On 27th July, 2021 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) and the Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh (P&D Sindh) for collaboration between the two institutions for the joint aim of developing an ecosystem and culture of evidence-based policy making in the province of Sindh. Key members of both institutions leading the collaboration were present at the MoU signing including; Dr. Shereen Mustafa, Secretary Planning, Dr. Naeem us Zafar, Chief Economist, Rafique Shaikh, Special Secretary, Abdul Ahad Khan,Chief Training Officer, and Amna Aaqil, Associate Director Executive Education, CERP.

The MoU was executed through the Executive Education vertical at CERP and the Secretary Planning, Planning and Development Department, Government of Sindh based at the principal office of the Sindh Secretariat Karachi. CERP is a leading, independent, non-partisan policy institution focused on improving decision making in Pakistan through rigorous quantitative research, and through engaging with policy counterparts with real policy challenges and designing and advising on high impact reforms based on data.

This collaboration has been initiated with the aim to achieve a set of objectives including (but not limited to); the institutional strengthening of the P&D Sindh Board, collaboration on the development of results-based framework for the strengthening of the monitoring and evaluation capacity of the P&D Sindh Board, commissioning of various impact evaluations and benefit-incidence analysis studies, and the enhancement of knowledge-based trainings to achieve the larger aim of creating an ecosystem and culture of evidence-based policy making in the province of Sindh.

As part of this alliance, several mutually beneficial capacity building activities and programmes pertaining to the P&D Board, Sections and attached offices are set to take place. Apart from P&D and it’s sections, attached offices include the Research and Training Wing, the Sindh Bureau of Statistics, the Monitoring and Evaluation Cell, and lastly the Urban Policy and Strategic Planning Unit.