Cohort 1

Cohort 1

Workshop: “NGO Management Standards”
February 10-15 2005; Karachi

Karachi, February 15 – Over 60 participants from 16 non-profit organizations, hailing from across the province, gathered in Karachi for a four day workshop in their endeavor to enhance management capacities and streamline their efforts towards social sector development in the country.

The workshop which concluded here on Tuesday at a local hotel, had been organized by the NGO Resource Centre (A project of Aga Khan Foundation) as part of its Institutional Management and Certification Program (IMCP), with the support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The objective of IMCP is to strengthen and increase the competitive base of Pakistani NGOs that meet the management standards required for a direct USAID award. Under this program, NGORC will be working for the management strengthening of selected NGOs from across Pakistan to enable them to meet USAID financial and program management requirements.

This workshop, which dwelt in length on all aspects of Program Effectiveness and Financial Management for NGOs, is the launch pad for the NGO Management Standards component of the IMCP project under which the program partners would be taken through a process of Self Assessment, Capacity Building, Pre-award Responsibility Determination Audit by USAID and culminating at a Learning Forum where all partners would voice their learnings through the process.

The current series of workshops for training NPOs in USAID Management Standards will be taken to other cities of Pakistan in the coming months including Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar in order to help social sector organizations all over the country to gain from this effort. The workshop was facilitated by NGORC team: the Programme Effectiveness component by Mr. Qadeer Baig, Mr. Sabahat Saeed Khan and Mr. Mohammad Ashfaq Ahmad while the Financial Management component has been facilitated by Mr. Aamir Hassan Ali and Mr. Jawwad Shekha. Ms. Kanwal Bokharey and Mr. Sulaiman Dhanani from Aga Khan Foundation were also present at the workshop. Mr. Syed Ali Controller USAID Pakistan also remained present at the workshop answering queries and comments. He also distributed certificates among the workshop participants.

The four day Karachi workshop discussed in detail all aspects related to effective program implementation by NGOs as well as dimensions of financial transparency and audit in not-for-profit organizations.

The participants included the senior program managers as well as financial managers of major NGOs of Sindh including Social Policy Development Centre, Pakistan Press Foundation, Indus Resource Centre, Aahung, Health and Nutrition Development Society, Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre, SAFWCO, Sindh Graduates Association, Thardeep Rural Development Program, The Citizens Foundation, ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust, PAVHNA, SHEHRI, and others.

As an outcome of the workshop, all participants have become well versed with the USAID management standards in financial management and program effectiveness that will enhance the performance of NGOs.

Another important component of the IMCP is to build capacities of the Non profit organizations in certification and tax exemption requirements of CBR and Pakistan Center for Philanthropy. In this regard, up till now a total of 7 cohorts have been held under this component in various cities of the country benefiting 105 non profit organizations.