Pakistan—Technical Assistance for the Balochistan Community-led Rural Development and Community Empowerment (BRACE) Programme

DAI supports the Government of Balochistan with the implementation of the Rural Development and Community Empowerment (BRACE) Programme. Within the BRACE Programme, the EU-funded BRACE TA Project supports the Government of Balochistan in reducing the negative impact of poverty and social inequality, and to turn this into opportunities to build and empower resilient communities participating actively in implementing socio-economic development activities in partnership with local authorities. The technical assistance focuses on developing a provincial policy and fiscal framework to better facilitate community-driven socioeconomic development interventions with empowered citizens and communities.

The technical assistance for the BRACE programme is complementary to the grant components provided to the other implementing partners, the Rural Support Programme Networks (the Balochistan RSP, the National RSP, and the RSP Network), and in collaboration with the Government of Balochistan, we aim to reach 1.9 million citizens in nine districts in the province—Dukki, Jhal Magsi, Kech, Killa Abdullah, Khuzdar, Loralai, Pishin, Washuk, and Zhob. The target population is 300,000 low-income rural households who are to be mobilized and organized into community, village, and local support organizations.

The approach of the programme builds on the lessons from various EU-funded actions in Pakistan, including the technical assistance for the Community Driven Local Development Programme implemented by DAIin the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Video courtesy of Rural Support Programmes Network.

Sample Activities

• Link institutionalized community organizations with the local authorities, thereby enhancing quality, inclusiveness, and equitable service delivery, and build institutionalized community capacity to influence public policy decisions.
• Foster an enabling, community-driven local government and rural development policy and fiscal framework that strengthens the capacities of local governments and authorities to manage and involve communities in the statutory processes of the local public sector planning, financing, and implementation process.

Select Results

• The RSPs engage with 163,892 households in community organization activities in nine districts of Balochistan.
• The technical assistance programme has deployed district coordinators and assistant district coordinators in the nine districts, to facilitate engagement between local officials and the new mobilized community institutions.
• RSPs organized a community management skills training in Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Khuzdar, and Jhal Magsi with women from community organizations.
• RSPs conducted a three-day enterprise development training for women to facilitate them in applying for income-generating grants. These micro-credit instruments disbursed by BRACE help rural women become economically independent by setting up small enterprises, enabling women’s access to markets, and boosting their competitiveness.
• The Technical Assistance District Coordinators and Assistant Deputy Coordinators supported their respective Deputy Commissioners’ offices to conduct a series of with COVID-19 awareness sessions for community members in all target districts.