policymakers better respond to the articulated needs and potential of local communities. Resourcing scale up requires VOs and apex institutions to
access the financial, technical, and human resources needed to sustain innovation and programmatic activity. RSPs play a strong role in pulling government resources down to district and community levels so they can respond to articulated demand. For example, the RSP “landless garden” approach has been adopted by the government of Bihar to facilitate wider replication in vulnerable, landless households. Where government resources for programming are constrained, RSPs facilitate linkages with other potential providers. In Pakistan, Mountain Fruits—a local enterprise that processes and packages dried apricots—evolved from the RSP’s investment in horticulture and engaged with producer groups organized through VOs. Significant scale up has occurred as the RSP has transferred marketing and extension services to a private- sector actor. Over time, after governance and service structures are stronger
and linked to community demand, RSPs can function with relatively small amounts of funding and continue to achieve impact. Their focus shifts to facilitating innovation, monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, exchange of experience, and linkage building. RSP approaches influence policy to facilitate scale up. Through
its efforts to build government capacity, engage government agencies in the development and rollout of subsector plans, and share lessons learned with government, AKDN has had considerable success at integrating RSP approaches into provincial and national policies and programs. Specifically, RSP experience in joint forest management became part of India’s policy, which was adopted by 18 states. In Afghanistan, the RSP’s approach to social accountability has been adopted into the National Solidarity Program, with potential reach of 25,000 communities.
Lessons learned
Start with private interest and then build in a focus on public goods. The initial motivation for farmers to form or join a VO tends to be self-interest. RSPs’ efforts to improve food security and livelihoods by making appropriate technologies, infrastructure, and training easily available, however, also helps create a foundation of trust. In the case of Northern Pakistan, this trust has lasted for 30 years and resulted in sustained improvements in economic and social welfare.
Lasting commitments are necessary. RSPs learned that three-
to-five-year programs do not allow enough time for development to take root. RSPs are thus committed for relatively long periods of time to allow for sustainable change. The intention is not to deliver a project intervention and then withdraw, but to partner with communities and enable them to meet their self-identified needs over time. This approach requires RSPs to constantly adapt their role and interactions with an evolving system of local institutions, providing targeted support where needed and stepping back as institutions mature. In particular, RSPs have progressed from directly providing services to beneficiaries toward playing a facilitative role in line with its systems approach to development. Manage organizational change. The scale up of AKDN’s RSPs
has relied on the transfer of skilled human resources between different country contexts and the ability to adapt a highly process-oriented approach to different regions. This has created a rich environment for learning and exchange between programs. However, RSPs have realized that building and retaining the appropriate talent for scale up is a key constraint. Scaling up requires more management skills to complement technical and community development expertise. Support from the government is key. RSPs in Pakistan, India,
and Afghanistan have explicitly partnered with government and received substantial support from various government sources. Some rural development programs have even been structured specifically to enable better government outreach to remote communities. Particularly in resource-poor areas where market activity is limited, this engagement with government remains critical for RSP sustainability.
For further reading: S. S. Khan, The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme: A Journey through Grassroots Development (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009); F. Rasmussen, M. Piracha, R. Bajwa, A. Malik, and A. Mansoor, Shanghai Poverty Conference—Scaling Up Poverty Reduction: Case Study: Scaling Up RSPs in Pakistan (Islamabad, Pakistan: Rural Support Programmes Network, 2003); G. Wood, A. Malik, and S. Sagheer, eds., Valleys in Transition: Twenty Years of AKRSP’s Experience in Northern Pakistan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).
Henri Suter (
henri.suter@
akdn.org) is a special missions consultant with the Rural Development Programme, Aga Khan Foundation, in Geneva. Leanne Sedowski (
leanne.sedowski@
akdn.org) is a program officer in market development and access to finance, Aga Khan Foundation, in Washington, DC. Joanne Trotter (
joanne.trotter@
akdn.org) is the director of programs, Aga Khan Foundation, in Washington, DC.
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