Punjab P&D Board, Government College University Join Hands For Better Policy Making

Punjab Planning and Development Board (P&DB) and Government College University (GCU) Lahore are going to set up a Social Policy Advisory Board (SPAB) and a Social Policy Advisory Council through Education (SPACE) for research, evidence generation and dissemination, reviews and assessment of public sector programs on social sector development, public financial management and improved governance

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2020 ) :Punjab Planning and Development board (P&DB) and Government College University (GCU) Lahore are going to set up a Social Policy Advisory Board (SPAB) and a Social Policy Advisory Council through Education (SPACE) for research, evidence generation and dissemination, reviews and assessment of public sector programs on social sector development, public financial management and improved governance.

In this regard, GCU Lahore Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi and P&D Board Chairman Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh held a detailed meeting here at P&D office on Wednesday, and deliberated upon the structure and scope of SPAB and SPACE. P&D Board Member (Education) Khalid Sultan was also present.

During the meeting, Prof. Dr. Zaidi proposed that SPAB would be a policy-body to be facilitated by a knowledge-hub SPACE. "The Council will promote regular provision of evidence and knowledge to decision-makers about development of policies, strategies, and programmes aligned with up and downstream public policies," he added.

In Pakistan, the VC said, social sector had been devolved to provinces and hence, this alliance of provincial government, academia and international development partners would be a milestone for growth and social development agenda of Punjab.

According to the concept paper, the patron-in-chief of SPACE would be Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, while key stakeholders would be all public policy-making bodies in Punjab; the higher education institutions; international social development institutions (such as the UNICEF); and the NGOs/Charity sector.

Chairman P&DB Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh said that this initiative would be launched during 2020, with the team of SPAB/SPACE based jointly at the P&D and the GCU Lahore. He emphasized the importance of policy continuity based on rigorous research. "The bridge between a research body such as SPACE and the policy body SPAB would facilitate policy consistency in various types of social policies, and we are happy to work with a prestigious higher education institution, such as the GCU," he maintained.

The first task of this collaboration would include agreeing to the societal outcomes which SPAB/SPACE would focus on. Discussions included focusing on generating education and employment for the underprivileged children and youth; on software development and promoting good governance practices of evidence-based policy making.