Our work in this area is rooted in the belief that genuine democratization requires more than elections. It requires informed citizens who understand their rights, elected representatives who understand their responsibilities, and institutions that are capable of being held accountable. We work with all three. We support elected representatives and local government functionaries in understanding their roles within the governance structure, and we work with communities and civil society organisations to help them engage more actively and effectively in local democratic processes

Thematically, we engage with questions of fiscal decentralisation, service delivery, civic participation, and the relationship between local bodies and provincial governments. We also work on more practical democratic tools including budget monitoring, public hearings, community scorecards, and grievance mechanisms, helping citizens move from passive recipients of governance to active participants in it.

Pakistan’s history with local government has been uneven. Structures have been introduced, suspended, redesigned, and reintroduced across different periods, often leaving communities uncertain about where power lies and how to engage with it. IDRAC tries to work through that uncertainty with the communities and institutions we partner with, building understanding and  capacity that remains useful regardless of how structures change. We believe that when local democracy works, everything else works better, and our work is oriented towards supporting that outcome in grounded and practical ways.