by Sumera Javeed, Co-Convener of Pakistan Localization Lab
The Pakistan Localization Lab (PLL), under the NEAR Network, recently convened a workshop on September 22, 2025, at Pak Mission Society (PMS)’s Office in Islamabad. The workshop focused on strengthening the strategic priorities and three year roadmap of PLL.
PLL has 21 member organizations from different provinces and geographies across Pakistan and a partnership with National Humanitarian Network (NHN). This engagement highlighted the collective commitment of PLL members to co-create an agenda for scaling up the Lab as a hub for innovation, policy influence, peer-to-peer learning and collective action in Pakistan’s humanitarian and development landscape.
A major milestone celebrated during the workshop was the contextualization of the Localization Performance Measurement Framework (LPMF) by PLL members, which has now been successfully piloted. The LPMF of NEAR was contextualized for Pakistan to make it relevant and practical to the country’s humanitarian and development realities. Pakistan’s diverse ecosystem of local NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, and government structures required adaptation to align with national disaster management systems and coordination mechanisms. More indicators were added to capture local actors’ contributions, funding barriers, and partnerships aspects. This achievement reflects the shared vision of ensuring accountability and evidence-based progress towards localization goals.
In addition, PLL completed a capacity mapping exercise of its member organizations, demonstrating a strong presence across 150 of 170 districts of Pakistan. Collectively, PLL members reached 21.2 million community members with a cumulative program budget of PKR 17.9 billion (~USD$63 million).
The journey of PLL has been marked by important milestones, including its official launch in late 2024 and engagements with UN agencies, INGOs, and donor partners laying the groundwork for more equitable partnerships and trust-building between local actors and international counterparts.
PLL members are not only rooted in local communities but also actively engaged in global and national alliances, partnerships, and networks, ensuring their voice is part of broader movements shaping humanitarian and development agendas.
As part of its ongoing journey, PLL is committed to movement building for localization shaping a stronger, more united, and influential voice that places local actors at the center of humanitarian and development efforts. PLL member organizations possess strong technical capacities, and it was highlighted that in the coming months a series of webinars will be planned and delivered on diverse topics, including sustainability, accountability to communities and the legal dimensions of both profit and not-for-profit organizations.
We are also pleased to share an article:
“Localization in Action: Building a Future Where Aid is Local – A Perspective from the Pakistan Localization Lab”, https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/localization-action-building-future-where-aid-local-perspective-pakistan-localization-lab which reflects on PLL’s vision, learnings, and contributions towards advancing a truly localized aid system.
Together, PLL and NEAR Network reaffirm their dedication to reimagining aid, ensuring that local voices lead, global partnerships support, and communities thrive.