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" We are motivated by a deep desire to bring whatever skills we possess and whatever resources we can harness to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards reversing state fragility (that is undermining the life and potential of hundreds of millions of individuals across the region) and replacing it with state resilience. "
Bridges Development Consortium is a private firm providing development research and technical consultancy. With affiliate offices in the US, we operate right from the proverbial eye of the storm the Af- Pak region, the Middle East and North Africa.Working with flexibly, and efficiency, Bridges is known to deliver rapid results in precarious and conflictive environments.
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Established by a group of accomplished development specialists with roots in fragile states, we enable local individuals and institutions to build key elements of a vibrant society: good governance, quality education, strong communities and environmentally conscious economic growth. We achieve these goals by creating a unique mix of capabilities addressing interrelated development challenges through Leadership Training, Performance Management, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Outreach and by Providing Administrative and Financial Evaluation Services to various local and donor driven initiatives.
We are motivated by a deep desire to bring whatever skills we possess and whatever resources we can harness to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards reversing state fragility (that is undermining the life and potential of hundreds of millions of individuals across the region) and replacing it with state resilience.
' Bridges has embarked on a dialogue with regional luminaries and intellectuals, re-considering the outlines of public management and a government for the "new times." '
New York Times (November, 14, 2012) foresees the whole of Middle East "erupting into one giant sound and light show of civil wars, states collapsing and refugees dislocating." While sectarianism and ethnic strife has a lot to do with it, the culprit maybe the lack of capacity and willingness of governments to perform key state functions for the benefit of their populations.
Unresponsive regimes and their clientelist policies have resulted in arrested development, "poor services, administrative collapse, loss of territorial control, extreme political instability, violent conflict, and repression or denial of resources to subgroups of the population."
In these rather challenging days, Bridges brings a ray of hope as it embarks on a dialogue with regional luminaries and intellectuals, senior public officials, successful entrepreneurs and businessmen, politicians and the regions civil society redrawing the outlines of public management and a government for the "new times."
" Bridges has undertaken a comprehensive study of the entire universe of education in Pakistan researching new models, paradigms and ways to improve access, contents, equity, resources and quality of education within Pakistan and the countries around. "
Pakistan has ratified five International Conventions on education directly, and seven other with indirect bearing on education. Most recently, section 25A of the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment and, in the past, several laws and statutes had created specific operational obligations on the state of Pakistan to deliver and recognize education as the fundamental right of its citizen. Yet education is under siege in the country, educational policies are fragmenting the society, infrastructure is callously insufficient, broken, or mismanaged.
Read More | Share | Print Overall, educational standards have hit the rock bottom while the country has the 2nd largest out of school population in the world. With bad or no education at all, Pakistani youth are drifting from an eroding mainstream towards an assortment of extremes. While Pakistani state is unwilling or incapable of delivering on this fundamental human right, Bridges has undertaken a comprehensive study of the phenomenon and is exploring models, paradigms and alternative approaches to improve access, contents, equity, resources and quality of education within Pakistan and the counties around.
" ..We, at Bridges, are motivated by a deep desire to bring whatever skills we possess and whatever resources we can harness to help rebuild and narrow the growing economic and social divides that run through the heart of our region. "
Bridges operates right from the proverbial "eye of the storm" - the unstable Middle East and an equally fragile West Asia, where subsequent, often non representative, governments have been unable to set policy priorities, carry out long term planning, deliver basic services, and implement needed reforms commensurate to the magnitude of challenges at hand. The regions administrative capacity continues to suffer from endemic, structural weaknesses, where ad hock-ism and patronage has replaced planning, knowledge management or use of evidence based research
Read More | Share | Print Thus, resources are routinely and consciously mismanaged, producing suboptimal policies and unimaginative solutions to a plethora of problems the countries face today. Result is a fragmented and unequal distribution of opportunities, and widening social disparities that continue to contribute to the diminishing public support for the state, allowing room for non-state actors to fill the void, stoke militancy and worsen violence with regional and global consequences.
It was in this context that the Bridges Development Consortium, a politically autonomous research and solutions outlet, was established in Pakistan, by a group of accomplished development specialists with roots in the region. We, at Bridges, do not relent to this disastrous fate of our part of the world and are motivated by a deep desire to bring whatever skills we possess and whatever resources we can harness to help rebuild and narrow the growing economic and social divides that run through the heart of this region, severely limiting the life and potential of hundreds of millions of individuals.
' Bridges develops an indigenous response to state fragility that promotes legitimacy in governance, ensures peace and security and fosters economic growth '
When states break down or are overcome by conflict, development stops and governance collapses, their inhabitants are faced with death, disease, economic stagnation and environmental degradation. Before long, transnational criminals, drug and arms networks start establishing roots and the entire region succumbs to criminality and terrorism that spawns in the vacuum of such states.
Consequently desperate refugees start fleeing these conditions and pour into neighboring states. Today, over a billion people live in destitute circumstances in an increasing number of fragile states and regions. The threat is global, the stakes are really high.
Bridges Development Consortium, thus, intends to reverse this downward spiral of fragile states into the abyss of failure. We question conventional wisdom and find the standard response to state fragility inadequate. We go beyond the analytics of development to conduct research and gather evidence. We draw on the knowledge of local experts, practitioners, academics, leaders and reformers to develop an indigenous response to state fragility that promotes legitimacy in governance, ensures peace and security and fosters economic growth
" Over the years, Bridges leadership has been institutionalized as a structural component of Bridges, making it an engaged and a high performance 21st century workplace. "
Bridges is led by Dr. Rehan Mullick and a group of seasoned development experts, known for their innovative and daring work in conflict zones. These individuals understand the regional context, political dynamics, historical tensions and ever-emerging challenges posed by the frontline underpinnings of the context they work in. Years of hands-on experience, in such areas, allows them to make just the right choice of content, the appropriateness of interventions and the precision of tools they use, in mobilizing resources while delivering relief and development.
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Share | Print Today's Bridges, leads the way, researches solutions, innovates, motivates, inspires and empowers stakeholders, and against all odds, delivers equitable and sustainable development around several of increasingly formidable parts of the world
' Bridges, uses culturally sensitive approach to its work, seeking ways to facilitate peace and dialogue among people and cultures they mingle in. '
Despite escalating conflict and apparent chaos, the countries and regions where Bridges operates (the Middle East, West and the Central Asia) follow centuries old, quintessential, norms of their own, not quite in sync with the world's "Alpha Culture." This makes the mechanical implementation of interventions conceived in western capitals fairly challenging.
But, since people at the helms of Bridges have had the opportunity to experience the best of both worlds, they are familiar with the power of diversity and the significance of shared humanity. Bridges, thus, uses culturally sensitive approach to its work, seeking ways to facilitate peace and dialogue among people and cultures they mingle in.
" Bridges suggests a new generation of "Extended Development Programs" evolving into permanent Capacity Development Facilities (centers of excellence) by sectors - ensuring that the resources are pooled and innovations seeded, while capacity building is institutionalized. "
As the UNDP sums it up "if all the symptoms that have beleaguered development effectiveness were to be aggregated, two major culprits begin to emerge: the varyingly weak status of Institutional capacity all over the world; and the new global shocks" - in fragile states - Corruption economic collapse and general insecurity or outright terrorism. With an ongoing insurgency, and low institutional capacity to cope, the AfPak area and parts of the Middle East are in a state of crisis, pushing the entire region deeper into fragility.
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In several of the states in the region, public institutions have flawed roots in colonization and have since experienced waves of half hearted, haphazard, and often self-serving "reform" efforts by the rulers. Such changes have rendered the internal organization of public institutions further out of line with their desired missions, goals and objectives. In most institutions, knowledge management and use of evidence or research is non-existent, networking/collaborative capacities have long been exhausted and resources are routinely and consciously mismanaged. Overall, the state performance in the region is dipping way below their required minimum administrative capacity. Result is a fragmented and unequal distribution of opportunities, and widening social disparities.
If development is the 'what' of Donor's mandate in the region, then, as the UNDP puts it, capacity development is essentially the 'how'. Through our years of experience in these parts, Bridges realizes that while some states are willing, yet unable to address their government's fragility (what Kenneth J. Menkhaus of Davidson College considers a "tame problem," amenable to conventional state building assistance) others are unwilling to strengthen their own capacity, instead such states devout whatever capacities they have to the abuse of own citizen. This is what Menkhaus calls a "wicked problem." The phenomenon is unfolding itself in an increasing number of "shadow" or "warlord" states, rendering state building in the region, extremely difficult.
It is this "wicked problem" that Bridges addresses by researching fresh approaches to governance, partnering with all stakeholders - the regional academia, multi/bilateral agencies, governments, businesses and the civil society. We at Bridges understand that a nation states can not be made to work from outside, we the local actors have to seize any opportunity to foster conversation among our populations, leading us to the "sharing of ideas and in creating teamed facilitation, joint learning spaces, expertise, institutional arrangements, access to data/information and in hosting of events, workshops and joint funding of programs," so on, on what sort of societies we would want to become so that the regions human development strategies can move from aspiration to implementation.
For the donors, Bridges suggests a new generation of "Extended Development Programs" evolving into permanent Capacity Development Facilities (centers of excellence) by sectors - ensuring that the resources are pooled and innovations seeded, while capacity building is institutionalized. These centers can then help foster a new enlightened leadership from within the region, and provide a bridge between local solution providers and those outside who want to assist the region.
' Our researchers are always on a lookout for opportunities to acquire both quantitative and qualitative data that could lead to a fresh/alternative response to a rather elusive narrative of nation building. '
Over the years, Bridges has accumulated a fair share of primary and secondary data on an array of topics embedded in the context of state fragility. Our researchers are always on a lookout for opportunities to acquire both quantitative and qualitative data that could lead to a fresh/alternative response to a rather elusive narrative of nation building.
Read More | Share | Print We keep our baselines fresh and updated and perpetually prospect for international best practices in several areas of interest. Bridges researchers are constantly filtering cleaning and collating data from several sources (the World Bank, the UN and other bilateral donors) for summaries and prompt analysis. Our analysis and two ways interaction with donors and primes has often lead to policy changes in subsequent extensions of various programs.
" Bridges is constantly researching the interrelationship between various socio-economic policies of the regional governments and their full impact. "
Dr. Ishrat Hussain, a renowned economist and a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan writes about the credibility of policies and the policy makers.. "In Pakistan, every successive government has followed policies that are unpredictable, impulsive and are of short duration.There have been too frequent changes, sometimes contradictory in nature and at times catering exclusively to special vested interests rather than meeting national economic objectives."
Read More | Share | Print He further notes that "The Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) are issued practically every day exempting, withdrawing, imposing, amending, modifying, deleting, superseding, overriding, the earlier orders thereby creating confusion, uncertainty and variance in application. The complex maze of these and similar orders and gazette notifications does not just create opaqueness in interpretation of policies. It confers enormous power of discretion, arbitrariness and harassment to government functionaries of all kinds in a cascading manner along the chain -central governments, provincial governments, district councils, municipalities, public sector corporations, public utilities, etc."
For the reasons above, Bridges is constantly researching the interrelationship between various socio-economic policies of the regional governments and their full impact. In doing so, the consortium engages broadest range of stakeholders—private sector, industrial organizations, professional cadre, farmer associations, trade unions, NGOs, etc. Bridges feels that understanding policy process and its relevance with the ground reality is essential to combat fragility and push a pragmatic reform process.
" Bridges has worked with the Pakpur Foundation and other business leaders to develop and implement integrative, innovative and sustainable pro poor business solutions to an array of problems the region faces today. "
The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 2002, asserted that "We need to make sustainable development happen by generating economic growth with greater resource efficiency, minimizing environmental impacts and with maximum social well-being for more people. We also welcome the growing realization that business is an indispensable part of the solution to the problems of the world."
Read More | Share | Print Kofi Annan, the then UN Secretary General, added that "Without the private sector, sustainable development will remain only a distant dream. We are not asking corporations to do something different from their normal business; we are asking them to do their normal business differently."
Bridges totally subscribes to this approach, and has been working with the Pakpur Foundation and other business outfits to integrate research, field based collaborations, philanthropy and social enterprise to develop and implement integrative, innovative and sustainable pro poor business solutions to an array of problems the country faces today.
" Bridges' evidence based quantitative approach guarantees impartiality, accuracy, objectivity as well as the validity of the information generated. The quantitative approach is augmented by a layer of qualitative and phenomenological understanding of project activities and their outcomes. "
We use a hybrid of Results and Logframe to capture the operational context of the projects we monitor, thus observing and evaluating the entire gamut of project activities. Our team of statisticians and researchers design instruments and field studies that quantify project outputs, outcomes and their intended impact.
Read More | Share | Print Bridges' evidence based quantitative approach guarantees impartiality, accuracy, objectivity as well as the validity of the information generated. The quantitative approach is augmented by a layer of qualitative and phenomenological understanding of project activities and their outcomes. This information is gathered through beneficiaries and key stakeholders based on their subjective (human) interpretation of the project phenomenon.
In effect, we use a six step strategy to evaluate project outcomes.
Project Logic Reconstruction (step 1)
As a first step, Bridges conducts a thorough review of literature, international best practices, and all available project documentation (proposals, work plans, performance management plans, previous reports, results framework etc.) to recreate a comprehensive logic map, a schematic representation of the project logic and results framework of an intervention, establishing linkages between the various components (program inputs, actions, intermediate goals/objectives), and overall program outcomes. The map that emerges, illustrates, in detail, the relationships between various project elements - highlighting the "logic" by which a project has worked thus far.
This exercise clarifies how project activities relate to the fulfilment of project goals, outlining clear expectations on what was supposed to have happened and how.
Aligning Existing Data with Project Logic (step 2)
Generally programs generate considerable quantitative data on project outputs (through M&E) and impact (possibly through citizen opinion polls etc.). At this stage we try to acquire such data, transform it, and integrate it into a single database, structured around the project logic established in step 1 (trough scaling or other statistical techniques). In case, not enough data exists on the attainment of mid-level goals, or the attainment of project outcomes vis-à -vis outputs, Bridges creates or helps the implementing partners in creating those indicators for this pivotal element of the project’s existence and devises a systematic data gathering exercise that it subsequently undertakes.
Develop and Implement a Systematic Study around Outcome Indicators (to Gather Data on Program Goals) (Step 3)
Traditionally, M&E models have used output measures to demonstrate project effectiveness. "Outputs are immediate program products resulting from the internal operations of the program, such as the delivery of planned services. Examples of output indicators might include the numbers of children immunized, home visits by case managers, or youth completing a job training program. Conceptually, project outputs and outcomes are the product of the multiple and cumulative interactions of vision and mission, leadership, resources, and outreach (Harrell et al. 1996, 3)." Bridges feels that evaluations are most useful if they demonstrate how various programs have produced desired benefits or changes through performance outcomes and not just the outputs. While data for outputs resources and leadership and even impact might be readily available within the program, the indicators and data, to gauge the strength of outcomes, might be needed to be devised and gathered. For this, Bridges suggests possible citizen surveys to solicit public opinions on various aspects of desired outcomes around interventions of interest. A tried and tested survey design customized to the particular needs of the project is suggested at this step.
Data Gathering
Quantitative Data Gathering (step 4a)
The respondents for a study are selected randomly to minimize the sampling error, but are often purposely selected from communities where the implementers are actively engaged in project intervention of some sort (community development/disaster risk reduction work).
To see if the citizen’s Knowledge, Awareness and Practice were impacted by the project intervention, We often prefer the study to be designed in a KAP format, whereby, a statistically viable number (weighed by population of interest) is randomly selected. Respondents are interviewed from the households from within each of the selected communities. The survey topics generally cover areas corresponding to particular program inputs and framework.
A survey instrument is later developed, which is then translated into local languages to gauge the opinion of the prospective beneficiaries. Multiple question types are utilized to best engage the respondents. The respondents are always assured of anonymity to solicit fairer responses from them.
Qualitative Data Gathering (step 4b)
Bridges sees development "as an interconnected process with many different dimensions." A key focus of evaluation is thus, the understanding of interlinkages and connections between these dimensions. "Qualitative methods seek to understand the complexity as a more accurate reflection of reality, based on recognition of multiple realities." At this step, we converse and listen to the people through, focus groups, key informant discussions and stakeholder meetings to increase our understanding of WHAT is happening, WHO is affected in which ways, and WHY particular impacts are occurring, we use diagram methods, timelines and descriptive presentation of previously gathered data to explain and liven up interviews and build rapport, and clarify communication, making information gathering more systematic.
Qualitative methods are thus an essential complement to both quantitative and participatory methods in our evaluation strategy.
Data Analysis and Dissemination
Data Analysis and Descriptive Presentation (step 5a)
Once all, filled-out, forms arrive back at the Bridges offices, the data is entered into SPSS and passed on to our data unit where it is checked for errors, wrong entries, missing information, miscodes, typos, and misspellings etc. The data are immediately translated into descriptive reports and PowerPoint presentations to be used as centerpiece of discussion during qualitative data gathering.
Final Reports and Recommendations (Step 5b)
The final findings are presented in a report, organized in parallel with the project's logic (generated as a first step above). The final report integrates and synthesizes both quantitative and the qualitative data to show how well a program has realized its objectives and how snug the project logic has been with the reality. This report, through anecdotes and narratives of focus group discussions indicates how much the program might have made a difference in the lives of the beneficiaries and takes stock of successes that may have occurred on a more human scale.
" Bridges works with academics and students from known local universities to research and "outline an alternative response to state fragility, recognizing more traditional sources of legitimacy and a hybridity of political order. "
Lucy Morgan Edwards, a former Political Advisor to the EU Special Representative in Kabul has questioned the appropriateness of replicating a "Weberian state-building model onto more traditional societies such as Afghanistan - where modes of governance and authority are often informal, complex, and characterized by historical and charismatic sources of legitimacy."
Read More | Share | Print Bridges acknowledges this context, and works with academics and students from well know local universities (the University of Punjab, Lahore University of Management Sciences, the Afghan Center at Kabul University and the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies(CAMES)the American University of Beirut) to research and "outline an alternative response to state fragility, recognizing more traditional sources of legitimacy and a hybridity of political order."
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" Bridges helps entrepreneurs hone their pro-poor business ideas and innovations, designing simple experiments that identify high potential opportunities. "
To ensure that innovative ideas for social change are fully developed and are proliferating, we identify and work with leading Innovators, entrepreneurs and businessmen helping them create maximum social impact, through their pro-poor business models, in the everyday lives of millions of individuals in the core need areas. We help them hone their ideas and innovations, designing simple experiments that identify high potential opportunities
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" We encourage working with the civil society and the media for the collective construction of shared agendas and for actions that effectively promote sustainable solutions. "
Bridges believes that groups and networks of individuals and entities working together accelerate and spread social impact that change entire fields, for this, We encourage working with the civil society and the media for the collective construction of shared agendas for action that effectively promote sustainable solutions. Unless the interventions we deliver (or help partners to deliver) are known to the beneficiaries, their impact will be limited.
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Outreach is an essential element for strengthening and extending our work. It includes advertising and public relations; community education and advocacy; collaborations, alliances, and partnerships; networking; and more. Through our outreach team Bridges is able to pay attention to the web of connections affecting the persons, organizations, groups and communities involved.
This networking with the civil society and greater outreach with the media means access to more people who know about the project and its work, resulting in more opportunity to attract interest in our intervention form all stakeholders as they come on board as staff, volunteers, clients, or plain supporters.
" Bridges has access to excellent social scientist, statistician, and researchers from around the region. "
With 25 full-time staff, several associate around the world and tens of consultants on our roster, we have access to excellent social scientist, statistician, and researchers from around the region. There is also a steady trickle of Students and Scholars from several local universities for intern-ships or training, all adding to our capacity and effort.
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" Our offices are well resourced with skilled staff, equipped with video conferencing facilities, and state of the art data gathering GPRS and GIS technologies. "
Bridges is headquartered in Pakistan. Housed in a serene environment, our offices are well resourced with skilled staff, equipped with video conferencing facilities, and state of the art data gathering GPRS and GIS technologies. Bridges has recently acquired the technical capacity to deploy app-enabled, Internet-connected devices (PC- Tablets) to administer surveys and collect data from the field
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" Bridges uses various resource estimation techniques to assist Partners in devising practical, well resourced, and secure work plans in difficult circumstances. "
Bridges shares its various organizational capacities with partners in refining their project vision, its goals and objectives, and in recruiting local stakeholders, educating them and understanding their needs. It uses various resource estimation techniques to assist Partners in devising practical, well resourced, and secure work plans in difficult circumstances.
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" Bridges helps project leaders to outline an overall picture of the project through smartly designed PMPs and result frameworks that are specific and measurable that the entire project team can relate to "
In a conflict zone, It is expected that a Project leader belongs to an elite set of professionals who are called upon when the risks are high, when failure is not an option, and when the project requires only the very best. "Such a leader should be able to build and share a common vision, set goals and nurture a common understanding on tracking the progress."
Read More | Share | Print Bridges helps project leaders to outline an overall picture of the project through smartly designed PMPs and result frameworks that are specific and measurable that the entire project team can relate to through their daily activities. Once in place, Bridges ensures that these project objectives, and strategies to achieve them, are properly disseminated, and are mutually understood by every single person actively involved in the project.
Since project success is the accumulation of the many results yielded from a set of several project capacities - Clear Vision, Systematic Research and Evaluation, Effective Outreach and an Efficient Resource Management, Bridges Services extend to inculcate or enhance those project capacities as well.
" Over the years, Bridges has been consulted on several development initiatives by local & provincial governments, business groups, donors, and bilateral and multilateral agencies. "
We have often been approached by development organizations wanting to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of their assistance programs in Central - South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, where, deploying quantitative surveys and qualitative evidence gathering, we have provided evaluation services in an array of program areas on what works, what doesn't, and under what circumstances.
Read More | Share | Print Our expertise range from developing performance monitoring plans (PMPs), and conducting evaluation studies (often under tremendously difficult conditions and short time frames, across conflict zones in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq). Our assessments and recommendations on the impact and effectiveness of several development initiatives have actually translated into policy directives and have helped sharpen subsequent phases of various programs.
Bridges Development Consortium has designed, implemented and disaminated its findings on several Citizen Surveys in global hotspots, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our research and M&E services include:
> Designing Baseline Studies and Citizen Opinion Polls
> Designing Coded Survey Instruments
> Fielding, analyzing data and disseminating results
> Developing performance monitoring plans
> Developing results framework
> Developing performance indicators
> Collecting and analyzing performance information
> Identifying and setting indicators for performance tracking
> Collecting and analyzing data for indicator measurement
> Conducting post project and program impact evaluations
" Bridges shares its outreach capacities with partners in refining their project vision, its goals and objectives, and aligning them with needs of the local stakeholders, educating them and learning from them "
Project success is not about project accomplishments. A project cannot achieve results without reaching out to stakeholders. The project staff works to deliver project results, yet reaching out to the stakeholders is at the heart of any project, and since outreach without a common cause leads nowhere project vision and outreach have to go hand in hand.
Read More | Share | Print n a rather fluid context of a conflicted world, reaching out to others is essential. Carefully planned outreach can "help increase awareness and understanding of issues and challenges, generate more data, help determine priorities, increase support for remediation programs, and generally enhance the likelihood of success. Stakeholder processes often provide the reality check for scientific efforts: they seek to synthesize ecological, technical, social, cultural, political, and economic concerns through a process that helps to define what's actually doable." Managing that process requires some attention to the logistics and synergies of creating and operating a team of diverse people pursuing a common goal. Bridges shares its outreach capacities with partners in refining their project vision, its goals and objectives, and in recruiting local stakeholders, educating them and understanding their needs. Bridges has had the experience of managing focus groups/stakeholder meetings, neighbourhood consultation gatherings and conducting external plan reviews.
" Bridges understand that an uninterrupted supply of appropriate resources can majorly influence project schedules and outcomes. We ensure a sturdy supply of resources and use various resource estimation techniques to assist Partners in devising practical delivery plans that work in difficult circumstances. "
Acquiring resources (people, material's, technology, space and security) could be very challenging in conflict zones, where unpredictable or limited supply of such resources can cause long delays or outright failure of projects. In the past, Bridges has helped partners in acquiring excellent operational and human resource (through a roster that Bridges maintains) for staffing various projects or for seeking advice from local area experts.
Read More | Share | Print Bridges trains project staff, volunteers, and the project leadership, upgrades skills and revamps established procedures stretching and expanding available project resources.We also "match-make" and create partnerships with innovators through a wide network of outside contacts, resources and professional advisors.
" Our financial advice and training has been making valuable addition to the organization's financial capacity. "
Bridges affiliates, some of whom have worked for international donors and associated implementing partners, provide expertise in financial evaluation of local organizations and particularly those organizations that are involved in donor funded projects. Our experts work with electronic accounting data, auditors? work papers, and internal financial records to understand and implement financial systems for such firms. Thus, assisting organizations in developing policy manuals on specialized issues like procurement, human resource and grants management. Our financial advice and training has been making valuable addition to organizations' financial capacity.
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The Bridges survey showed that Iraqis were more united than ever, wanting return to sovereignty through genuine elections by the end of the year 2005.
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In 2005 Bridges, in Collaboration with the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies (ICRSS),* fielded a comprehensive survey of Iraqi perceptions about the future of their country According to the survey, while they wanted to live in a democratic system, they did not want it to be a replication of the American model, nor were they inclined to a more secularist and a free-market ideology.The survey was conducted by the Bridges Development Consortium
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in collaboration with the Iraqi Center for Research and Strategic Studies and the Greenfire International.
A total of three thousand Iraqis were interviewed across, ethnic, religious and regional lines, representing all, 18, governorates of the country. ICRSS deployed 50 trained enumerators and sought assistance/expertise from local universities in conducting the survey across Iraq. About 3000 Iraqis were interviewed on their aspirations for the future of Iraq.
The results provided valuable insight on how the Iraqis actually perceived the future and sovereignty of their country and provided an essential backdrop for decision makers in the "rush for sovereignty" at the time.
Some of the highlights of the survey were:
1) Iraqi unity is at an all-time high as 79% of the respondents claimed to identify themselves as Iraqis, first, while 82% said that Iraqis are a single nation. Only 5.3% felt that the days of Iraq being a single nation are over and that Iraq is now divided into several states.
2) A clear majority of 64.7% favored a politically centralized, unitary state as opposed to a federation. 67% said that they want both fiscal and administrative centralization.
3) 75.1% wanted to live in a moderate Islamic democracy rather than a secular liberal one.
4) 65% prefered a state controlled economy with government subsidies for basic utilities as opposed to a free market system for which there was only 6.6% support.
5) Iraqis wanted to retain national sovereignty over their resources, 64.9% thought that Iraqi companies should maintain an edge over international entrepreneurs for access to its markets and resources as apposed to only 8.7% comfortable with the idea of international companies having complete access to Iraqi markets and resources.
*(ICRSS is an indigenous think-tank of Iraqi intellectuals with expertise in survey research, socio-economics, political science, public administration and related issues. The center regularly conducts and disseminates results of opinion polls on issues of national interest for Iraq. 10 BRIDGES observers conducted random spot checks and helped ICRSS maintain close quality control over the entire survey process.)
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Reduce corruption through enhanced oversight, and encourage greater popular participation and a belief that citizen actions can help shape the nature and priorities of the government.
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At the heart of decentralization debate in Iraq is the belief that the dispersal of power from the once monopolized central government will generate greater political legitimacy and foster a sense of citizen ownership of their government. It is hoped that decentralization will improve government responsiveness and accountability to citizens, increase government flexibility to address the diverse needs of the Iraqi population,
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"reduce corruption through enhanced oversight, and encourage greater popular participation and a belief that citizen actions can help shape the nature and priorities of the government."
CAP III was initiated, to do just that, Strengthen GOI's ability to function as a legitimate and effective government at the local level. While CAP worked at the local Qada (District) and Nahiya (Sub-district) levels, the Local Governance Project (LGP), and the National Capacity Development project (Tatweer) operated at the provincial and national levels respectively. CAP III?s interventions included community mobilization, local governments? capacities and receptiveness in the Program?s area of responsibility (AOR).
This study was intended to understand the socioeconomic dynamics of Iraqi communities as they transition out of a highly centralized, command regime to an increasingly participatory decentralized democracy of the future. To do this, the study gathered evidence on related issues surveyed in a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) format. The Survey was further augmented by Focus Group Discussions and field observations, offering a unique insight into the perceptions of the Iraqi Populations on the existing state of Local Governance in Iraq, establishing a baseline, on how well Iraqi communities articulates their needs and how efficiently the local governments are meeting those needs, at least in the minds of the Iraqi Community Members.
The data so acquired generated a causal model that delineated a logical chain of events connecting the project activities to the final impacts that CAP intended to achieve. This approach allows project decision makers to create a series of cause-and-effect relationships starting with program activities and ending with intended impacts. This bold evaluative approach is in line with ACDI?s desire to promote innovation and learning around CAP. Based on the results of causal models, the evaluators, partners and donors will have enough evidence to suggest midcourse adjustments to existing interventions and activities.
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The group has already formulated a comprehensive vision to build a more equitable, prosperous, compassionate and integrated Pakistan, called "the Pakistan Project."
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Pakistani society's ability to lead itself is eroding fast. The existing leadership is perceived to have no vision, little effectiveness and nonexistent integrity. Under the circumstances, Bridges Development Consortium was consulted by a group of concerned citizen to provide advice on tapping newer reservoirs of leadership in the country. The result was the Pakpur Foundation (TPF).
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The foundation was conceived as a uniquely structured forum of known Pakistani academics, policy makers, business leaders and development experts with the ability to integrate research, field based collaborations, philanthropy and social enterprise to lead, develop, and implement integrative, innovative and sustainable solutions around an array of problems the country faces today.
The group has already formulated a comprehensive vision to build a more equitable, prosperous, compassionate and integrated Pakistan, called the "Pakistan Project".
Recently TPF had gotten hands-on with the ?Pakistan Project? and as an initial step built a planned new village for the rehabilitation of flood affected people in Shahgarh, Punjab. As the project progressed, TPF realized how marginalized pakistan?s rural population has always been. But since the hundred home "Pakpur Village" rose out of a sand dune (along with its school, playgrounds, parks.
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Evidence suggests that the experiences, environment and opportunities provided to a child determine his/her strengths and weaknesses.
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Today, these views have, in fact, been upheld by scientific evidence that suggests that experiences, environment and opportunities provided to a child determine his/her strengths and weaknesses. If a child's world is chaotic, stressful emotionally, cognitively impoverished their potentials will remain undiscovered. On the contrary, if a child's world is safe, nurturing and rich in social, emotional and cognitive opportunities, he/she will flourish.
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The Bridges School is a laboratory for quality education in Pakistan. At TBS one finds a symbiotic relationship between local needs and internationally acknowledges, developmentally appropriate academically competitive, brain - based curriculum fostering physical, emotional, social creative and cognitive development.
This school is also a state of the art training facility for local teachers in pre-K pedagogy. We train teachers leveraging the wisdom of early Islamic scholarship (with strands of Reggio Emilia Approach), and the curriculum guidelines of the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children - a US based organization promoting excellence in children's education).
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Bridges has undertaken a comprehensive study of the entire universe of education in Pakistan researching new models, paradigms and ways to improve access, contents, equity, resources and quality of education within Pakistan and the countries around.
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Pakistan has ratified five International Conventions on education directly, and seven other with indirect bearing on education. Most recently, section 25A of the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment and, in the past, several laws and statutes had created specific operational obligations on the state of Pakistan to deliver and recognize education as the fundamental right of its citizen.
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Yet education is under siege in the country, educational policies are fragmenting the society, infrastructure is callously insufficient, broken, or mismanaged.
Overall, educational standards have hit the rock bottom while the country has the 2nd largest out of school population in the world. With bad or no education at all, Pakistani youth are drifting from an eroding mainstream towards an assortment of extremes. While Pakistani state is unwilling or incapable of delivering on this fundamental human right, Bridges has undertaken a comprehensive study of the phenomenon and is exploring models, paradigms and alternative approaches to improve access, contents, equity, resources and quality of education within Pakistan and the counties around.
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Bridges in its "Every Child Counts" campaign confronted this chronic inaptitude against street children, collected scientifically sampled data for future interventions, and ease the physical hardship of the children with care packages, while giving them a chance to express themselves through art.
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Pakista's ranking in Human Development has been slipping. The United Nation's Human Development Reports categorize Pakistan as among "the worst performer in South Asia." A third of 180 million Pakistanis are stuck, well, below the poverty line and with half of countries population being children under 18,
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Pakistani children are the poorest and the least represented segment of the society.
It's hardly surprising then that a lot of these children are being torn from their homes and ending up in the streets of large cities.Recent estimates into the number of "street children" in Pakistan run well over a million. The alarming number of street children in Pakistan is symptomatic of increasing social, economic and cultural marginalization of Pakistani children.
The United Nations defines 'street children' as "any boy or girl for whom the street has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible adults." Once on the streets, and often homeless, these children lose access to basic healthcare and education. They labor under Extreme poverty, facing, constant abuse, exploitation, and vigilante justice. When, for their survival, they turn to scavenging, begging, theft and even prostitution, they attract public wrath and are deemed to be a nuisance to the society. General public is, at best, indifferent to these dehumanized children, allowing this human tragedy to perpetuate itself without notice.
Bridges in its "Every Child Counts" campaign confronted this chronic inaptitude, collected scientifically sampled data for future interventions, and to ease the physical hardship of the children distributed care packages, while giving these children a chance to express themselves through art.
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Bridges has conducted several baseline studies in establishing poverty estimates, existing status of agriculture, land, water, physical infrastructure, access to public services and framework for risks and opportunities, requiring reliable, comprehensive, and precise, survey instruments.
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In 2007, Bridges devised a strategy for the UNDP to develop poverty estimates (including gathering data to estimate the World Bank Bank's Living Standards Measurement Studies (LSMS) and the UNDPs international dollar a day poverty line estimates) for over 180 Union Councils in the nine Baluchistan districts,
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where the phase II of the UNDPs community driven Area Development Project (ADPB) was initiated.Several Approaches (taking into account the presence of program intervention UCs, vs non Program UCs, as well as the security and the logistical issues) were considered to ensure the selection of a representative sample of local households. Consequently, Bridges, suggested a multi stage (three stages), stratified random sample of 3000 households.
At stage one, 60 UCs (approximately one third or 30 percent of the total UCs) were selected from the nine districts, where the project was being implemented. The UCs were selected in proportion to the total number of UC?s within each District. Since each UC consisted of a population of between 10,000 to 15,000 residents the UC's were not needed to be weighed by population.
At Stage Two: With the exception of Quetta, the project districts were fairly rural. At instances, each Union Council within these districts was an aggregate of several small settlements and villages. At stage two, Bridges recommended selecting the Union Headquarter plus one random settlement within each Union Council in case the settlement was inaccessible for any reason bridges provided names of alternative settlements.
At Stage Three: At this stage 25 households were identified randomly from within each selected settlement the regional distribution of the surveyed settlements and farms was eventually presented.
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The study shows that those who have adopted the recommended practices are generating up to 50% better yields for themselves and contributing significantly to Afghan Agricultural GDP. The study estimates that the efforts to facilitate the transfer of technology through hundreds of Demonstration Plots have resulted in dividends in access of USD 89 million for the Afghan GDP.
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Focus on improvement in agricultural extension in Afghanistan is rooted in agriculture?s strategic importance for the development of the country.Across the globe, accelerated technological innovations have changed the fabric of today's agriculture,
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, extension services in many developing countries have tried to keep pace with these advances through multiple innovative programs. Such advances in agricultural technology hold great promise for Afghanistan, where years of war and drought have crippled the country's agricultural capabilities. Yet, eighty percent of the population still depends on agriculture and the rural economy for its livelihood.
In 2003 the USAID introduced the Rebuilding Agricultural Markets in Afghanistan Program (RAMP) to improve the marketable output of the agricultural sector, consequently enriching the lives of Afghans by ensuring food supplies, creating jobs, increasing incomes, and strengthening the competitiveness of Afghanistan?s agricultural produce in local and foreign markets. The program included an intensive effort to identify, demonstrate and disseminate new and improved agricultural production technologies in rural areas through demonstration plots and related extension activities.
The findings of the Bridges ? RAMP On-Farm study support the argument for the efforts to transfer technology by providing evidence of tangible material benefits to adopting farmers. The study shows that those who have adopted the recommended practices are generating up to 50% better yields for themselves and contributing significantly to Afghan Agricultural GDP. The study estimates that the efforts to facilitate the transfer of technology through hundreds of Demonstration Plots have resulted in dividends in access of USD 89 million for the Afghan GDP. The findings of the study suggest that a farmers' decision to adopt a technology is influenced by external factors, participation in extension activities, interaction with extension agents, access to information sources, inputs and resources, distance from demo farms and markets and perceived profitability of the technology. There is room for adoption to increase if favorable conditions are present. What's missing is the supporting infrastructure and a corresponding institutional framework. The central focus of the institutional design should be to empower the farmers. Lessons emerging from this study can be applied to the design of future agricultural extension projects, elsewhere, and especially in Afghanistan where there is tremendous potential for change.
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The quality of human settlement, especially in small town Punjab, continues to lag in the availability of housing, roads, schools, health facilities, safe drinking water, sanitation and other social services.
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An informal sector, dominated by corruption and decadence has developed, as evidenced by the slums, katchiabadis, squatter settlements and bogus or ill planned housing schemes. Current trends in urban development, small town/community planning and housing development remain uncontrolled, unguided, and highly unsustainable. Land and Urban development in Punjab is under tremendous pressure from unorganized urban sprawl, deteriorating urban environment, deficiencies in urban services, shortages in the provision of housing,
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and absence of properly developed spaces for economic activity, industrial estates, technology parks, and related infrastructure.
To respond to the challenges, the head of the Special Initiative Entity at the office of the Chief Minister Punjab sought Bridges? assistance in establishing a Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) to respond to the challenges with immediate interventions in the areas of affordable housing, urban renewal, municipal services, land management, and the development of Economic Zones (Industrial Cities).
Bridges provided assistance in the formation of the Company. Setting the organization?s mission, its goals, objectives, its project logic and results framework. Guided the company?s board on establishing the theoretical underpinnings of human settlements in Punjab and kept them abreast with international best practices in human settlement, urban renewal, new cities and economic zones. Bridges further assisted the PLDC in devising the mission, goals and configuring an appropriate organizational structure, Supervised the recruitment process and, thus, helped the company, address the most challenging human settlement issues in the province.
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Bridges assisted the PBIT in devising the mission, goals and configuring an appropriate organizational structure; the consultancy supervised the recruitment process and, thus, helped PBIT, strategize the investment vows of the province.
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In 2009, the Government of Punjab, Pakistan decided to reenergize business activity in the province and to brand Punjabas the destination of choice for foreign and local investors. Punjab was missing an institutionalized effort to facilitate and enable private public partnership and to streamline processes through a one window operation.
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Share | Print The Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) was conceived to do just that, while helping investors with project risk management and timely dispute resolution.Bridges assisted the PBIT in devising the mission, goals and configuring an appropriate organizational structure;the consultancy supervised the recruitment process and, thus, helped PBIT, strategize the investment challengesof the province.