Who We Are

Introduction

The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) consists of nine member Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) that espouse a common approach to rural development: social mobilisation. Social mobilisation centres on the belief that poor people have an innate potential to help themselves, that they can better manage their limited resources if they organise and are provided technical and financial support. The RSPs provide social guidance, technical and financial assistance to the rural poor. RSPN provides capacity building support to RSPs, and assists them in policy advocacy and donor linkages.

Set up by the RSPs in 2000, RSPN works closely with government, donors and communities to promote the RSP approach to community driven development that has significant pro-poor impacts. The RSPs have a long standing relationship with the Government of Pakistan, this is highlighted by the fact that five of RSPN’s partner RSPs have received substantial support and seed grants from the government, however they are all registered as not-for-profit organisations and are independent.

RSPN’s edge is its vast outreach to rural communities through the RSPs, its strong and influential relationship with government for impacting pro-poor public policy, and its central position that brings together over thirty years of knowledge in participatory development work with Pakistan’s rural communities. RSPs are local, flexible and responsive organisations, RSPs find localised community-based solutions to help take Pakistan’s development agenda forward.

The scale of RSP work now covers 4,667 union councils in 152 districts including the newly merge districts of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions (FR). Community Organisations now number 520,781 with a membership of over 8.6 million organised households, covering a population of 54 million.

Vision

Realising people’s potential for social and economic development

Our vision represents the basic philosophy of RSPs’ social mobilisation approach to CDD. RSPN’s work therefore aligns itself with RSPs’ work and centres on the belief that poor men and women have an innate potential to help themselves, that they can better manage their limited resources if they organise themselves into their own institutions. Peoples’ own institutions serve as the primary partners in fulfilling the nation’s development agenda by extending outreach to the household level across the country, for it is at the household level that poverty is experienced on a daily basis.

Mission

Strengthen the Rural Support Programmes  to foster institutions of the people

Our mission is to further facilitate, enable and provide technical support to member RSPs to foster sustainable institutions of the people. RSPN’s mandate focuses on ensuring that all RSPs follow the core social mobilisation approach, and improving coordination and communication between RSPs network and key development partners especially the government, donor organisations, and civil society.