Project Details.

In 2014, the Ismaili National Council for Pakistan, in response to escalating ultra-poverty in remote and marginalized valleys of GBC, piloted the Socio-Economic Development Program (SEDP) in the Khot and Rech valleys of Chitral. This was part of the AKDN-GBC Strategy (2016–2021). However, in early 2016, the program was expanded to Yarkhun Lasht Valley (Chitral), Garam Chashma Valley (Chitral), Chipursan Valley (Hunza), Silgan Valley (Yasin), and Immit Valley (Ghizer). A total of 61,407 people from 8,596 households benefitted from the program. SEDP-I was piloted for development interventions in remote and neglected regions of the GBC. 

The main goal of SEDP-I was to arrest the economic downslide of ultra-poor households and gradually improve the overall socioeconomic conditions prevailing in the seven target valleys. This assessment report presents findings for each of the major components of the SEDP program, which were as follows: Household Support Program Economic Development

• a). Skills Development Program 

• b). Micro-Enterprise Development Program 

• c). Foreign Job Placement Education Health Support Program (Household Level) 

• d). Safe and Secure Housing Program Detoxification 

The assessment report presents findings for each of these components, focusing on the objectives, impacts, and challenges. Besides, it establishes evidence for the most and least successful components in achieving the desired impact, focusing on the objectives, impact, and challenges. Besides, it establishes evidence for the most and least successful components in achieving the desired impact. The study’s key objectives were as follows: To understand the dynamics of households in terms of their family circumstances in the post-program context. To discern the program’s social and economic effects on the ground. 

HIMAT Consulting held an inception meeting with the project team to understand the expectations, scope of work, and identify documents that needed to be reviewed. HIMAT Consulting drafted the inception report and finalized it as per the feedback of the management team. The research team critically reviewed the documents shared (including presentations, annual review reports, program design, reported results, and review reports) to determine how far the project activities and resulting inputs have achieved the project’s intended outputs, outcomes, and ultimate objectives. 

HIMAT Consulting developed a data collection tool (questionnaire). HIMAT Consulting developed methodology to collect additional required information through qualitative data collection tools (FGDs and IDIs). The qualitative data collected through IDIs were analyzed with MAX QDA software. HIMAT Consulting analyzed of the data and present the findings to AKNC. HIMAT Consulting drafted the end of the project report and finalized it based on the feedback of AKNC.