What's new?
Rebranding
Whenever we think about the essence of the Fellowship Program it ultimately brings us back to one important factor - innovating from inside the government. This made us rebrand the Fellowship Program from the “Civic Innovation Fellowship Program” to the “Government Innovation Fellowship Program”.
Revamped workspace
Just as we like to try and push the boundaries with our work, we have also pushed the boundaries of the workspace. Durshal’s Government Innovation Lab has been relocated and is now bigger and better! Situated right next to the Durshal Community Innovation Lab, the Fellows will also get a chance to interact with the emerging startups from KP.
Applications
We received 5,802 applications from tech enthusiasts across Pakistan to join the program. It took us more than a month to screen the applications and select the final 20 Fellows. The energy and will of participation was fantastic; some applicants said they were waiting for years to join the program!
Government Participation
As we develop more services and applications under the Fellowship Program, we have observed increased interest and engagement from government departments. For the upcoming batch, more than 50 departments showed interest in working with us and more than 30 departments sent us written problem statements.
Problem statements:
- KP Traffic Police + Local Government Department (Digital Services Unit Team) - With the goal of sustaining and scaling the applications in the long-run, one of the Fellowship teams this year will be working on two of the previously implemented projects (2017 Fellowship cycle) with the Traffic Department (RAABTA app) and the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (Safa Pekhawar app). Both of the complaint systems had previously been deployed to operate only in Peshawar. With increased activity and interest from the departments, both of these applications are now to be scaled to a provincial level. The extension of RAABTA and Safa Pekhawar applications across KP will enable each district to have its own dashboard, listing and addressing the complaints filed by the public.
- Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Human rights violations are common in Pakistan but are rarely reported and followed up. The department has requested the development of a digital application through which the public will be able to report any human rights violations in their surroundings, thereby connecting them with the higher authorities and making it easier to report issues. The concerned authorities will be responsible for addressing these complaints.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bureau of Statistics (KPBOS) - is a provincial statistical organization and an attached wing of Planning & Development department mandated to collect, compile, analyze and disseminate official statistics relating to economic, social, demographic and other important dimensions. Its aim is to provide timely and good quality data to facilitate data users especially in context of quantitative analysis, informed decision-making, evidence-based planning, monitoring & evaluation, and research. This main purpose of this project is to improve the data accessibility for the public.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools - Private School Regulatory Authority (PSRA) is working as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department. Their main objective is to achieve uniform academic standards and evaluation among private educational institutions and support them in providing quality education, including capacity building of teachers.The department has requested the development of a complaint system which will facilitate parents, guardians, caretakers of students and teachers belonging to private schools and enable the department to register and address the complaints, thereby ensuring that private schools are regulated and monitored effectively.
- Auqaf, Hajj, Religious and Minority Affairs Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - This department is responsible for dispersing funds amongst minorities in the form of grants. These grants are divided into different categories: e.g. widow grant, scholarship for minority students, marriage grants, etc. Currently, the applicants from all across KP have to visit the department, manually fill the application and submit it to the department. To facilitate the public, the department has requested a web solution where applicants can apply for these grants online and where the status of these grants can be monitored online.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority - KPRA is a newly established authority with the mandate to collect sales tax on services in KP. This department has requested an Electronic Invoice Management System and Generic Point of Sale software which will be used by different small and medium businesses in Peshawar. This software will particularly reduce the technical barriers between the business owners and their monitoring procedures of their profit and loss, computerizing their cash flows, inventory details and sales and purchases and also enable the department to monitor the taxes being paid by the consumers.
- Excise and Taxation Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - One of the responsibilities of the Excise and Taxation Department is to seize and confiscate non registered and tempered vehicles. There are a lot of malpractices involved while confiscating and handing over the vehicle to the government warehouse. The department has requested the development of a system through which excise inspectors and public can report seizure information. In this way, the department’s central management will be able to know the no. of vehicles reported and about their condition upon arrival in the warehouse. This project would result in transparency and accountability of the Excise Department.

Anmol Irfan
Project Team: KP Excise and Taxation

Bilal Ahmad
Project Team: Directorate of Human Rights, KP

Bilal Sabir
Project Team: DSU

Bilawal bin Khalid
Project Team: KP Bureau of Statistics

Imdad Ullah
Project Team: Directorate of Human Rights, KP

Irfan Khan
Project Team: KPRA

Marina Khan
Project Team: KP Bureau of Statistics

Muhammad Kamran
Project Team: KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority

Muhammad Muneeb Jehanzeb
Project Team: Auqaf, Hajj, Religious & Minority Affairs Department

Muhammad Shahzaib
Project Team: KP Excise and Taxation Department

Muhammad Waqar
Project Team: DSU

Naqeebullah
Project Team: Auqaf, Hajj, Religious & Minority Affairs Department

Naveed Ali
Project Team: KP Bureau of Statistics

Rafiullah
Project Team: DSU

Sabih Hassan
Project Team: KP Bureau of Statistics

Sajid Shah
Project Team: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority

Salman Iqbal
Project Team: DSU

Sumaira Idrees
Project Team: Directorate of Human Rights

Ulfat Ayaz
Project Team: KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority

Zeenat Bibi
Project Team: KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority
The Managers
We are so happy to have 3 of our own Alumni leading the Fellowship this time.

Ebtihaj
Program Manager

Sohail
Associate Program Manager

Nazim ud Din
Government Liaison, Alumni and M&E Lead