|
M E S S A G E
F R O M
T H E
C H A I R M A N The NGO Resource Centre (NGORC) has, over the
years, successfully carved out a niche for itself on the contemporary
development scene in Pakistan as a pivotal capacity building organization.
The year 2004 saw a further consolidation of that key position, with the
organization enriching and expanding its existing programmes, and
maintaining a clear internal focus on evaluation and learning.
Development Management Education (DME), a pioneering programme, launched
in 2002 to enhance the quality of human resource pool within the
development sector, continued to impart cutting-edge training to
professionals from a wide range of organizations, both national and
international. Through a related ground-breaking initiative called, Young
Development Professionals Fellowship Programme (YDPFP), fresh graduates
and those about to complete post-graduate degrees were trained and linked
up with several partner organizations. The process and the outcomes of
these initiatives are being closely monitored.
Institutional Management and Certification Programme (IMCP), jointly
funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the Aga Khan Foundation USA, made the expected headway during 2004.
With the aim of increasing the competitive base of the Pakistani NGOs to
meet the requirements of a direct USAID award, NGORC established key
programme effectiveness and financial management standards as a result of
a consultative process. Under the same initiative, more than 100
organizations were given information, training and follow-up support to
seek tax-exempt status from the Central Board of Revenue and certification
from Pakistan Center for Philanthropy.
The year 2004 also witnessed a successful completion of Rural Social
Development Programme, funded by the European Commission. Spanning a
period of six years-from 1998 to end 2004-this programme laid the
foundations for NGORC to contribute to an enabling environment for civil
society in Pakistan through an integrated approach in research,
publications, trainings and organizational development. An evaluation
carried out in 2004, pointed out that the programme had been highly
effective in ‘developing a strategic vision among intermediary
organizations that has increased their resource management capacity, and
capability to understand and respond to the client needs and
requirements’. This ability, the evaluation further revealed, has ‘brought
dynamism and the partners now feel more confident in their approach’.
During 2004, NGORC’s information and communication services were aligned
more closely with the organization’s training and consulting services to
bring about synergetic impact. The organization’s flagship publications,
NGORC Journal and Urdu newsletter-Akhbar, carried in-depth write-ups on
themes that the organization conducted trainings on. The organizational
website (www.ngorc.org.pk) was used to disseminate information and
generate discussion on issues covered by DME and IMCP, thus ensuring
continuation of learning beyond seminars and training sessions.
In short, the year 2004 was one we can look back on with pride. We are
confident that NGORC will sustain this momentum in 2005 and beyond,
keeping up high professional standards and an unflinching commitment to
social development in Pakistan.
Kamal Chinoy
Chairman, Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan
Chairman, NGORC
|
