Focus Group Discussion
The Pakistan Infrastructure Implementation Capacity Assessment (PIICA) study was initiated in response to a specific request from the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to study the capacity of the local construction industry (client institutions,...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Policy Note |
Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/9367845/focus-group-discussion http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19544 |
Summary: | The Pakistan Infrastructure
Implementation Capacity Assessment (PIICA) study was
initiated in response to a specific request from the
Government of Pakistan (GoP) to study the capacity of the
local construction industry (client institutions,
contractors and consultants) to deliver the planned
infrastructure projects under the Medium Term Development
Framework (MTDF). The objectives of the focus group
discussions were to: (i) ensure active participation and
ownership of stakeholders in the study; (ii) obtain
concurrence on the framework for the study and the technical
analyses to be carried out; and (iii) obtain feedback and
comments on findings and develop consensus on the way
forward. Focus group discussions helped identify the broad
thematic areas and the issues which should be researched.
The discussion provided a framework for preparation of a
detailed questionnaire to be used for ascertaining
stakeholders' perceptions about the industry and to
solicit their comments and suggestions. The focus group also
identified the need for carrying out separate technical
analyses and emphasized that case studies of various
projects should be prepared. The focus group discussions
validated the results obtained from the perceptions surveys
and the technical analyses and the stakeholders concurred
with the complex issues and challenges faced by the
construction industry. While valuable suggestions were
provided in the focus group discussions which can remove a
number of constraints faced by the industry, there were no
solutions offered which could be implemented to provide
increased capacity over the short-term as the systematic
weaknesses in the business environment, the lack of
adequately skilled human resource (HR), lack of client
agencies capacity, lack of financing, and credit available
to the industry and other constraints cannot be addressed
within an immediate or short-term time frame clearly,
besides taking measures to develop the local construction
industry, innovative methods of procurement, and delivery
mechanisms will need to be thought of in order to meet all
of the MTDF infrastructure development goals. |
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