June 06; As the Federal and 4 Provincial Governments complete their first of the 5-year tenures - (Federal Government: June 4; Government of Balochistan:June 8,,Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: May 30, Government of the Punjab: June 5; Government of Sindh: May 31) �PILDAT, under its programme of Assessment of the Quality of Governance in Pakistan,has noticed a trend of competition among the Provincial Governments for better governance.

Researchers at PILDAT have noticed this sense of competition with greater intensity between the Provincial Governments of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.Performance of these two Provincial Governments seems to have exceeded even that of the Federal Government.

PILDAT, based on the analysis of a very preliminary data, feels that there is an improvement in the quality of governance during the first year (of the Governments compared to the previous five years (2008-2013). PILDAT feels that it isa very welcome change in Pakistan�s scenario where the five Governments are competing primarily on the basis of governance rather than ideology or any other abstract factor.

PILDAT Assessment on the Quality of Governance looks at the 1st year performance of the 4 Provincial and the Federal Governments elected through the May 2013 General Election. A year since the General Election 2013, assessment of key governance indicators shows that both Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) are leading in several areas of governance.Interestingly, in many of the leading governance indicators, the two Provincial Governments are ahead of the Federal Government.

In order to assess the quality of governance on a scientific basis, a programme on data collection of key performance indicators has been undertaken at PILDAT. While greatly benefitting from many international frameworks to assess the Quality of Governance, PILDAT has developed an indigenous framework with the valuable input of a 25-member Steering Committee comprising some of the most eminent experts from the four Provinces. The framework takes into account key governance indicators within the context of Pakistan in particular.

Feedback from the citizens will also form part of the governance assessment programme through a public opinion poll. PILDAT will soon release a first year Governance Assessment Report for the Federal and 4 Provincial Governments. This will help citizens in making an informed judgement about the performances of the Governments.

However, the programme by no means is an exerciseat finger-pointing;it is, in fact, a collaborative effort to highlight areas of strengths and potential areas requiring improvement in the quality of governance in the five Governments. PILDAT is expected to launch its first report on the Quality of Governance during the next two months.