Parkari Community Development Programme - PCDP, report of the Final Evaluation 2013-2017

Background

The Parkari Community Development Programme (PCDP) grew out of work in the 1980s on the development of the Parkari language and culture, with a strong emphasis on literacy. Incorporated in 1999 and officially registered in 2003, PCDP has grown into a locally owned and directed non-governmental organisation (NGO) engaged in multiple aspects of development throughout the Parkari community; its vision is expressed as: “…an empowered Parkari Community – literate, healthy, self-reliant, socially integrated and free from socio-economic oppression.” Since 2004 PCDP has received funding through the NGO funding modalities of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) 2004-2007 and of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) 2007-2017.

Purpose/objective

1. To assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact of the project, defined as the five-year period of funding from Wycliffe Norway/Digni/Norad 2013-2017;
2. In the light of that assessment, to examine the future potential of PCDP as part of considering its suitability for funding support beyond 2017.

Methodology

Both of the above purposes required a thorough assessment of current progress and impact. In addition, the second purpose required input on future prospects based on the perceptions of the project stakeholders and on the analysis and recommendations provided in this evaluation. The choice of methods and survey instruments reflected these two kinds of information needed.

• Review of documentation : PCDP reports, evaluations, project proposal, baseline survey, village data, websites, other internal documents;
• Discussions with Wycliffe Norway’s staff and consultant through e-mail and Skype;
• Discussions in PCDP facilities with the Executive Director and Managing Director;
• Interviews and discussions with PCDP personnel, including those in charge of project and administrative departments and field clusters;
• Meetings with the PCDP Board Chairman and Members;
• Visit to four project villages in the Barrage Zone; visits to the Desert Zone were not possible as they require special police and military authorisation from Islamabad; the duration of the evaluation visit to Pakistan did not allow for an application to be made or processed.

Key findings

In conclusion, this project has made remarkable progress not only in improving the quality of life of particular villages and communities, but also in changing the underlying social structures which have kept Parkari communities marginalized and in thrall to powerful forces of domination. In terms of learning the lessons of the last five years, there is scope to build on achievements and to further improve the processes, interventions and impact of PCDP.

Recommendations

a. Strategic planning

1. Articulate a strategy for long-term sustainability, which includes but is not limited to the CDN, and addresses also institutional development and capacities, and use the strategy for short to medium term planning;
2. Upgrade skills in planning, in particular for RBM / logframe development and including the design and definition of indicators.
   
   b. Sustainability and model of development
3. Continue to develop the CDN as a model of self-directed, self-resourced development, with its component of potential institutional sustainability through membership fees, and document thoroughly the pilots of Phase II;
4. Link the model of development explicitly to the SDGs (in reports etc), in particular the intention to ‘leave no-one behind’ and to ‘start with the most vulnerable first’;
5. Design a visibility and communication strategy in order to share the model, its principles and lessons more widely.
   
   c. Programmes
6. Education (schooling for children): re-design the strategy for equitable provision of schooling within a single, unified model of establishing, supporting and resourcing schools, maintaining and strengthening the multilingual approach based on the mother tongue;
7. Develop a plan for continuing expansion of educational opportunity, to include girls’ enrolment, middle school grades, unreached villages;
8. Extend in-service teacher training to all PCDP schools (under a new unified model);
9. Education (adults): review and upgrade adult literacy provision to offer adults a level of independent literacy use; analyse the literate environment (what and why people read and write) as a basis for defining literacy purposes; identify specific sources of funding for this activity;
10. Cultural areas: ensure continuing investment in promoting Parkari culture as an essential element of empowering the community;
11. Strengthen initial and in-service training for Basic Health Care Workers and other field staff as noted in this report;
12. Explore with communities possible new areas of intervention, such as: additional areas of vocational training for both women and men; entrepreneurial / small business training; environmental protection activities; agriculture-related activities;
13. Keep programme priorities under review, as CDN members give input on needs and demands;
    
    d. Administration, management and funding
14. Urgently devote significant effort to identifying new funding partners, both inside and outside of Pakistan;
15. Keep salary levels for all staff under review as the funding situation develops and raise salary levels as possible;
16. Establish a single programme database, based on each village and including pending requests for management of further planning;
17. Introduce an automated system of regular back-up of computer files. e. Gender
18. Urgently appoint at least two women to the PCDP Board;
19. Continue to identify female animators and, over time, seek ways for women to function as Cluster-in-Charges
20. Work with SMCs and VCs to identify, train and appoint more female teachers;
21. Continue to foster gender balance at all levels of PCDP departments and leadership positions;
22. Work consciously within and outside the organisation to find new opportunities to give PCDP female staff greater responsibilities and visibility.
    
    f. Capacities
23. Review functions and capacity of M&E department, increasing its level of expertise and further defining its role and relationships in the organisation;
24. Reinforce capacity in reporting from the field – accuracy, completeness, relevance;
25. Regularly check on capacity needs of Cluster-in-Charges, female animators, and Unit-in-Charges, so that they can adequately guide, advise and facilitate CDN villages.
    
    g. Leadership and succession
26. Develop a leadership succession plan in consultation with the current leadership and the Board;
27. Invest in senior management through a deliberate process of capacity development, exposure and mentoring.
    
    h. External relations
28. Maintain and strengthen relations with relevant government departments and consider cooperation based on specific interventions of limited scope and duration (but not open-ended);
29. Further develop links with NGOs and networks active in related areas, particularly at national level;
30. Explore the possibility of sharing PCDP experience in regional and international meetings, conferences and events.

Comments from the organisation

Wycliffe is very pleased with the evaluation, it has successfully confirmed our notion that the project is doing well, following the agreed plans, and having success in reaching the target group. For further comments from Wycliffe and PCDP, please see the management responses attached to the evaluation report.