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Case Studies>>ADB Punjab Devolved Social Services Program
SDDirect worked with RebelGroup Advisory (Netherlands), to develop a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) strategy for the social sectors in Pakistan’s Punjab province. This work was funded by the Asian Development Bank, and formed part of their wider Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme (PDSSP).
Since 2001, the Government of the Punjab has been working towards devolving social services in the Punjab. The PDSSP supports the government in the devolution process in the social sectors, particularly health, education and water and sanitation.This work was funded by the Asian Development Bank, and formed part of their wider Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme (PDSSP). Since 2001, the Government of the Punjab has been working towards devolving social services in the Punjab. The PDSSP supports the government in the devolution process in the social sectors, particularly health, education and water and sanitation.
One of the key objectives of the PDSSP is to promote Public-Private Partnerships. PPPs are seen as a method by which to expand the coverage of service provision to allow better access for the poor and to move away from a top-down, province driven approach, towards more bottom-up, demand driven activities. To develop the strategy on PPPs, SDDirect and RebelGroup conducted consultations with relevant government and private sector stakeholders. This was essential to gauge the capacity of government and the private sector in the Punjab and to measure their understanding and experience of PPPs. It was also a key opportunity for SDDirect to analyse which groups were facing barriers in accessing social services, and how PPPs might improve their access to these services.
As well as conducting consultations in the Punjab, the team also conducted desk-based research to analyse existing PPP models, examine international best practices for PPPs in the social sectors, and to review the Government’s existing experience of PPPs. The team also conducted a situational analysis of the policy, legal, institutional and social environment. The final output of the consultancy was a strategy on PPPs in the Punjab Devolved Social Service Delivery Programme that was presented to stakeholders at a number of consultation workshops.
SDDirect’s particular input into the strategy were chapters on the policy framework and a situational analysis of social service provision in the Punjab, particularly focusing on health and education. In addition to the strategy, SDDirect also produced a paper on the international experience of PPPs that served as a learning tool for the Government of the Punjab, and highlighted ways in which PPPs can add value through improving equity, quality and accountability. SDDirect was able to add value to the consultancy through focusing on the impact of PPPs on marginalised groups and ensuring that ways in which PPPs can break or create barriers in terms of providing more equitable access to services were taken into account. Whereas other team members were PPP experts, SDDirect was able to provide social sector expertise and ensure that key social development issues such as access to services and equity in services were adequately addressed.