‘Doing okay’

DAWN

PERSISTENTLY high inflation in Pakistan is eroding the purchasing power of the poorest, limiting access to basic facilities. The World Bank estimates that poverty will remain around 40 per cent, with 10 million people at risk of falling below the poverty line due to potential economic shocks. Despite this, social protection programmes receive minimal attention, with Pakistan allocating less than one per cent of GDP to social assistance, thus offering little relief to the poor.

With the government’s limited fiscal space and competing priorities, it is clear that investment in social sectors is likely to remain low. Therefore, the government must focus on creating a conducive environment for social delivery organisations (SDOs) to step in and address these gaps.

The Doing Good Index of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society examines the regulatory and societal environment in which private capital is directed towards philanthropy. It ranks countries in four categories based on its findings: ‘doing well’, ‘doing better’, ‘doing okay’, and ‘not doing enough’ (from best to worst). According to the DGI 2024 report, which surveyed 122 SDOs in Pakistan through the SDPI, the country is classified as ‘doing okay’, indicating an unfavourable regulatory environment. This classification represents a decline from its ‘doing better’ status in 2020.

Read the full article here.

Asian social sector faces technological challenges

Bangkok Post

Despite the rapid digitisation of the Asian social sector, social delivery organisations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes because of inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity and insufficient donor support, according to the Doing Good Index 2024. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is emerging that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities, said the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), which created the index.

Read the full article here.

70% of social sector organizations are insufficiently prepared against cybersecurity threats

APN News

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society(CAPS),a uniquely Asia, independent, action-oriented research and advisory organization, released the 2024 edition of its flagship study, the Doing Good Index. The study finds that despite the rapid digitalization of the Asian social sector, social delivery organizations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes due to inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity, and insufficient donor support. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is being created that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities.

Read the full article here.

70% of social sector organizations are insufficiently prepared against cybersecurity threats

Philanthropy News Digest

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), a uniquely Asia, independent, action-oriented research and advisory organization, released the 2024 edition of its flagship study, the Doing Good Index. The study finds that despite the rapid digitalization of the Asian social sector, social delivery organizations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes due to inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity, and insufficient donor support. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is being created that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities.

Read the full article here.

Doing Good Index 2024 – Examining the Readiness of Asia’s Social Sectors to Thrive

CAPS’ biannual Doing Good Index identifies the factors that drive or hinder the giving and receiving of private social investment to address social needs.

Now in its fourth iteration, the Doing Good Index 2024 looks at how the four components of the Index—regulations, tax and fiscal policy, ecosystem and procurement—have changed in the last two years. The findings are evidence-based, derived from original data from surveying 2,183 nonprofits and social enterprises and interviewing 140 experts across 17 Asian economies. This iteration of the report also includes a special thematic section on the impact of digital technology on Asia’s social sector.

Against the backdrop of the tumultuous Covid-19 years, the 2024 Index shows a continuation of the status quo with few major changes. However, the lack of change is not necessarily bad, as stability lays the groundwork for the social sector to thrive. The report also finds that Asia’s social sector is insufficiently prepared for the technological future, held back by inadequate access to digital infrastructure, capacity constraints and insufficient donor support.

The Index offers a blueprint of the policies and practices that can unleash private social capital and how the public, private and social sectors can work together to build a stronger and more equitable Asia.

Doing Good Index microsite

Our interactive microsite lets you explore and compare our Index data using visual and digestible graphics. The economy profile pages present a deep dive into each economy and provide a longitudinal overview of select data points. The data dashboard allows you to compare economies with each other, the Asian average and over time.

The Doing Good Index is published every two years. Read the inaugural edition from 2018, our 2020 edition, and our 2022 edition.

 

Procurement for Good: Government Procurement from the Social Sector in Asia

Government procurement of goods and services from the social sector is mutually beneficial. It helps the government leverage the social sector’s subject expertise and community links to deliver more efficient and cost-effective social services while also providing legitimacy and a sustainable source of income to social delivery organizations. However, the potential benefits are contingent on the ease and accessibility of government procurement and broader factors contributing to an SDO’s capacity to fulfill needs.

This policy brief provides an assessment of the policy landscape of government procurement from the social sector in Asia and highlights four key findings:

  1. Preferential government procurement policies in the social sector favor social enterprises over nonprofits.
  2. Nonprofits are contracted mostly as knowledge partners and welfare service providers, whereas social enterprises are more likely to be suppliers.
  3. Capacity issues are the biggest inhibitor of SDO participation in government procurement; these constraints range from production reliability to staffing to financial viability.
  4. Large and older SDOs with existing government relationships crowd out smaller and newer SDOs.

Based on these findings, the policy brief identifies bottlenecks that limit the potential benefits of government procurement from the social sector and introduces recommendations for governments and SDOs to address specific issues.

Corporate Philanthropy in Pakistan

Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP)

These reports examine the philanthropic contributions toward social development by the corporate sector in Pakistan.

Pakistan Giving Index

Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy

The Pakistan Giving Index by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy examines the scope and nature of giving in Pakistan. Inspired by the methodology of the CAF World Giving Index, the study looks at different aspects of giving behavior, whether people are giving to charity and to whom they gave, their motivations for giving and the perceived impact of their contributions. Key findings include the need for charities and non-profit organizations to effectively communicate their work and their impact to win the trust of the public. Read it here.

Seema Aziz (Pakistan)
Title
Founder
Organization
CARE Foundation
Country
Pakistan

Published date: 30 September 2022

Seema Aziz is the co-founder and managing director of textile company Sefam. In 1988 she founded CARE Foundation to build schools and provide quality education to underprivileged children in Pakistan. From the first school built in 1991, CARE now oversees the education of 300,000 children in 888 schools across Pakistan thanks to its innovative Adopt a School program. CAPS spoke to Seema to find out what motivates her strong commitment to improving educational outcomes for Pakistan’s youth.

 

CAPS: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Your story is a truly remarkable story, from starting a successful textile company to founding Pakistan’s largest educational NGO. Can you take us back to the beginning and share how you become involved with community development?

Seema: It started with the business. The first shop opened its doors in 1985. We worked really hard for a whole year: running around, fixing the quality of the fabric and dyes. We put together whatever little bits of money we had and put all of our energy into the business. Soon we built a reputation for our locally made, high-quality fabrics.

The belief that we, as humans, have a responsibility to others as part of civil society was always a part of our company’s values. In 1988 there was a terrible flood in Lahore and we realized we had to help the people affected. So we went out to deliver food and medicine.

After the water receded, many people had lost their homes and there were thousands camped out on the roads. And much more help was needed. Our first idea was to help people to rebuild homes. We thought we could do ten homes. We picked ten people at random from the hundreds who applied and gave them the money to rebuild. Then we repeated the process a few times and ended up building about 80 homes.

 

CAPS: How did that evolve into a focus on education?

Seema: I was particularly involved in one area that was hit badly: no electricity, no sewage system and no running water. As I was going around to check on people, hundreds of children would follow me. I asked some of the women there why they were following me and they replied, “What else should they do? There’s no school.” That really horrified me. I said to them, “What if I build a school?” They were all so excited. They told me to stop building the homes and to build the school.

My friends and family in the city told me I was totally mad, that the poor don’t want to educate their children. But when I looked at the people I was trying to help, I realized the only difference between them and me was an education. Thanks to my education I had so many opportunities. Those mothers wanted a better life for their children the same as any mothers do. If the opportunity does not exist, it’s not their fault, it’s the fault of society. I decided to build a school. We collected donations from friends and family and in 1991, we opened the doors. On the day of opening 250 children were standing outside. They had all lined up for a chance at a better life.

 

CAPS: Apart from the physical buildings, what else went into developing the schools?

Seema: Developing the curriculum was important. When I looked at what the government schools were teaching, I realized that it wasn’t enough. That’s why we introduced the English curriculum. And we also had to provide pencils and books and other necessary supplies for the children.

I didn’t want any child to ever grow up thinking that the support we were giving them was charity, because it wasn’t. It’s their right and our duty to ensure that they get that education. And so, they each paid ten rupees for their education, then everything else was free.

By the end of the first year, word had gotten around that ours was a school where education happens. The next year we had 450 children, then 850 the year after. We acquired some more land, so we built another school and then another. And the children worked so hard, they learned everything we taught them.

 

CAPS: How did the partnership with the government come about?

Seema: By 1998, I was realizing the sheer number of children in need. And in my heart, I knew that only government could provide education for all. No private organization could ever provide education for all, it needed government infrastructure. That same year, the government asked me to go and survey about 25 schools in Lahore. I was horrified: no running water, no toilets, no lights, no furniture, no teachers, and children sitting on broken floors in their neat little uniforms waiting for an education, which was never going to happen. I saw in my city of Lahore, which we think of as the cultural heart of Pakistan, schools with no roofs, schools with no door.

I told the government that we would partner with them to support ten schools. CARE would take on complete responsibility for the school’s operations and expenses (capital and running), including the infrastructural improvements, staff recruitment, training and salary. We adopted government schools that were not in good shape, and by the end of the year we turned them around. Enrolments doubled and then quadrupled.

CAPS: What have been the major challenges CARE has faced?

Seema: Originally when we took over the government schools, we said that we would stay for ten years. We would help train others, then slowly reduce the number of our people. But it hasn’t worked out like that. We still haven’t exited those schools because we know the moment we walk out, they’ll collapse. They keep asking us to take on more schools, but getting money from the government has also been difficult. So, I’ve committed a percentage of my company’s earnings to CARE.

Another challenge is the drop-out rate, especially among girls. There are many bright students who do not have the means to go to college. So, we set up a scholarship program that supports our students to go to some of the best colleges in the country.

 

CAPS: What keeps you motivated to keep CARE running despite these challenges?

Seema: We are totally committed to children graduating. Education is a great equalizer. It shouldn’t just be available to rich children. We need to even the playing field and create equal opportunities. We really believe in that, and we’ve done our best. I think that’s the main thing.

 

Asia’s social sector sees a funding decline

SME Horizon

COVID-19 has exacerbated income inequalities and social disparities across Asia, serving as a force multiplier for trends already in place. Assessing performance across four sub-indexes – Regulations, Tax and Fiscal Policy, Ecosystem, and Procurement – CAPS’ biennial flagship study, the Doing Good Index 2022, examines the social investment landscape in Asia. Read here.