- by Abid Ullah Jan
A unique model of information system for local development, presently being implemented by UNICEF in Pakistan.
3. CIS - Integration Phase
1.1 Vision Development Exercise at UC level
Objective: To develop a vision for the UC for effective utilisation of the available resources according to the identified needs and priorities.
Out come: UC vision is prepared, shared by all the concerned UC level staff and elected members.
Responsibility: IRSP Staff and UC members. Village and UC notables should also be included.A visioning exercise at Union Council level is required before going into developing UCDP. It gives the participants an opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future status of their UC and the problems they are facing with regard to planning and implementation. They get the opportunity to imagine their UC in its ideal or the best possible form. With the help of information collected through CIS and other sources, they sit and try to figure out if it is possible to overcome the existing problems within resources of the UC. If not, what are the main hurdles? Is the vision too utopian or they lack some vital support? What should be the first little step for beginning the journey of a thousand mile?
Once everyone agrees on a common vision for the UC, the right approach to prioritisation becomes the key to success of developing UC development plan.
In order to make the process effective, generally the SOs should begin with the problems they face at the Union Council level. In the following session, we must throw light on these problems to show if they are really problems and if they are, how to address them.
1.2 UC level Development Plan
Objective: To develop UCDP in the light of UC vision.
Out come: A UCDP is prepared and the concerned stakeholder gear into action
Responsibility: IRSP Staff, UC members, members from local NGOs and VACs implements it.
The most positive aspect of this exercise is that village volunteers and elders become part of the Local government set up. They get involved in different committees comprised members from VACs of different villages in a particular UC. They develop plans fro their respective sectors, such as health, education, sanitation, etc. This is a unique feature of the programme.
At the UC level prioritisation of issues become extremely important due to competing interests of different villages. Before getting involved in UC development plans, orientation sessions for VAC members and staff of the UC are necessary for making them objectively think about Union Council development. It has been observed that despite being members of a committee for UCDP, its members try to somehow benefit their respective villages.
Since UC level sectoral committees for planning are not capable enough o prepared comprehensive technical plans, the implementing organisation, thus, needs to facilitate them in the process.
UC levels plans are needed to be developed for three distinct purposes:
a. Activities that are to be undertaken exclusively through available resources at the UC level;
b. Activities and projects that are to be undertaken in collaboration and assistance from the District government, and
c. Planning for resource generation.
For resource generation to materialise development plans, members of CCBs as well as elected and nominated members of different committees at UC level need some guidance. The concerned Social Organisers need to explain that resources at the UC level could be natural, human, infrastructure, economic, material, economic and information. Resource generation or mobilisation is the process that will make these resources ready for action.
The reason we need to discuss resource mobilisation in detail is that most of us when sit for planning, the only resource in our mind is financial, where as level and scope of a required change are unlimited and our poverty absolutely limitless.
Common barriers to mobilisation of resources are limited way in which the need is defined, lack of information (on what kind of information, who is seeking it, where are we trying to find, or our ability to find); and competency to access and use these resources due to lack of innovativeness, or lack of communication skills, or lack of problem solving ability.
The SOs need to guide them about sources of resources, which could be Community resources, private, government, donors and public resources. Some of it could be available in donations, services and funding. They have to tap all sources whether they be for youth welfare, women development, social welfare, Zakat, Baitul Mal, or environmental protection. During the planning process, UC and CCB members need to ask what can we obtain from these sources and why would the targeted sources provide these resources. They must have a clear idea of what objective is needed. They must have a concrete communication strategy for involving people, developing brochures, reports, orientation meetings, forums, appeals, mail and media. Both at CCB and UC level, they should have a transparent management and finance system to manage the mobilised resources. For that they have to set up financial systems to manage the acquired resources.
Participants for the UCDP must be careful not to form unnecessary or parallel committees. Wherever any committee exist at the UC level, representatives from the VAC or CCBs shall be included in them, at least till the development of UCDP. This is a good opportunity for integrating local initiatives in the Local Government system, as well as for ensuring voice of the marginalized in the overall planning process.
Guidelines for Developing
Union Council Level Plan (UCDP)
Developing Union Council level plans should follow a systematic, stepwise approach. Initially the focus should be on interaction with the Union Council authorities even when the development of CIS is at the grassroots level.
There should then be a Vision Development exercise with the Union Council’s elected and nominated staff to develop a vision for their respective Union Councils. Once the Vision is in place and all the resources are known, village development plans should be brought under discussion to see where they fit in the identified priorities of the Union Council. In all cases, the focus should be on strengthening monitoring mechanism before going into launching new schemes. The monitoring mechanism would help the UC effectively utilise the 80% of resources consumed by the existing facilities and set up.
The following aspects must not be ignored while developing Union Council level plan according to the vision of the UC. The scheme to be selection for action should:
a) All the village level schemes, identified for UC level in the VDPs should be listed;
b) Have maximum cost sharing and maximum participation of the community;
c) Be selected on consensus of the majority;
d) If there is a consensus on top most priority, and funds are available according to the allocation in the visioning process, the scheme is approved;
e) If there is a competition for the available funds, then criteria for self-selection of a scheme(s) developed (like maximum cost sharing, maximum benefit, etc.)
f) Also a parallel/separate list of schemes for the first year to be developed, with consensus (or majority vote), which will be financed from other possible sources. These schemes are to be carried over to second year, if funds could not be made available in year one.
g) Based on the effective monitoring mechanism, one condition could be that new schemes would be given to a village where the existing facilities are fully functional – taking full advantage of the available resources.
A format of UCDP is available at the end of this manual as Annex – 5.
1.3 Implementation and integration into DCIC
Objective:
- To integrate the CIS into the DCIC for maximum benefit to planners at District level.
- Develop capacity of the staff at DCIC level
Out come: CIS and DCIC perfectly integrated and all the concerned stakeholders at the District level taking full advantage of the CIS
Responsibility: IRSP and District Administration
DCIC should be established at the office of the DCO. DCIC would provide information to all the stakeholders from international development agencies to the District and provincial planners. The CIS would feed into this as an essential component. Also information from the Line Departments working in these districts would be incorporated into it. Digitised map of the district, including layers for school and health facility locations, Union Council boundaries, major roads, population settlements, etc. would be an added dimension of the information available at DCIC.
Necessary support from government and other funding agencies would be required to set up DCIC at District level with enough hardware and human resources for smooth operation. Manager DCIC would make the information available online to DCO, Nazim-e-Aala, Naib Nazim, TMO, all EDO, and other concerned stakeholders. He would stay in touch with all UC Secretaries for updating the CIS information.
