Baseline Stakeholders Analysis

Project Description

Reforms Support Unit (RSU) has engaged APEX Consulting Pakistan (APEX) for carrying out a baseline stakeholders survey to determine awareness of key education reforms, the effectiveness of internal communication practices, and potential modes of internal/external communication.

As the main stakeholders for this study were from the Education and Literacy Department (ELD) of the Sindh Government, qualitative method (Key Informant Interviews - KIIs and Focus Group Discussions - FGDs) was employed in nine districts - Korangi, Sajjawal, Dadu, Sanghar, Kamber Shahdadkot, Ghotki, Jacobabad, Sukkur, and Tharparkar. A total of 188 KIIs with secretaries, director generals at the provincial level, district and Taluka officers at districts level, and headmasters and teachers were held. Simultaneously a total of 60 FGDs with community, mainly parents, and teachers were also held.

Services provided by APEX

The RSU, on behalf of the ELD, is the focus on reforms in the education sector in Sindh, mainly through policy inputs on access and quality of education in the province.

The Sindh Education Reform Program (SERP) is funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) through the Sindh Global Partnership for Education Project (SGPE), with technical and financial support from the World Bank, the provincial government prepared the Sindh Education Sector Plans (I and II). Establishing a Communication Unit acting as a focal person for internal and external communication by RSU is a main plank of the reforms agenda. Mainly the unit is to support and encourage the participation of large scale stakeholders in preparing/designing key reforms. Its main task is awareness, engagement, and understanding of reforms among internal and external stakeholders.

This study determines present awareness of key reforms supported by RSU/ELD besides measuring the effectiveness of current internal communication practices within the RSU/ELD. It looks into potential modes of internal/external communication - electronic and print media, social media, digital communication, face to face interaction, etc.

For this study qualitative method, mainly KIIs along with FGDs has been employed to determine present awareness of key reforms supported by RSU/ELD, measure the effectiveness of internal communication practices, and determine potential modes of internal/external communication.

The internal stakeholders were selected from the provincial bureaucracy to teachers in schools along with parents and civil society as external stakeholders. A total of 188 KIIs were held in nine districts of Sindh.

The KIIs were held with the provincial bureaucracy (secretaries/director generals), district bureaucracy (DEOs, TEOs) along with supervisors and monitors, and at the ground level with the headmasters and teachers.

A total of 56 FGDs with the community mainly parents and teachers were held in the nine districts. To gauge the use of modes of communication among the DEOs and TEOs at the district was also carried out.