Investigating the role of procurement practices in effective implementation of infrastructure projects in a developing country: a case of Pakistan

This research investigated the role of procurement practices in effective implementation of infrastructure projects in a developing country like Pakistan. It investigated and explored the issues and barriers to effective implementation of different procurement methods that the organisations used, the environment and its suitability for implementing different forms of procurement in context of public sector in Pakistan and the relationship it had to successful project outcomes. The research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage archival analysis was conducted of government documents, reports including reports by international organisations, policy documents and literature. As a result of this it was found that there are two different methods of procurement used for procuring infrastructure projects in public sector in Pakistan i.e. the traditional method for example competitive design-bid-build and the non-traditional method for example Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). During the second stage case studies were selected based on archival analysis. A total of 6 public sector organisations had been selected as organisational case studies and 8 projects had been selected among these organisations as project case studies. Out of the 6 organisations 5 were federal government and 1 provincial government organisation. The organisational coverage of sub-sectors of infrastructure includes transport, water and power sub-sectors. Geographically the organisations and projects covered all four provinces and tribal areas as well as the state of Azad and Jammu Kashmir. Projects were selected on the basis of procurement method. Out of the total 8, 3 of the projects were on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), 2 projects on Build-Own-Operate (BOO), 1 project on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) (only BOOT project in Pakistan) and 2 projects on traditional method of procurement were selected. A total of 24 respondents participated from these 6 organisations. The case studies were analysed using qualitative content analysis techniques of the in depth interviews. Cross case analysis had also been carried out based on looking at the similarities and differences across similar as well as different methods of procurement. As a result multiple issues have been identified which affected the choice of procurement. The barriers and constraints to implementation of procurement have also been described in detail. It was reported that the procurement practice had a direct impact on successful project outcomes in case of public sector infrastructure projects in Pakistan. As a result of this analysis a road map of the on going processes and practice of procurement in public sector in Pakistan has been created which vividly portrays the issues and barriers of the procurement practice in Pakistan

Rethinking connectivity as interactivity: a case study of Pakistan

Connectivity in developing countries has traditionally been viewed in terms of investment in transport and communications. This papers makes an effort to go beyond this traditional view and conceptualizes connectivity as networks between people and places. We split the overall national reforms agenda for connectivity into three prongs: a) transportation and related services, b) ICT, and c) social capital. We try to see the state of each of these three in case of Pakistan and then propose reforms keeping in view the current political economy milieu.Connectivity; Economic Growth; Transport; Communications; Social Capital

The Role of the Food & Beverage Sector in Expanding Economic Opportunity

The food and beverage industry has a unique role in expanding economic opportunity because it is universal to human life and health. The industry operates at multiple levels of society where billions of people grow, transform, and sell food, particularly in developing countries where agriculture dominates all other economic sectors. Yet a vast share of these workers cannot both satisfy their immediate consumption needs and earn sufficient income from food markets to improve their lives. This report applies the results of primary and secondary research to a number of case studies to draw lessons on strategies for expanding economic opportunity in the food & beverage sector. Primary research consisted of telephone interviews and secondary research included a review of reports, studies, and articles from a range of sources for each case study. The result is a paper that provides insight into how pioneering large firms are breaking this dilemma and building economic opportunity around food beverage value chains

Scaling Up Climate Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UNDP released its first infographic report that presented the breadth and depth of our support on climate change over the past two decades. That report emphasized successes and noted the opportunities that climate action presents for countries as they transition their economies towards zero-carbon and climate-resilient sustainable development.This year, as countries begin to take concrete action to deliver on their national climate goals, we are pleased to release an updated report of UNDP's climate change work. New, in this report, is a special focus on the linkages between climate change and sustainable development. Specifically, the report highlights the importance of climate action in delivering on the SDGs and provides examples of UNDP's on-going work on the ground towards this end. The report also presents UNDP's commitment to scale up climate change action in order to deliver on the ambitious agenda that countries agreed to in 2015." – Magdy Martinez-Solima

Learning Lessons: Urban Water Supply Sector

Complementing a November 2009 guidance note that outlined risks to development effectiveness in the urban water supply sector, this brief provides relevant lessons from evaluations of Asian Development Bank programs over the last ten years. The findings warn against the sector's vulnerability to diverse institutional, organizational, operations, and project-level risks

Off-track, Off-target: Why Investment in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Is Not Reaching Those Who Need It Most

This report explores why resources are not reaching those who need it most and why progress is slow, uneven, and unjust. Among the reasons mentioned in the report: political priorities lead governments to favor other sectors, improve places already served, or exclude poor and marginalized groups. Furthermore, aid is not well-coordinated, is only loosely targeted according to need, and its effectiveness is constrained by red tape and lack of alignment with government systems. The report recommends key actions for national governments, donors, international agencies and civil society to break the vicious cycle of low investment and poor performance and get off-track countries back on-track to meet the MDGs

Trends in National and Regional Investors Financing Crossborder Infrastructure Projects in Asia

This study examines a range of cross-border infrastructure development issues related to the Asian countries. Despite active pursuit of private investment in infrastructure by most developing countries in Asia and a growing number of success stories, the pace of such investment remains slow. Participation by the private sector in infrastructure development has been mixed. While there has been moderate progress in national infrastructure development by the private sector, progress is rather limited in the case of development of cross-border infrastructure in Asia. This study documents that Asian countries have attracted higher private sector investment for the development of national infrastructure projects such as seaports and airports as compared to cross-border infrastructure projects. The rising trend among private investors in infrastructure projects indicates a decline of investments by developed country investors. One of the findings of this study is that cross-border energy projects have received greater private sector investment globally as compared to transport, telecommunication, and water projects. In the context of Asia, too, energy sector projects still dominate the investment scenario. By considering all modes of financing, this study finds that cross-border infrastructure financing in Asia has witnessed an upward trend in the last decade and a half. Aside from hydropower projects in Bhutan, cross-border infrastructure in Asia is pursued through public-private partnerships. Interestingly, these few cross-border projects in Asia have limited private sector investors, compared to other regions, despite a wide base of local investors in Asia. This paper also shows that public sector investment drives cross-border energy and transportation projects in Asia, whereas private sector investments have picked up the pace only recently, specifically after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. This study recommends that given the huge infrastructure investment needs of the region and insufficient government resources, the role of the private sector and public-private partnerships in enhancing infrastructure facilities in Asia is very crucial. A review of select case studies of cross-border infrastructure projects clearly indicates that the major reasons for slow progress of regional infrastructure development by private sector stem from both economic to non-economic issues that need to be addressed in order to promote seamless Asia.asia regional infrastructure; crossborder infrastructure

Poor Performance of Health and Population Welfare Programmes in Sindh: Case Studies in Governance Failure

Over the past few years, the issue of what is meant by “good governance” has generated increasing attention and debate both at the national and international level [Streeten (1997)]. The role of state and how that role is to be exercised is appearing high on the agenda of politicians, policy-makers and academicians in the developing world. Governance has been defined by the World Bank as “the manner in which power is exercised in the management of the country’s economic and social resources” [World Bank (1994)]. The somewhat narrow scope of this definition has been broadened in recent years to “the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs” [Commission on Global Governance (995)] The Human Development Report [UNDP (1999)] goes beyond these definitions and gives a much more radical notion of good governance, underpinning the importance of peoples’ participation in shaping their own governance and development. This type of governance has been labeled as “humane governance”. A review of existing literature thus shows that governance has been interpreted to have different elements such as management of economic and social resources for development, formulation and implementation of policies, discharging of functions, accommodation of diverse interests towards cooperative action and above all, accountability to people and ownership by the people of the governance process. In view of the above, one may ask what constitutes good governance for the health sector? Management of resources pertains to the concept of efficiency, a term appearing with increasing frequency in global literature on health care reforms; policy formulation and discharging of functions allude to the objective of effectiveness which itself has a wide scope encompassing relevance, quality and availability of health care; while “humane governance” brings in the notion of community participation and accountability with regards to decision-making and delivery of health care.