Improving Service Delivery Via Top Down Data-Driven Accountability: Reform Enactment of the Education Road Map in Pakistan
Published - May 1, 2023DeliverEd Initiative Working Paper
Authored by: Rabea Malik and Faisal Bari
This paper presents the findings from the qualitative component of the Pakistan case study for DeliverEd and traces the enactment of the delivery approach in the education sector and the impact on bureaucratic management practices in Punjab, Pakistan. We interview bureaucrats participated in the reform at the federal, provincial and district level during 2012 and 2018 to understand the intended design of the reform, and its operationalisation at various tiers of service delivery. In doing so, we document the ways in which management practices and routines changed as a result of the reform. The interviews also capture the perceptions and beliefs of the bureaucrats regarding the effectiveness of these routines and their experience of operationalizing this reform. Key findings suggest that while high stakes accountability introduced considerable activity in terms of new practices and routines at all tiers of service delivery, the cascade of reforms and the ways in which bureaucrats at different tiers interact with the reform varies significantly. Our findings contribute to the growing body of empirical work on middle tier bureaucrats.
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Malik, R., & Bari, F. (2023). Improving service delivery via top-down data-driven accountability: Reform enactment of the Education Road Map in Pakistan (DeliverEd Initiative Working Paper). The Education Commission. Retrieved from: https://educationcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Improving-Service-Delivery-Via-Top-Down-Data-Driven-Accountability.pdf