December 2008 – March 2009
December 2008: The staff of Civil Society Program (CSP) of Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) and Civil Society Resource Centre (CSRC) met for a review session. The work plan for Year 1 of the Project was reviewed and refined; staff for each activity and task was identified; and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the project were reviewed and refined.
January 2009: AKF (P) placed a full time project team both at CSRC in Karachi and AKF (P) in Islamabad.
January and February 2009: The Hum Qadam team consulted with key informants in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. It introduced the project and sought their inputs and support in project implementation.
February 2009: A two-day orientation cum planning meeting of AKF (P), CSRC and Hum Qadam staff was held to identify challenges at the start of the project and plan the next steps in project implementation; 15 districts were shortlisted for the Hum Qadam intervention.
January to March 2009: To inform work planning, a rigorous review of secondary literature and information (such as socio-economic indicators) was undertaken alongside an analysis of the law and order situation in several districts of Pakistan for potential impact on the Hum Qadam Project.
March 2009: Seven districts were tentatively chosen for implementation based on consultation with supporting organizations, representatives of organizations in these areas, and the aforementioned literature review and situational analysis.