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[Information on this page relates
to the first phase of the PACS
Programme, which ended in April
2008].
Below are links to answers to some
of the most frequently asked questions
about the PACS Programme. If you
have a query not covered by any
of these answers, please contact
us.
- What is the
basic objective of the PACS Programme?
What are the expected benefits?
- What is the
UK government's motive in supporting
the PACS Programme? Are there
any commercial interests and obligations
involved?
- Does the PACS
Programme support efforts like
construction of schools and hospitals?
- Why does the
PACS Programme not cover 'poorest'
districts in other states like
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh?
- What is meant
by the term 'CSO'?
- What are the
criteria used to select and support
CSOs?
- Who manages
the PACS Programme? How?
- What is the
system for monitoring and evaluating
the performance of participating
CSOs?
- Is the programme
still open to project proposals?
How can our organisation seek
support for a project under the
PACS Programme?
- How much money
is being spent on the programme?
For what purposes?
1. What is the
basic objective of the PACS Programme?
What are the expected benefits?
The PACS Programme seeks to empower
millions of poor people living in
around a hundred of India's poorest
districts so that they can effectively
realise their rights. The programme
aims to achieve this by strengthening
civil society organisations (CSOs)
working for the poor in these districts.
For more on the objectives of the
programme, click
here.
As the PACS Programme does not
address supply-side issues such
as infrastructure or services, it
is difficult to speak of expected
benefits in quantitative terms.
The qualitative benefits of the
programme will be in terms of strengthened
CSOs that have institutionalised
the culture of good governance marked
by the principles of accountability,
transparency and predictability.
Such CSOs with good management practices
will be able to articulate the needs
of the poorest more effectively.
Further, initiatives aimed at promoting
grassroots-level advocacy will empower
the poorest to stand up for themselves
and demand their rights. The programme
is expected to contribute towards:
- more responsive and representative
local self governance
- improved people-centred advocacy,
and
- larger self-help initiatives
to meet the immediate needs of
the poor through peaceful and
democratic means.
The programme is also expected
to have a long-term spiralling impact
on other poverty alleviation efforts.
Participating CSOs work within
the framework of a monitoring, evaluation
and learning system (MEAL), which
gauges performance against clearly
defined objectives and expected
benefits. Each project under the
PACS Programme has its own set of
objectives and expected benefits.
To read about the project objectives
of participating CSOs, click
here. To read more about MEAL
click here.
2. What is the
UK government's motive in supporting
the PACS Programme? Are there any
commercial interests and obligations
involved?
The PACS Programme is part of the
UK government's international development
effort to help eliminate poverty
and encourage economic growth that
benefits the poor.
In particular, the UK government's
Department For International Development
(DFID) is committed to achieving
the UN Millennium Development Goal
of halving the number of people
living in extreme poverty in the
world by 2015.
The commitment is based on obvious
moral and ethical grounds -- it
is simply wrong that one in five
people in the world live in abject
poverty. Public opinion surveys
in the UK have also shown that the
public in the country are concerned
by poverty and feel that their government
should be working to reduce it.
However, in addition to responding
to the obvious moral argument, the
UK government believes that the
elimination of global poverty is
a matter of enlightened self-interest.
Poverty breeds conflict, increases
vulnerability to natural disasters
and accelerates overexploitation
of resources. It also undermines
trade and investment opportunities.
The UK government believes it has
a duty to confront these issues.
There is no other self-interest
of the UK government involved in
supporting the PACS Programme. Grants
for the programme are not explicitly
or implicitly linked to any British
commercial interests.
For more information on the UK
government's policy and strategies
of international development, visit
www.dfid.gov.uk. Download DFID's
India strategy paper by clicking
here.
3. Does the
PACS Programme support efforts like
construction of schools and hospitals?
No. The PACS Programme is aimed
at demand-side issues: making poor
people more aware of their human,
political, social and economic rights
and building their capabilities
to exercise these rights for the
betterment of their lives. The programme
is not aimed at supply-side issues
like construction of schools and
hospitals.
However, CSOs participating in
the programme could be involved
in tackling supply-side issues through
other programmes. The PACS Programme
managers are also exploring the
possibility of linking some of the
programme's projects to supply-side
assistance, with the aid of other
donor agencies and government programmes.
4. Why does
the PACS Programme not cover 'poorest'
districts in other states like Orissa
and Andhra Pradesh?
The PACS Programme is supported
by the UK government's Department
For International Development (DFID),
which has projects and programmes
in many states in India, including
partnerships with the governments
of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The
PACS Programme was chalked out to
cover poor people living in areas
where DFID had no programmes. Hence
'poorest' districts in states such
as Orissa are not covered.
Another important aspect of the
programme's geographical scope is
that it covers a contiguous area
of central and eastern India. 'Poorest'
districts in other regions of the
country, such as the northeast,
are hence not covered.
5. What is meant
by the term 'CSO'?
In the PACS Programme framework,
civil society organisations, or
CSOs, include:
- international, national and
local NGOs
- trade unions
- cooperatives
- business and cultural groups
- community organisations
- farmers' associations, and
- looser forms of associations
such as social movements.
6. What are
the criteria used to select and
support CSOs?
CSOs that meet certain clearly
defined selection criteria have
to first submit concept papers for
projects that could be supported
under the PACS Programme. The project
proposals are rigorously scrutinised,
reviewed and redrafted before they
are approved. For details on the
selection process, click
here.
7. Who manages
the PACS Programme? How?
The PACS Programme is managed by
a consortium of two reputed organisations
appointed as management consultants
(MC):
For information on how the programme
is managed, click
here.
8. What is the
system for monitoring and evaluating
the performance of participating
CSOs?
The performance of participating
CSOs is monitored and evaluated
in various ways: through half yearly
state workshops, supportive supervision
carried out by resource organisations
appointed for each state, and through
an information-technology-based
monitoring, evaluation and learning
system called MEAL. For more information
on MEAL, click
here.
9. Is the programme
still open to project proposals?
How can our organisation seek support
for a project under the PACS Programme?
Yes, the programme is still open
to project proposals. Reputed civil
society organisations that fulfil
certain Selection
criteria are invited to read
the Selection
process section in this website.
10. How much
money is being spent on the programme?
For what purposes?
See Finances
for complete details.
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