Project Case Study
Supporting evidence-based policymaking in Pakistan
Supporting the federal government of Pakistan in enhancing its collection and use of data
Pakistan needed to update and modernise its statistical bodies in order to produce properly evidenced policy documents, censuses and population welfare statistics. Taking advantage of our strong relationship with Pakistan’s government, Adam Smith International was asked in 2009 by the UK’s Department for International Development to design and implement a project to amalgamate Pakistan’s three federal statistics agencies into a unified Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and thus strengthen their capacity for statistical analysis.
As part of a major change management exercise, the project team designed mutually beneficial support functions in human resources, financial management and additionally established a change management unit. We also helped to prepare the General Statistics (Reorganization) Act 2011.
This was the first piece of statistical legislation since 1959. It was passed by Pakistan’s Senate in May of 2011, to formalise these organisational changes and help ensure they were implemented, giving the country the ability to more effectively evidence and document future policies.
