USAID-funded Resource Centre at FC College opened

US Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission's Director for Punjab Jeffrey N Bakken inaugurated a USAID-funded Resource Centre at Forman Christian College (FCC) Centre for Public Policy and Governance. The 22.8 million rupee Resource Centre will support and promote empirical research in Pakistan.
The Centre will be a consolidated resource to provide students, researchers and policymakers with literature, data and training facilities to pave the way for informed decision making at all levels. At the same event, USAID's FIRMS Project Chief of Party Donald Hart and FCC's Director of the Centre for Public Policy and Governance Dr Shafqat Saeed signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop 'Vision 2035' for the city of Lahore. FCC Rector Dr James Tebee was also present on the occasion.
This collaboration provides a framework on policy, institutional and regulatory reforms which would help the policymakers in the Punjab to establish systems that are efficient and conducive to economic advancement. Speaking on the occasion, Donald Hart said the framework encompassed policy, institutional and regulatory reforms to cater to the growing needs of the city's 10 million people, and provide them with systems that were efficient and conducive to economic growth.
Hart affirmed that under the initiative the USAID Firms Project would support Forman Christian College in spearheading the process of developing a composite document, 'Vision 2035' for Lahore. A Core Working Group (CWG), constituting of representatives from public sector institutions, academia, business groups, and environmentalists, will be put in place to oversee and guide the preparation of thematic position papers.
This set of position papers on the governance and management of Lahore, transport planning in Lahore, water supply, sewerage and waste management, real estate markets in Lahore including land use, building control and zoning in Lahore; and trade friendliness, will codify a body of research and initiate a discourse and public consultations on issues stalling Lahore's urban development.
He also said FCC's Centre for Public Policy and Governance would be focusing on building broad based consensus among key stakeholders, including environmentalists, artists, intellectuals, urban planners, land developers, municipal service providers and members of trade associations, on various proposals, which would be instrumental in developing acceptance on a vision and proposed strategy for urban sector policy reforms.
"We are very optimistic that this initiative will lead a high quality research and analysis of issues related to urban development, planning and management in the City of Lahore," said Hart.
Speaking on the occasion USAID Mission Director for the Punjab, Jeffrey N Bakken said that US support would be helpful in improving the policy and decision-making processes in the Punjab as well as it would ensure a better future for the city of Lahore. He stressed his hope that collaboration between the Centre for Public Policy and Governance and USAID FIRMS Project was a futuristic venture, and that 'Lahore Vision 2035' would be a successful joint venture demonstrating strong synergy toward a sustainable future for the city of Lahore.