By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: To finalize the Ehsaas Research Strategy, a consultative workshop was convened here on Wednesday with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation, Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar in chair.
Three-year research strategy for Ehsaas that will provide the framework for all research related activities aimed at improving the effectiveness of wider safety net operations was discussed in details, Addressing the participants of workshop, Dr. Sania said, “There are three pillars of Ehsaas Research Strategy. First pillar is the use of quantitative and qualitative data for information and evidence so that quick operational decisions can be made to of Ehsaas operations.”
She said, “In this regard, regular program reviews, field observations, spot checks, and reviews of documents (such as audit reports and fiduciary risk assessments), use of data analytics, and use of business intelligence tools on automated digital information pipelines are critical for decision making.
Real time evaluations of new programs also help to improve decision making, especially for new programs.”
The second category the SAPM said, comprises of more structured impact, process and formative evaluations which are embedded in various programmes. Dr. Sania then continued, “The third pillar of research is where Ehsaas wants to broker better partnerships with academic institutions to outline its research priorities and to expose anonymized data and its operations in the field to create a win-win situation on both ends.
By outlining research priorities, Ehsaas will have the opportunity to mobilize hundreds of Ph.D. and master’s level students to conduct research that is of relevance to Ehsaas.
On the other hand, researchers will have access to information and
data which they would not have otherwise.”
“This would help to bridge the information evidence to policy and operations
gap to improve Ehsaas delivery”, she concluded.
Participants included Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan, Dean and Principal NUST
School of Social Sciences & Humanities; Knut Ostby, UNDP Resident
Representative; Omer Bin Zia, Senior Project Officer, Asian Development
Bank; Dr. Ali Salman, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute of
Market Economy, Dr. Aliya, Economist, Quaid-e-Azam University; and Dr. Zahid
Asghar, Director School of Economics, Quaid e Azam University. Senior
representatives from PIDE, Lahore School of Economics, Asian Development
Bank, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Social Policy and
Development Center also joined the workshop. From Ehsaas, Secretary Ismat
Tahira, DG Naveed Akbar, DG Noor Rehman and DG Tariq Mehmood were also
present on the occasion.
The recently established Policy and Research Unit will serve as the focal
point for coordinating implementation of the Ehsaas Research Strategy.
