1. 1
Current rural development programmes rural support programmes and rural development
programs of NGOs
Lecture -26
D.National Rural Support Programme (NRSP)
Established in 1991,NRSP is the largest Rural Support Programme in the country in terms of
outreach, staffand development activities. It is a not for profit organization registered under
Section 42 ofCompanies Ordinance 1984.
NRSP's mandate is to alleviate poverty by harnessing people's potential and undertake
development activities in Pakistan. It has a presence in 54 Districts in all the four Provinces
including Azad Jammu and Kashmir through Regional Offices and Field Offices. NRSP is
currently working with more than One million poor households organized into a network ofmore
than 102,000 Community Organizations. With sustained incremental growth, NRSP is Pakistan's
leading engine for poverty reduction and rural development.
Objectives ofNRSP
The main objective of NRSP is to foster a countrywide network of grassroots level
organizations to enable rural communities to plan, implement and manage developmental activities and
programmes for the purpose of ensuring productive employment, alleviation of poverty and improvement
in the quality of life.
NRSP is designed in such a way that it specializes as a support organization, which provides social
guidance to the communities. The guiding tenets of NRSP’s philosophy are to organize rural communities
develop their capital base at the local level through savings and credit schemes,support human
development endeavors and link the communities with the government service delivery departments,
donors, NGOs and the private sector. While interacting with so many stakeholders, NRSP carefully
outlines its role as that of a facilitator. This leads the communities and other partners to maintain their
relationship independent of NRSP.
Approach of NRSP
To mobilize people's willingness through the provision of social guidance, NRSP takes the following
steps:
Relying on local perceptions, a poverty profile is prepared to assess the intensity of poverty prevailing
in the community that seeks social guidance.
The willing community is introduced to the philosophy of NRSP,based on which the community
organizes itself into a socially viable group called the community organization (CO). In view of the
information provided by the poverty profile, an attempt is made to encourage the poor to join the CO.
During initial interactions with the community, genuine activists, who have an ambition to support
their communities in their quest to overcome poverty, are identified. The role of these activists in
harnessing the willingness of the communities is of paramount significance.
Following the identification of an activist, a micro plan for each member is developed to see what he or
she is willing to do on his/her own. Along with catering to the individual needs, group level and village
level needs are also identified. A thorough analysis of each is conducted in view of available resources
and
constraints to assign priorities to the identified needs.

2. 2
The next step after the cost-benefit analysis, is the arrangement of the desired resources to address the
priority needs. These resources are pooled by the community, provided by the support organization or
managed through other stakeholders like private and public sector service delivery departments, NGOs
and donors.
E. AKRSP
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme Is A Private, Non-Communal, Non-Profit Company,
Established By The Aga Khan Foundation In 1982 In Gilgit. Its Programme Area Is Comprised Of The
Seven Districts Of Gilgit-Baltistan And The Chitral District Of Khybar-Pakhtunkhwa Province Of
Pakistan.
Programme Goal: To Contribute To Equitable And Sustainable Human Development And The Reduction
Of Poverty And Gender Inequality In The Gilgit-Baltistan And Chitral (GBC) Region Of Pakistan
Specific Objectives: The Basic Principles Of Participatory Rural Development Which Have Been
Employed By AKRSP,To Achieve Its Above Mentioned Goal And Underlying Objectives, Include: (I)
Collective Management Of Resources Through Social Mobilization, (Ii) Capital-Building Through
Regular Savings, And (Iii) Upgrading Human Skills Through Training To The Community Organizations
And Activists.
In Pursuit Of The Goal Of Poverty Reduction And Improving The Quality Of Life Of The Rural
Community Of GBC, AKRSP Has Consolidated Its Programmes Into Three Major Components; I.E. (I)
Institutional Development, (Ii) Resource Development, And (Iii) Market Development. The Issues Of
Gender And Poverty Have Been Programmed As Cross-Cutting Themes. Following Are The Sector-Wise
Specific Objectives Of AKRSP’s Programmes.