Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication (Name of Journal)

Impact: Making a difference

Department

Professional Development Centre, Karachi

Abstract

This paper attempts to unpack the notion and process of institutional capacity building of NGOs / CBOs in rural and semi-urban areas if the Sindh province. Several NGOs / CBOs and other organizations tend to take initiatives embedded in the ‘first order’ changes which are of incremental nature and have failed to contribute substantially towards enhancing their institutional capacity building. In 1999, the AKU-IED was engaged in enhancing institutional capacity building of selected NGOs and CBOs in Sindh through ‘second order’ changes for promoting education in general and female education in particular. The process of the transformational development of these NGOs / CBOs began in October 1999 through the participation of their staff members in various contextualized Professional Development Programmes at AKU-IED directed at initiating ‘second order’ changes. The focus of these programmes was to develop and promote an academic leadership and collaborative culture among the participants so that they are able to demonstrate themselves as a ‘community of learners’ in their own contexts. These programmes eventually contributed towards enhancing the institutional capacity building of NGOs / CBOs for managing the ‘second order’ changes in their contexts. Within three years, these NGOs / CBOs conceived and provided contextually viable and financially feasible professional pltform in the shape of Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) for their teachers and others continuing professional development. Sixteen LRCs were established by the respective NGOs / CBOs. These are functioning effectively with the minimum resources. Although, these LRCs are small in their nature and size, their impact for building institutional capacity has been found quite substantial. This innovation has led to develop an indigenous model of professional development of teachers and others that can be easily replicated in the similar contexts of Pakistan. This paper further discusses the role and impact of LRCs in relation to institutional capacity building of NGOs / CBOs in Sindh. These LRCs have developed innovative and relevant Professional Development Programmes for their staff and others to provide access for professional development at grass-roots level which eventually improve the quality of education to a great extent.

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