In Pakistan, governance and public service delivery failures are often rooted in citizens’ exclusion from policy design and implementation. Citizens are not merely the recipients of services but co-creators of systems that can function effectively and sustainably. The exclusion of citizens from decision-making leads to a breakdown in public trust, as the system begins to be perceived as disconnected from the needs and realities of the population. Citizen inclusion in decision-making and accountability remained at the core of conversations during the Design Thinking and Problem-Solving workshop arranged by the Accountability Lab in collaboration with the Balochistan Civil Services Academy in Quetta.

While navigating through the design thinking process during the workshop, the participants dug deeper into the reasons behind Balochistan’s governance failures.  Some of these reasons included:

• Resistance and fear of change from within the government departments.
• Logical substitutes and safety measures were not offered to citizens to transition to the change.
• Policy change process was sudden and not gradual.
• Status Quo – i.e., existing culture (both in society and within government departments) and processes that benefit people in power.
• Change was not linked to incentive.
• People within the system believed competence is linked to seniority if the junior staff suggested the change.
• Discontinuity of the political cycle and leadership.
• Lack of political will and support.
• Strong private sector lobbies’ influence on the provincial and federal executives.
• Resistance to innovation and technology.
• Personal biases of the people involved in decision-making.
• Lack of advocacy and citizen inclusion.
• Weak enforcement of policies.
• Corruption and maladministration.
• Lack of trained human resources and institutional capacity.

The exclusion of citizens from project design and policy-making and the lack of incentives to participate in a project were also discussed as major reasons for projects’ failures in the province. For example, birth registration campaigns in Balochistan have struggled because they did not offer meaningful benefits to citizens. Without clear incentives or awareness, people see little value in engaging with government programs, leading to a lack of trust and participation.

Additionally, in Balochistan, many public projects and reforms have failed under the weight of resistance—not because the ideas were inherently flawed, but because they were rolled out without addressing the needs of the citizenry and the systematic barriers faced by the very people they aim to help. The absence of citizen engagement creates a cycle of resistance. The lack of a citizen-centered approach undermined the efforts, whether it was the resistance to paying water bills in districts where services are irregular or reluctance to adopt forest conservation practices when viable alternatives weren’t provided.

Citizens are more likely to engage with reforms that align with their immediate needs and offer clear, accessible benefits. For example, successful reform efforts, such as the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), demonstrate the power of linking public services to incentives. BISP provides financial empowerment to vulnerable communities, especially women, and incentivizes citizens to obtain Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and participate in the formal banking system. This success shows that when reforms are built around the citizens, linked to a clear benefit– monetary or otherwise – they generate trust, increase participation, and improve service delivery.

Without accountability, citizen engagement becomes superficial, and without citizen engagement, accountability measures lack legitimacy.

Another significant challenge facing the public sector in Pakistan is the failure to institutionalize policies and practices. Political instability often leads to the discontinuity of projects as newly appointed leadership shifts priorities or entirely discards existing initiatives. Political instability and discontinuity of leadership disrupt long-term planning and damage the credibility of public institutions. Policies must be sustained beyond political tenures and transitions for governance to improve. Continuity in leadership and policy frameworks allows citizens to experience the long-term benefits of reforms, fostering trust and encouraging them to participate more actively in the governance process.

Moreover, the failure of many government policies can also be attributed to the weak link between enforcement and citizen trust. The enforcement of policies, when driven solely by top-down mechanisms, leads to inefficiencies, as seen in the anti-corruption drives and regulatory frameworks that failed to engage local communities. To strengthen governance, enforcement must be balanced with incentives and trust-building measures. Governments should develop policies considering citizens’ lived realities, particularly in regions like Balochistan, where service delivery is weak and public skepticism toward state institutions is high.

Public service delivery can improve significantly by keeping citizens at the heart of governance reforms and shifting to a model that is inclusive, participatory, and based on shared benefits. This can be achieved through several strategies:

Inclusive Policy Making: Inclusion in governance goes beyond token consultations. Citizens must be given a voice in decision-making processes and the ability to hold institutions accountable. Policies that incorporate citizen feedback, their needs and are based on ground realities through mechanisms such as participatory budgeting or public hearings are more likely to succeed. It gives local governments and communities greater control over policies, ensures community ownership, encourages active participation, builds citizens’ trust and allows for more tailored solutions that address specific local challenges.  Citizen inclusion also ensures that policies are realistic, relevant, and more likely to be accepted and supported by the local communities, ensuring that reforms are not only imposed from the top but co-created with those most affected by them.

Establishing citizen oversight committees can provide a grassroots check on governance measures.

Building Transparent and Accountable Systems: Citizens need to see that the systems they have been provided with are fair, transparent, and accountable. Transparency and accountability in service delivery build trust and reduce corruption, making the system more efficient and effective. Institutions like the Auditor General’s office must be empowered to scrutinize not only financial irregularities but also service delivery failures. Moreover, establishing citizen oversight committees can provide a grassroots check on governance. Reforms should also focus on creating systems where citizens can easily access information about how their taxes are being used and what outcomes are expected. Digital platforms for public reporting and open-data initiatives can bridge the gap between citizens and state institutions, making governance more accountable and participatory.

Linking Reforms to Incentives: Programs and services must offer clear and tangible benefits to citizens. This could involve providing economic incentives, enhancing service quality, or creating pathways that link participation with improved access to services.

Political Stability: The success of a policy or project depends on consistency and longevity. Governments must ensure that public service reforms outlast political administrations by embedding them within institutional frameworks independent of political changes.

Establishing Consequences for Non-Performance: A core element of good governance is the enforcement of consequences for failure. In Pakistan, the lack of repercussions for poorly executed policies has fostered a culture of impunity. Reforms should include clear performance indicators and consequences for those who fail to meet them. Public officials and institutions must be held accountable for service delivery failures, and their progress should be publicly monitored. This builds trust and sets a standard of excellence for public service.

Building an inclusive and accountable system involving citizens can lead to a more robust governance framework and improved public service delivery. Without accountability, citizen engagement becomes superficial, and without citizen engagement, accountability measures lack legitimacy. To truly improve public service delivery and restore citizen trust in public sector institutions, the government must implement reforms that prioritize both the needs of its citizens and the accountability of its institutions. By integrating inclusion and accountability into the core of governance, the state can foster a more effective, transparent, and responsive system that serves all its people. By creating policies that resonate with grassroots realities and citizens’ expectations and linking these policies to real incentives, we can collectively foster a governance model that is resilient, efficient, and trusted by its people.

About the Author: Asif Farooqui is the Director of Programs at the Accountability Lab Pakistan, and can be reached at asif@accountabilitylab.org