Assessment and Strengthening Programme (ASP)

October 2010 – October 2015

The Assessment and Strengthening Programme (ASP) was a 5-year long project/programme launched in 2010 by SEDC, LUMS and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was a programme by SEDC and culminated in the creation of the Centre for Governance and Public Management (CGPM). 

ASP was designed to bring the integral management of Pakistani CSOs and the GOP organizations to a higher level of management excellence, accountability, and transparency, thereby to build the capacity of Pakistan’s implementing partners to meet standards for compliance with U.S. Government rules and regulations, and in doing so, build their capacity to meet any donor’s standards for future funding.

Specifically, ASP-LUMS was part of three USAID strategic components: Institutional Capacity Building; Research and Development and Institutional Development of Awardees. LUMS was one of the implementing partners of ASP and was responsible for the training component of the programme. LUMS facilitated expansion of services in strengthening and training CSOs and the GOP organizations to meet standards compatible with USG rules and regulations.

The project was focused on building LUMS capacity to link with USAID and other ASP awardees, manage focused research, develop training curriculum, training of trainers, establish on-line IT based learning systems, provide institutional capacity building assistance in targeted areas and develop the tools and guides to be used by LUMS staff in performing these functions.

ASP-LUMS handled the training and research component of the Assessment and Strengthening Programme by USAID. The key deliverables included:

•    Trainings of managers and executives from Government and Civil Society Organizations
•    Internship Programme
•    Research and Publications
•    The Research Dissemination Conference
•    Public Sector Leadership in 21st Century Pakistan: Challenges and Best Practices Conference

During the USAID-funding phase, over 150 training programmes for senior and mid-career public and non-profit sector managers were conducted. Examples of these short-duration training programmes are: Financial Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, Procurement Audit, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Fiscal Decentralization, and Communications. Its large and diverse portfolio places the centre in a unique position as a premier training provider in Pakistan. Over 3,000 managers and executives from government and civil society organizations from across Pakistan, in areas including monitoring and evaluation, fiscal decentralization, and leadership and cultural change, were trained. Moreover, 44 Case Studies were developed under this project.