[{"bbox": [85, 154, 323, 187], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 220, 235, 247], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [85, 265, 1145, 400], "category": "Text", "text": "Pakistan's organised civil society sector has grown exponentially in terms of size and influence. According to the Pakistan Centre of Philanthropy, there are around 55 000 registered CSOs in Pakistan¹. Civil society is diverse, with a range of organisations working, from the grassroots to the national level, on a broad range of themes, from humanitarian and social basic services delivery to advocacy and human rights. Recent years have also seen a rise of new and emerging forms of feminist and social civic movements led by women and younger activists."}, {"bbox": [85, 411, 1145, 493], "category": "Text", "text": "In an apparent paradigm change with implications for the regulatory role of the state and the non-profit sector there has been a trend in Pakistan in which the State is moving away from being the monopoly provider of social services allowing for a variety of non-state actors to deliver social services. [obj]"}, {"bbox": [85, 505, 1145, 640], "category": "Text", "text": "Although government regulations have resulted in many CSOs becoming dormant, today Pakistan's non-profit sector employs around 300 000 people, uses around 200 000 full time staff, and engages in a wide range of activities ranging from service delivery to sophisticated financial services and technical advice in areas like agricultural extension, water and sanitation, and housing construction. Increasingly, CSOs are engaged in advocacy and lobbying activities for legal and fiscal reform and take a proactive approach in defining issues for the national agenda³."}, {"bbox": [85, 650, 1145, 890], "category": "Text", "text": "With respect to the legal and institutional environment, CSOs continue to be governed by a wide array of laws, which are enforced by multiple government institutions at provincial and federal levels. One of the most relevant pieces of legislation is the NGO Policy in Pakistan, which had been introduced in 2013 to provide a regulatory framework for the functioning of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country. The policy was aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in the sector and ensuring that NGOs operate within the legal and regulatory framework of the country. The NGO Policy was driven by government concerns about the transparency and accountability of NGOs operating in the country, and alleged involvement of NGOs in activities that were deemed to be against the national interest. The policy was designed to address these concerns and provide a clear framework for the functioning of NGOs in the country."}, {"bbox": [85, 901, 1145, 1221], "category": "Text", "text": "However, CSOs and development partners criticised the restrictive provisions of the policy. CSOs also demanded effective but simpler regulation and the establishment of a “one-window” mechanism, for CSOs to comply with the necessary administrative, financial, and reporting requirements. The Government initiated the process of revising the NGO Policy around 2018. The new, revised Policy was approved by the Cabinet on 24 November 2022. It incorporates some of the issues and concerns raised by development partners as well as NGOs following a consultation process with local and international NGOs that preceded its revision. While the Policy is not unproblematic, and has been criticised for lack of coherence, incompleteness and an overly strong focus on service delivery NGOs, marginalising the work of right holders organisations, nonetheless, it may have the potential of being implemented in a manner that can remove some of the complications and bottlenecks of registration and operation. Following consultations of the government on the policy, there might also be an opening for supporting reform efforts and processes aimed at developing a better understanding of CSOs roles in poverty reduction and governance and a streamlined regulatory and institutional framework allowing CSOs to effectively perform such roles."}, {"bbox": [85, 1232, 1145, 1340], "category": "Text", "text": "Capacity related weaknesses are common among CSOs. Generally, there is a need to improve compliance systems as many organisations struggle to submit the required reports to the government. There is also widespread perception of misuse of funds, implying the need for more solid systems of financial accountability. Furthermore, organisations need to compensate a lack of available trained individuals to run effective organisations and limited access to funding."}, {"bbox": [85, 1351, 1145, 1493], "category": "Text", "text": "On the collective side, civil society remains fragmented, with more coordination and networking efforts required to overcome the divisions that characterise the sector. According to the EU survey launched for the preparation of the EU Roadmap for engagement with CSOs in Pakistan in 2021, 45% of the surveyed CSOs are members of at least one network/coordination/alliance. In general, they are satisfied with their effectiveness, but there is room for improvement (i.e. 39% of the surveyed CSOs believe them to be somewhat effective)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1579, 238, 1602], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹ https://pcp.org.pk/"}, {"bbox": [85, 1602, 571, 1625], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² https://www.icnl.org/resources/civic-freedom-monitor/pakistan"}, {"bbox": [85, 1625, 137, 1644], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ idem"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1681, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 26"}]