Our Mission

"To provide efficient and innovative research solutions to address the socio-economic challenges of our times."

Company Background

Established and incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in May 2002, IDS is a private sector consultancy organization which carries out diagnostic and evaluative exercises. Its research and outreach is devoted to the identification and analyses of economic, social, cultural, political, business, and institutional problems connected most particularly to economic development and poverty alleviation. In addition to existing core staff IDS utilizes the services of a vast group of professionals from a variety of disciplines; including economics, statistics, information technology and computing, finance, taxation, planning, communications, management, demography, anthropology, other social sciences and engineering. The staff has extensive experience in providing technical assistance to public sector programs and projects, as well as organizing technical meetings and workshops.

IDS services reflect the spectrum of support in all areas of economic development, poverty reduction, social sector to public sector reforms and governance, and from agriculture and rural development to industrial development and trade. IDS specializes in capacity building and development of Monitoring and Evaluation capability at all levels.

The major program areas at IDS include:

1. Economic Development Strategies; Policy Analysis ,Implementation and Poverty Alleviation:

a. Economic Policy Analysis

  • Fiscal Reform, Public Expenditure Analysis and Policy Implementation
  • Financial Management
  • Governance and Corruption
  • Public sector Management
  • Capital Markets and Financial Sector Issues
  • Trade and Developmen

  • b. Agriculture and Rural Development

  • Agriculture Policy Analysis and Support
  • Food Security Policy and Implementation
  • Rural Finance
  • Agriculture trade finance
  • Rural Investment Climate
  • Agricultural Marketing

  • c. Industrial Development

  • Technology Policy and Employment Issues
  • Small and Medium Enterprise Development

  • d. Globalization

  • International Trade and Issues of WTO
  • Foreign Direct Investment

  • e. Social Sector Development

  • Poverty Assessment, Analysis and Policy Formulation
  • Human Resource Development - primary focus on Health, Education and Nutrition
  • Manpower Planning
  • Population Welfare Program and Reproductive Health Initiatives

  • f. Child Rights and Gender Issues
    g. Sustainable Development

  • Environmental Degradation
  • Biodiversity Conservation
  • Water Resource Management

  • h. Development of Domestic Commerce and Trade

  • Evaluative report on state of domestic commerce in Pakistan
  • Identification of main issues impeding growth of commercial activities
  • Value chain analysis
  • WTO related matters on trade
  • Trade enhancement strategies

  • 2. Advanced Data Processing, Information Technology and Computer-based Solutions and Survey Design and Analysis

    1. Software Design and Implementation. Data Base Development, Implementation and Handling and Complete Computer Based Solution
    2. Methodology, Questionnaire Design, Implementation and Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative household and establishment Survey Data
    3. Administering Rapid Assessments especially in rural areas
    4. Conducting Brand Loyalty and Market Surveys for the corporate and private sector

    3. Monitoring and Evaluation

    1. Support in setting up Monitoring and Evaluation Programs
    2. Undertaking project, program and country level evaluations of poverty reduction efforts
    3. Market Intelligence Assessment, Analysis and Reporting

    4. Outreach and Capacity Building

    1. Dissemination of knowledge and experience
    2. Training and Skill Development to meet challenges of Devolution and poverty reduction - integrated planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation at the grass roots

    Our Clients


    Our Clients
    Bilateral Agencies: United States Agency for International Development (USAID); The Department for International Development (DFID: UKAID)
    Multilateral Agencies: Asian Development Bank (ADB); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); World Food Programme (WFP); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); World Bank.
    Government Agencies: Government of Pakistan; Planning Commission; Pakistan Agricultural Research Council; Government of Baluchistan; Government of NWFP; Government of Punjab; Government of Sindh.


    Our Experience


    Having completed several national level third party evaluations for national and international clients, IDS has ample experience in Monitoring and Evaluation activities for different entities and large scale programmes. Besides conducting spot checks, operational reviews and training assessments for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), IDS has conducted the third party validation of the Citizen Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP). The primary objective of the CDCP was to disburse financial aid to flood affected families nationwide. Through the third party validation, IDS evaluated the accuracy and validity of beneficiary household information given to NADRA by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority through field verifications. IDS was also responsible for conducting the performance evaluation of the USAID entrepreneur's project, using both quantitative and qualitative tools. IDS has also conducted the assessment of the USAID Economic Growth and Agriculture (EGA) interventions, by holding FGDs in 5 cities of Pakistan. Furthermore, three national level panel surveys, namely the Pakistan Rural Household Survey, the Tracking Survey of Households from IFPRI-USAID panel survey of 1986-1994 and (3) the Labour Skills Survey of 2010/2012 for the World Bank have been completed by IDS.

    Having completed several national level third party evaluations for national and international clients, IDS has ample experience in Monitoring and Evaluation activities for different entities and large scale programmes. Besides conducting spot checks, operational reviews and training assessments for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), IDS has conducted the third party validation of the Citizen Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP). The primary objective of the CDCP was to disburse financial aid to flood affected families nationwide. Through the third party validation, IDS evaluated the accuracy and validity of beneficiary household information given to NADRA by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority through field verifications. IDS was also responsible for conducting the performance evaluation of the USAID entrepreneur's project, using both quantitative and qualitative tools. IDS has also conducted the assessment of the USAID Economic Growth and Agriculture (EGA) interventions, by holding FGDs in 5 cities of Pakistan. Furthermore, three national level panel surveys, namely the Pakistan Rural Household Survey, the Tracking Survey of Households from IFPRI-USAID panel survey of 1986-1994 and (3) the Labour Skills Survey of 2010/2012 for the World Bank have been completed by IDS.

    Summary of IDS past experience related to Monitoring and Evaluation


    Project Title Dates Client Contract Value (in US$) Coverage
    Monitoring of the National Household Survey of Social Protection and Cohesion in Pakistan Nov 2015 – Mar 2016 The World Bank 50,000 90 clusters across Pakistan
    Operational Review of the Waseela-e-Taleem Programme Apr 2013 – Dec 2016 Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) / The World Bank 1.970M 13 districts across Pakistan
    The Agriculture Drip Irrigation Discrete Choice Experiment Survey Jan – Jun 2015 USAID/International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 50,000 4 districts
    Spot Check of the (Scorecard-Based) Benazir Income Support Programme (National Roll-Out) 2011 - Nov 2013 Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) / The World Bank 800,000 39 districts across Pakistan excl. Balochistan
    Third Party Evaluation of Citizen Damage Compensation Programme Jun – Nov 2012 ASP-RSPN/USAID 235,000 79 districts across Pakistan
    Spot Check of the (Scorecard-Based) Benazir Income Support Programme (Test Phase) Oct 2009 – Jan 2010 The World Bank 140,000 6 districts from Baluchistan, KPK, AJK, and Sindh
    Rapid Assessment Survey of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Jul - Dec 2009 The World Bank 127,000 6 Districts in Punjab, 4 in Sindh, 1 in Balochistan, 1 in Sindh, and ICT
    Performance Evaluation and Impact Assessment of USAID Entrepreneurs Project Oct 2013 - May 2014 USAID - Entrepreneurs Project (MEDA) 100,000 26 Districts across Pakistan
    Exit Survey Waseela-e-Rozgar Mar - Oct 2013 The World Bank 100,000 29 Districts
    Third Party Evaluation of Punjab Education Foundation's Foundation Assisted Schools Programme Dec 2007 - Apr 2008 Punjab Education Foundation, Government of Punjab 40,000 9 Districts of Punjab

    Organizational Structure


    Our team includes a wide array of internationally qualified and experienced specialists in the areas of policy formation, governance, survey design, database software design, and management, among others.

    The board of the company defines the key areas of emphasis for the firm as well as its policies and procedures.

    Board of Directors
    Dr. Sohail Jehangir Malik Chairman
    Ms. Nishat Sohail Malik Chief Executive Officer
    Lt. Col (R) Imran Malik Managing Director
    Ms. Saira Malik Advisor

    The Chairman of IDS is an internationally recognized academic, with previous work experience with the World Bank, where he was the poverty cluster coordinator for the Operations Evaluation Department, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, where he was a senior Research Fellow and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan, where he was a Senior Economist. Amongst other national advisory positions, he has served as Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation to the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and member of the State Bank's Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee. The Chairman has been associated with every national survey and analysis of the rural credit market in Pakistan conducted since 1973. He has been member/chairperson of National Committees set up by the Government of Pakistan to design policy and assessments for rural credit and poverty reduction in Pakistan. He has also served as the Foreign Faculty Professor of Econometrics under the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

    IDS is mainly divided into three programmatic wings; (1) Survey and Data Processing Wing; (2) Research and Analysis Wing and (3) Administrative Wing. The three wings report directly to the Managing Director, the CEO and the Chairman.

    The company has a network of offices in several districts of Pakistan and seasoned enumerators in ALL districts of the country. All statistical analysis is carried out at the Head Office and the District Offices which are equipped with up-to-date networks of computers.

    International Peer Review

    IDS has access to a panel of international advisory peer reviewers that comprises of some of the most notable names in the profession. The peer review of IDS work is a guarantee of its quality. These experts include:

    Peer Reviewers
    Professor John W. Mellor Professor D.S.P, Rao
    Professor Michael Lipton Professor G.E.Battese
    Professor Jock R. Anderson Professor S Hirashima
    Professor Joachim von Braun Professor Manfred Zelller
    Dr. Harold Alderman Professor M Ali Khan
    Dr. Nurul Islam

    IDS Organizational Chart

    Geographical Outreach


    IDS has established permanent offices in the federal capital and all the provincial capitals of Pakistan. The IDS Head Office is situated in Islamabad, Pakistan, while a network of offices is maintained in several districts of the country. Moreover, an office is also maintained in Vienna, VA, USA.

    All IDS offices are well equipped with the latest computer equipment and technology, wireless internet connection, software and communications support. Details of the offices established in Pakistan are as under:

    Cities Contact Person Address Telephone Fax
    Islamabad Dr. Sohail J. Malik/ Mr. Imran Afzal Malik Office 1: House # 25, Street 35, G-14/4, Islamabad +92-51-8444574 +92-51-8444575 +92-51-2305761 +92-51-2305762
    Karachi Dr. Farhat Qureshi Block 6 – L, PECHS Karachi 754000 +92-21-4381949 +92-21-4387265 +92-21-4312708

    IDS has an expansive roster of experienced interviewers able to conduct interviews in both hard and soft forms. These interviewers also hold have the capacity to conduct FGDs and KIIs with person from all walks of life. IDS will also make sure that for data collection activities, NOCs are obtained wherever required. Thus, we believe we have the capability and resources to carry out the services required by MSI.

    Brief Qualifications of Key Staff and Associates


    Dr. Sohail Jehangir Malik, Chairman

    Ph. D Econometrics, University of New England, Australia
    Former Poverty Cluster Coordinator, OED, the World Bank, Washington, DC USA, and Senior Research fellow, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC, USA.
    Fields of expertise: Poverty analysis, food security and nutrition, social safety nets, rural Finance, household survey design, administration and analysis, public sector resource mobilization and expenditure reform, agriculture policy analysis, technology choice and employment, and biodiversity conservation.

    Ms. Nishat Sohail Malik, Chief Executive Officer

    Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Statistics, University of New England, Armadale, Australia
    M.A. Economics, McMasters University Hamilton, Canada
    MSc. Economics, Quaid-e-Azam University
    Fields of expertise: Economic policy research, survey planning and statistical analysis

    LT Col (R) Imran Malik, Managing Director

    MBA Preston University
    Fields of Expertise: General administration, business development, training and HR management.

    Dr. Muslehudin, Director Research

    Ph.D. Economics, Johns Hopkins University
    Fields of expertise: Governance, public policy, project management, macroeconomic policy and analysis, business administration, econometric analysis, statistical analysis, population sciences, trade policy, poverty analysis and rural financing.

    Dr. Idrees Khawaja, Chief Research

    Ph.D. Economics, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
    MBA Finance, University of Peshawar
    Fields of expertise: Governance and institutions, policy analysis, issues in public policy, budget formulation, development economics, macroeconomic analysis, institutional economics, fiscal policy analysis, foreign trade, banking and poverty analysis.

    Aliya Ansari, Senior Manager Research

    M.Sc. Economics, Lahore University of Management Science
    Fields of expertise: Poverty alleviation, project management, survey development, data analysis, report writing, coordination and proposal writing

    Arshad Khurshid, Senior Manager Technical

    BA Economics, Shah Abdul Latif University
    Fields of Expertise: Developing data entry software, data analysis, survey development and management, and training.

    Muhamaad Afsar, Senior Manager Administration

    Field of Expertise: Auditing, accounting, budgeting, business analytics, compliance, financial management, taxation and performance management.