TDEA implemented a household survey project, Punjab Access to Justice Project Household Survey: Public Awareness and Attitude. The survey collected basic demographic information of the respondents from Bahawalpur, Multan, and Muzaffargarh. The survey provided insight into the people’s dispute resolution choices, knowledge, and opinions about courts and lawyers. The survey contributed towards guiding future policymakers to improve people’s access to the justice system in Pakistan. The objective of the survey was:

To identify the existing justice systems and people’s access to these systems

Duration: December 2014 – March 2015

Funding Agency: European Union (EU)

TDEA implemented an Empowering Youth for Civic Leadership project. The project aimed to empower young Pakistani citizens through training, mentoring, placements with reputable organizations and statutory bodies, support for community projects, and exposure to governance and policy environments. These efforts were designed to equip young Pakistanis with the skills to engage in civic and democratic life, contribute to community development, advocate for positive social change, and step into future leadership roles. The project was implemented across the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad Capital Territory.

Duration: October 2024 – February 2025

Funding Agency: United States Department of State, Embassy of the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan

TDEA is implementing a Rights and Advancement of Citizens (RAC) project across Pakistan. RAC is funded by the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (U.S. DRL). The RAC project contributes to the goal of strengthening local civil society organizations working to ensure equal political participation and advance and protect the human rights of communities. The project provides small grants to enable innovative actions by local civil society organizations in the Coalition for Inclusive Pakistan. Grant projects focus on the participation and rights of women and communities. The RAC project offers small grants aimed at strengthening the participation of citizens. This includes support for religious, ethnic, and indigenous minorities, as well as women and persons with disabilities.

Duration: October 2021 – June 2025

Funding Agency: United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)

TDEA implemented an Election Observation in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa project for promoting free and fair elections in Pakistan. Building upon the gains and lessons learned from the organizational experience of observing the elections since 2008, TDEA deployed trained and duly accredited election-day observers to observe voting, counting, and result tabulation processes in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. TDEA employed a distinctive strategy to enable non-partisan local civil society organizations to objectively and methodically observe election day. To advance its objective of transparent elections, TDEA organized five consultative workshops across Pakistan’s major regions, bringing together representatives from civil society, financial management experts, political party members, and other stakeholders. A key outcome of these workshops was the development of a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind digital platform that offers citizens detailed, searchable data on the assets and liabilities of political representatives and the audit histories of political parties dating back to 2002.

Duration: October 2023 – May 2024

Funding Agency: National Democratic Institute (NDI)

TDEA implemented a Supporting Electoral and Legislative Processes – NICs for Women and Other Marginalized Groups in Flood-affected Areas (SELP) project. The SELP project aimed to facilitate women and other marginalized groups affected by the recent floods in Sindh and Balochistan. The project facilitated more than 80,000 women and other marginalized persons, including the elderly, transgender people, and persons with disabilities, for NIC registration and issuance of replacement of cards. This initiative enabled them to seek relief and assistance from the public and non-governmental programs that require NIC while enabling them to exercise their right to vote or contest during elections effectively.

Duration: January 2023 – March 2024

Funding Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

TDEA implemented an Electoral Quality and Inclusiveness in Pakistan (EQuIP) project through the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).  The EQuIP project contributes to the overall goal of “Promoting Free and Fair Elections in Pakistan”, including General Elections 2024, especially on technical quality and inclusiveness. The project aims to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in Pakistan through improved electoral processes, focusing on quality and inclusiveness. The project engaged with the Election Commission of Pakistan, political parties, and other key election stakeholders, with a special focus on the inclusion of women, people with disabilities, and transgender people. Through the EQuIP project, TDEA continued to provide objective and impartial information on the electoral process while strengthening civil society’s capacity to observe elections and advocate for meaningful electoral reforms. TDEA conducted nationwide election observation of the general elections (GE) 2024 through trained and accredited observers. This effort culminated in the development and dissemination of key election reports.

Duration: September 2020 – April 2025

Funding Agency: United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)

TDEA implemented an Enhancing Women’s Political and Electoral Participation (EWPEP) project. The EWPEP project successfully decreased the gender gap on electoral rolls in targeted districts, including Gujranwala, Kasur, and Bahawalnagar in Punjab, as well as Swabi, Nowshera, Battagram, and Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), by 9.6 percent.   The project utilized a unique two-pronged approach, focusing on both the supply side by strengthening citizens’ registration infrastructure, as well as mobilizing communities on the demand side. TDEA provided 38 gender desks across NADRA registration centers in the project districts, successfully facilitating 113,635 (around 9.6%) women and causing an additional facilitation of approximately 60,000 women during the project’s implementation who were previously identified as being out of the citizens’ registration loop.

Duration: January 2022 – December 2022

Funding Agency: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

TDEA implemented a Strengthening Media Freedom and Civic Space in Pakistan (SMFCSP) project with the support of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The SMFCSP project contributed to improving media freedom and civic space. The project collaborated with the Pakistan Federal Union for Journalists (PFUJ), governments and parliamentarians, political parties, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to implement an array of mutually complementary activities that enhanced civic space, particularly media freedoms that are critical for the promotion and protection of the rights of vulnerable populations across 536 tehsils/sub-districts in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The project provided mentorship and support to the project-established and trained group of journalists focused on vulnerability reporting (to promote general sensitization to issues impacting vulnerable communities and to engage key stakeholders for redress); and support to PFUJ for drafting and pursuing their position on the anticipated Rules of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021 (to strengthen the operationalization of the Act)

Duration: June 2021 – May 2022

TDEA implemented a Local Action for Democratic and Inclusive Response project that strengthened democratic accountability through citizens’ education, action, and advocacy. The project focused on the collective efforts of citizens and the government of Pakistan to address the effects of COVID-19 through oversight, research, public information, and communication and advocacy. The project explored the working conditions of journalists and advocates for alleviating the curbs on media. The project also identified and assisted marginalized populations affected by COVID-19 to access governmental support through registration for their NICs and available safety nets.

Duration: September 2020 – March 2021

Funding Agency: Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

TDEA implemented a Hum Bhi Hain project – (Promoting the Human Rights and Electoral Participation of Persons with Disabilities, Transgender People, and Women in Pakistan). The project aimed at enhancing the inclusion and political participation of traditionally marginalized and excluded sections of society including persons with disabilities, transgender people, and women. Through successful interventions, Coalition for Inclusive Pakistan (CIP) regional chapters were efficacious in building an increased understanding and interest in the public and communities to address issues of electoral and political participation of persons with disabilities, transgender people, and women. Moreover, CIP organizations helped in developing national ownership of the rights of persons with disabilities, transgender people and women, and also developed public-private partnerships for ensuring the sustainability of the initiatives.

Duration: June 2020 – July 2022

Funding Agency: US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor