The Planning and Development Department of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has developed an innovative sector-wide planning mechanism termed as the Programming Approaches/Analytics & Measures Framework (PAMframe). Under the leadership of the Additional Chief Secretary, Shakeel Qadir Khan, the planning framework has been further improved based on the last one-year experiences when it was piloted for the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) 2020-21 of the Merged Areas. The integration of the PAMframes within the systems of the Line Departments has been distinguished as a major step forward to foster the planning of the Provincial Government by calibrating the Annual Development Programme (ADP) formulation process starting from the next financial year, 2021-22, created in collaboration with the UNDP Merged Areas Governance Project (MAGP) with whom the P&D, Government of KP works closely.
The last in the series of the PAMframe induction workshops organised by the Planning and Development Department in collaboration with the UNDP Merged Areas Governance Project (MAGP) was concluded here today in Peshawar. Organised over a period of 3 days, the workshops were attended by more than 90 senior and mid-level Implementation Executives and Planning Officers representing all the Implementing Line Departments of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The workshops were organised for the PAM Leads nominated by their Line Departments to help them get familiar with the new framework, comprehend the concept of the PAMframe and develop a roadmap for the integration of PAMframes in the coming weeks as part of the ADP 2021-22 formulation activities.
The PAMframe is visualised as a sector-wide planning framework, which takes a logical approach towards what the departments should be prioritising and undertaking within their particular sectors, such as local government, higher education, minerals development, etc. It also helps in rationalising the linkages between projects and programmatic interventions with their direct results that will logically contribute to the attainment of the sector development outcomes. The framework also defines the conditions and indicators, such as institutional readiness, allied actions and quantifiable performance indicators that must be considered for the successful implementation of the projects and programmatic interventions within the sectors.
With the PAMframe, the Line Departments will be able to demonstrate and justify the use of the public funds allocated for the development of the province. For example, when assessing the performance of the Elementary and Secondary Education, the focus will be set on the development outcomes of the number of teachers trained and children enrolled rather than just stipulating the status of completed projects and programmatic interventions. Similarly, for Agriculture Extension Department, measuring a higher level of productivity in terms of increased yield is of more significance than just quantifying the volume of seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs. This renewed focus on revitalising the planning system is to ascertain that the taxpayer money is spent wisely, efficiently and sustainably.
The workshops were designed to be interactive by blending theoretical presentations of the PAMframe concepts and components as well as practical exercises around the five components of the framework, including sector development outcomes, direct results, projects and programmatic interventions, institutional readiness and allied actions. There was also a discussion on the quantifiable performance indicators as a means to assess the progress to be accomplished by the projects and programmatic interventions. In the last session, the follow-up steps were agreed upon which include the preparation of first drafts of PAMframes by the Line Departments through intra-departmental consultations, finalisation of the PAMframes during the next round of sector-wide workshops and submission of the final PAMframes by the Line Departments to the Planning and Development Department. All of these steps must be completed during February 2021 so that the final PAMframes can directly feed into their corresponding ADPs.
While speaking at the opening of the workshop, the Additional Chief Secretary, Shakeel Qadir Khan said, “Our current planning system is largely focused on creating a litany of projects and setting project implementation targets. But what the system is missing out on is the ability and practice to measure the impact of our development portfolio. In our partnership with the UNDP's MAGP, we set out to innovate and reform - not just to deliver projects, but to deliver measurable change in people's lives. The PAMframe gives us a holistic and robust framework that we are taking forward to help us judge your performance and will also add a lot of efficiency to the overall governance structure of the province.”