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IRI engages political parties from both the government and the opposition in Pakistan, focusing on internal democracy, better internal and external communications and issue-based policy development.  IRI is currently focused on the ongoing need to formulate legislative priorities and improve communications between political parties and the electorate, government and citizens and local officials and national level party leadership.

Download Summary (PDF)
IRI engages political parties from both the government and the opposition in Pakistan, focusing on internal democracy, better internal and external communications and issue-based policy development.  IRI is currently focused on the ongoing need to formulate legislative priorities and improve communications between political parties and the electorate, government and citizens and local officials and national level party leadership.

Public Opinion Research

Since 2002, IRI has partnered with social sector organizations to improve the survey research field in Pakistan.  Following similar development models by the Institute in Lebanon and the West Bank, IRI has fostered the Pakistan-based institutions to conduct survey research through ongoing polling and technical consultation. 

Over the past nine years, IRI has used public opinion research to inform all aspects of its Pakistan programming.  National surveys have generated data on the strengths and weaknesses of each party and the concerns of the electorate.  Public opinion research, both qualitative and quantitative, is used to assist parties with policy and message development, strategy and implementation.  In each poll the parties are encouraged to recommend specific questions that allow them to understand how to appeal to voters more effectively.

Following each poll, IRI provides technical trainings on the conduct of public opinion polling and how to collect, analyze and apply the information gained from the polls.  IRI sponsored poll briefings and other trainings help Pakistan’s elected officials, party activists and other stakeholders understand constituent needs and ultimately build internal democracy within their organizations.

Political Party Development

To complement the public opinion polling, IRI conducts political party development trainings.  IRI sponsored trainings focus on issues ranging from internal communications structures and decision-making procedures to use of media and information technology.  These trainings help party leaders effectively communicate their policy platforms in a manner that demonstrates the party’s attention to the public’s top concerns.

In 2007, IRI held campaign schools throughout the country to work with parties and candidates vying for political office on communications and message development, voter identification and outreach and get-out-the-vote techniques.  The campaign schools assisted party leadership and their candidates in designing an integrated national campaign plan, fundraising and creating and strengthening campaign communications systems between the local and national party branches.  The workshops focused on message development and linked campaigns to issues of local concern to voters.

In addition to these trainings, IRI provided networking opportunities, connecting political party activists who were already using social media with activists who were leading many of the protests during the 2007 state of emergency.  Facebook, YouTube, viral marketing, e-mail listservs and the use of e-mail in general, text messaging organizing, creating a blog and blogging effectively were among the tools taught to the political party activists as a primary way to get their message out to a broader, more international audience of journalists and media.

After the 2008 national elections, political parties turned to IRI for assistance in establishing permanent mechanisms for supporting policy development activities.  As part of this work, IRI hosted a multiparty delegation of Pakistani political leaders to observe the November 2008, U.S. federal, state and local election.  The mission allowed the parties to better understand how to effectively target party membership through recruitment, fundraising, communications structures and issue advocacy.

Since 2009, IRI has trained party leadership, information secretaries, senators and members of parliament on political party management, legislative research and legislative drafting, internal and external communications and off-year election activities.  This includes working with parties to develop one-year strategic plans to addresses all aspects of operations and the confluence of factors that hinder party coordination.