Keeping an eye on what the government does, especially at the local level, not only helps inform people about the performance of public institutions but also gives them a sense of participation in how they are being governed.
FAFEN launched a nationwide initiative to monitor governance processes under its Supporting Transparency Accountability and Electoral Processes (STAEP) project to strengthen democratic oversight in Pakistan.
It is a unique effort to reach out and observe public schools, hospitals, police stations, retail prices and crime rate across the country. The people’s direct engagement with the public institution as part of their democratic right goes a long way for improving governance.
Objective information about governance processes is vital for encouraging informed engagement of the people with the elected and public institutions. The monitoring is aimed at enriching the public discourse and debate on governance and developing research-based recommendations for reforms.
FAFEN’s outreach through its partner organizations across the country allows it to access most districts as it applies standardized methodology to draw information from public institutions. The monitoring is based on non-probability sampling, and its findings should not be considered national or provincial generalizations.
Methodology
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) Governance Monitors visit schools and colleges, heath facilities, police stations and other public institutions to monitor and evaluate their efficiency and efficacy in 200 National Assembly constituencies of 119 districts in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In addition, FAFEN is also monitoring complaints handling mechanisms of various public institutions to gauge their effectiveness.
Trained FAFEN Governance Monitors fill out standardized checklists during their monitoring visits, employing interviewing and observation techniques, and then transmit the data to the FAFEN Secretariat in Islamabad for data entry, cleaning and analysis. FAFEN plans to produce monthly thematic reports such as this one. This information will also contribute to FAFEN Bi-Annual State of Governance in Pakistan Reports.
FAFEN Governance Monitoring reports are based on non-probability sampling, and their findings should not be considered national or provincial generalizations. However, FAFEN’s outreach across the country allows it to access most districts as well as urban and rural areas. Standardized methodology is applied across Pakistan to draw information in a uniform way through observation and interviewing. The observation and interviews are recorded on a standardized checklist. All information received at the FAFEN Secretariat is verified through multiple sources for authenticity and accuracy. These reports provide data analysis and inferences only for the monitored institutions within the sample. These reports are meant to present to relevant stakeholders a consolidated and current snapshot of the state of governance in public institutions in order to inspire public dialogue and as a contribution towards targeted interventions and reforms.
However, FAFEN’s unique methodology to assess and evaluate governance processes continues to evolve. Any inaccuracies that may be noticed in the data or suggestions for improvement in the methodology can be sent to the email address at the end of this report.
