Balochistan Rural Development and Community Empowerment (BRACE) Programme

(Being Implemented in Close Collaboration with the Local Government and Rural Development Department, Government of Balochistan.)

INTRODUCTION

Balochistan Rural Development and Community Empowerment Programme (BRACE), is a five-year European Union-Funded rural development programme, implemented by three implementing partners of grant component namely: RSPN, NRSP and BRSP in close collaboration with the Government of Balochistan. The programme is going to benefit 2.7 million citizens in 257 Union Councils of ten districts including Jhal Magsi, Kech/Turbat, Khuzdar, Killa Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai, Pishin, Washuk, Zhob and Duki of Balochistan.

The project has been started from June 2017. The European Union, the donor of this EUR 34.0 million (PKR 3.77 billion) programme, has also engaged the services of a Programme Technical Assistance Partner, DAI, a leading international company to enable the Government of Balochistan to foster an enabling environment for strengthening the capacities of local authorities to manage and involve communities in the statutory local public sector planning, financing and implementation processes. The Programme also has a Public Finance Management (PFM) component which will work closely with DAI to assist the Government of Balochistan in costing and funding the community-led development policy framework through clearly defined fiscal and regulatory frameworks, budgetary processes and commitments reflected in a multi-annual budgetary framework and defined institutional arrangements.

BRACE focuses on to empower citizens and communities and provide them with means enabling them to implement community-driven socioeconomic development interventions, an increased voice and capability to influence public policy decision-making through active engagement with local authorities for quality, inclusive, and equitable service delivery, and civic oversight; to foster an enabling environment for strengthening the capacities of local authorities to manage and involve communities in the statutory processes of the local public sector planning, financing and implementation process.

The overall objective of the programme is to support the Government of Balochistan in reducing the negative impact of economic deprivation, poverty and social inequality, environmental degradation and climate change, and to turn this into opportunities to build and empower resilient communities participating actively in identifying and implementing socio-economic development activities on a sustainable basis in partnership with local authorities.

Under BRACE, the population of 300,000 poor rural households in 257 union councils are to be mobilised and organised into a network of people’s own institutions: 19,129 Community Organisations (COs), 3,085 Village Organisations (VOs), 243 Local Support Organisations (LSOs) and 33 LSO Networks at tehsil level and nine at the district level. RSPs will then provide support to improve the organised households’ lives and livelihoods, as well as to foster linkages between the community institutions and local government to improve local basic service delivery.

The agreement between the EU and RSPN has been signed and the RSPN-BRACE component is operational from June 30, 2017, and will be concluded on June 30, 2022. The RSPN-BRACE component has a duration of five years and RSPN’s role involves facilitating the implementation of the programme through partner RSPs by ensuring quality control, standardisation in procedures, developing a common M&E framework, baseline approaches, documentation and warranting responsiveness of lessons learnt and providing value-added strategic backing where required. RSPN would also aim at wider dissemination of the lessons learnt through undertaking evidence-based advocacy with stakeholders and the media to scale up successful development approaches.

Let’s join hands in uplifting the rural communities of Balochistan: