Policy Advocacy

RSPN acts as a central platform for the RSPs to advocate and influence the government, donors, NGOs and the private sector to pro-poor policies, based on the RSP approach of holistic social mobilisation. It has been active in communicating the success of the RSP approach to the key policy makers and has established links at all levels with governments, national and international donors, International NGOs and other development institutions.

RSPN has had input into the current Medium Term Development Framework (2005-11), the Prime Minister’s Livestock Initiative and the President’s Primary Health Care Initiative (PPHCI). Its interaction with the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) has enabled it to provide key inputs into the Citizen Community Boards (CCB) Rules. A capacity building project with the Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment has enabled the RSPN to extend training to political representatives and CCB office bearers. At the district level, RSPN has demonstrated public-private partnerships between the small private sector, local governments, communities and the RSPs.

RSPN has recently conducted in-depth community consultations for the PRSP-II. The first RSPN consultations for the PRSP-I held in 2002-3 clearly highlighted the need for social mobilisation as a centre-piece for Pakistan’s pro-poor development strategy. This resulted in RSPN chairing the Planning Commission working group on Rural Development for the design of the rural development component in the Medium Term Development Framework (2005-11) of the Government of Pakistan (GoP). The most significant outcome of the advocacy process was the 2005 publication of the Planning Commission’s Supplement to the MTDF, titled ‘Rural Poverty Reduction through Social Mobilisation.’ The MTDF document is an official commitment to ‘social mobilisation’ as a national level strategy to address rural poverty.

A new area of RSPN policy influencing has been in earthquake relief and rehabilitation. RSPs have successfully worked through community activists to demonstrate the strength of community-managed relief operations in extreme emergency conditions. RSPN has been a key conduit of donor, philanthropic and other funds to these communities, through the RSPs. In recognition of its post-earthquake role, the Chairman RSPN has recently received a national award of Sitara-e-Eisaar from the President of Pakistan.