Our portfolio

Most recent examples of our consulting services include the following:

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting supported the implementation of the ADB funded project 'Youth and Employment Survey in Dushanbe'. Our team completed the tracer survey, focusing on 300 randomly chosen youth who entered or are about to enter the labor market as a coping strategy. This was a longitudinal study of young people's current economic status, time utilization and job search experiences. Our findings and recommendations provided an insight into policy, institutional and civil society interventions to help youth in Tajikistan.
Duration of assignment: March 2020 - May 2021

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting supported the implementation of the project 'Financing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Tajikistan', which is co-financed by UNICEF, UNDP and UN Women. Our team completed a diagnosis of systemic off-budget bottlenecks (including alternative and innovative financing modalities) and budgeting systems, and developed an approach to track and report on-budget financing for SDGs in Tajikistan. The ultimate purpose of the assignment was to ensure that the Government of Tajikistan has sufficient financial resources, which increases its ability and likelihood of achieving national SDG targets by 2030.
Duration of assignment: October 2020 - April 2021

World Bank
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting supported the development of education and public finance management (PFM) chapters of the 2021 Tajikistan Public Expenditure Review (PER). In particular, our team has provided technical input for stocktaking of the progress in education and PFM reform implementation by the Government of Tajikistan vis-a-vis recommendations from development partners, and the rapid review of legislative and regulatory framework in PFM, as well as key policy initiatives in education.
Duration of assignment: April 2020 - March 2021

Swiss Cooperation Office (SCO)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting had supported SCO Tajikistan by undertaking a rapid stocktaking of the status of reform implementation and an overview of the governance environment in Tajikistan, with the focus on public finance management (PFM), anti-corruption agenda, and public investment management (PIM). Findings and recommendations potentially serve as entry points and feed into design of future project interventions by SCO Tajikistan to advance governance reform.
Duration of assignment: January 2021 - February 2021
 

International Labor Organization (ILO)
Brief description: The ILO Evaluation Office recruited IRSHAD Consulting to facilitate and undertake data collection at the country level for a high-level evaluation of ILO programmes in Tajikistan in support of Decent Work in Tajikistan 2018-2022.  IRSHAD Consulting conducted semi-structural individual interviews with representatives of the ministries, trade unions, associations of employers, ILO staff and strategic partners, and focus groups with larger group of ILO’s partners.
Duration of assignment: March 2022 – April 2022
 

Undisclosed partner
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting is providing technical expertise and inputs for a political economy analysis (PEA) of the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector, focusing on the largest SOEs that are currently monitored by the Ministry of Finance. The PEA is intended to inform current and future programming and policy dialogue with the government, and is not intended for public disclosure.
Duration of assignment: March 2022 – June 2022

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting conducted an independent evaluation of the project entitled “Inclusive protection-based humanitarian and recovery assistance for older women and men, including older people with disabilities, affected by the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine” funded by the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). Our team carried out assessment of the relevance, effectiveness, equity and efficiency, accountability and learning, sustainability and impact of the programme and develop lessons and recommendations to approach future policy work and programme design. The evaluation report targets HelpAge international, USAID BHA, and other stakeholders in the current programme.
Duration of assignment: February 2022 – April 2022

Oxfam Tajikistan

Brief description: The overall purpose of IRSHAD Consulting’s work was to undertake detailed field assessments in Rudaki, Kulob and Muminobod areas to assess that the arrangements that were put in place by the SDC-funded Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation (TajWSS) project ensure sustainability of water and sanitation services and hygiene behavior changes. The assessment also includes a broader assessment of the management and financial arrangements put in place and the wider role of subnational governments. IRSHAD Consulting explored what corrective action was required to ensure the systems and management arrangements are fit-for-purpose and what factors should be taken into account by future government-led or donor-funded WASH projects.
Duration of assignment: December 2021 – May 2022

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting provided technical expertise for the WFP to support the efforts in transitioning towards a nationally-owned school feeding programme. The specific objectives included support to the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) in the comprehensive analysis of the status of public finance management (PFM) in the education sector and development of a methodological framework for per-capita financing of school feeding of primary-grade students (grades 1-4) in general secondary educational institutions in Tajikistan.
Duration of assignment: September 2021 – March 2022

Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Brief description: IRSHAD Consulting provides technical support in the development of the 2021 Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment in Tajikistan, with the purpose of assessing the public finance management (PFM) environment and review changes in Tajikistan’s PFM system performance since the last assessment completed in 2017. The 2021 PEFA assessment is also used to inform adjustments in the programmatic approach to PFM reform in Tajikistan. IRSHAD Consulting has also provided support in data collection from relevant government institutions and organization of the roundtable with national and international stakeholders. Members of IRSHAD Consulting were contracted through the implementing partner, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU).
Duration of assignment: August 2021 – May 2022