad) emial: asadmaken@gmail.com
Amanullah Khan	Gender Communication Specialist (Islamabad) khan_amanullah@hotmail.com
Saad Fazil Abbasi	Senior Grants & Contract Management Specialist (Islamabad) saadabbasi@hotmail.com
Qasim Zaman	Program Officer (Lahore) qasimzamankhan@hotmail.com
Shafi-ur-Rehman	Program Officer (Peshawar) shafijan@gmail.com
Muhammad Hashim	Program Officer (Quetta) hashimktk@yahoo.com
Ishrat Jabeen	Gender and Governance Specialist (Quetta) ijashi@yahoo.com
Sana Raza	Gender and Governance Specialist (Karachi) sana.raza@gmail.com


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