ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will provide $1.3 million to the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) for carrying out a social audit of public services delivery, an official of the NRB said on Thursday.

He said the funding would be utilised to carry out a landmark study in all the 24 districts in the North West Frontier Province over the next five years through the Social Audit of Public Services Delivery commissioned by the NRB.

An agreement to this effect was signed here on Thursday by the UNDP Resident Representative, Onder Yucer, and Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan Christian Dunant. Farah Ayub from the Economic Affairs Division represented the government of Pakistan, the official said.

Under the agreement, he said, the study would be carried out by the CIET, an international organization with two decades of experience in social audits around the world.

The NRB official said the social audit had been commissioned to get citizens views and experiences of public services and to monitor the improvement of public services delivery in all the districts across the country.

The Swiss funding represents 25 per cent of the total cost of the five-year social audit programme and will be channelled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Speaking on the occasion, UNDP Resident Representative Onder Yucer said the social au dit in Pakistan was being carried out for the first time to systematically collect citizens’ views and experiences of public services from all districts.

The government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supported the baseline survey that assessed the situation at the beginning of the devolution process. It is built on a 10 district pilot study, funded by the UNDP and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

The results of the first study was officially released to the public by NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz in October last and it was now being shared widely through a series of meetings with provincial and district authorities across the country.

The social audit will be repeated annually for monitoring the impact of devolution and allowing policies to be adapted according to evidence of service delivery.

Swiss Ambassador Christian Dunant said the social audit would portray a realistic picture of public service delivery and project implementation.

“It will help in assessing the on-the-ground situation and will strengthen the devolution process by engaging the communities as well as ascertaining their views on the issues that affect them directly,” Mr Dunant said.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) was set up in 1961, as part of the Swiss foreign ministry, to extend technical, financial and humanitarian aid in the developing world.

The agency has contributed to development projects in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The agency also participates in multilateral efforts with the United Nations, the World Bank and regional development institutions like the Asian Development Bank and its bilateral cooperation amounted to $316 million in 2002.

The first agreement between the SDC and the Government of Pakistan was signed in 1966 and the organization set up its Cooperation Office in Islamabad in 1977.