Centre for Civic Engagement & Skill Development CCESD  ·  Mansehra / Islamabad, Pakistan
A New, Women-Led Organization · Mansehra, KP

Decades of individual expertise. A first project waiting for its founding partner.

CCESD is a newly established, women-led development organization built by practitioners who have spent their careers inside donor-funded programs — now channeling that experience into an institution of our own. We're not asking you to fund our history. We're asking you to help write our first chapter.

Become a Founding Partner See What We're Ready to Build
Institutional Record
Registered EntitySECP No. 0259702
Incorporated03 Jun 2024
Operational SinceJan 2023
HeadquartersMansehra, KP
Liaison OfficeIslamabad
AffiliationsSDC · MCCI
Faiza Haseeb, Executive Director, CCESD Executive Director
A Message From Our Executive Director

Real change doesn't start in a boardroom in Islamabad — it starts in the villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We've proven the model there. Now we're built to carry it further.

When I think of a girl in Mansehra who has never sat behind a school desk, I don't see a statistic — I see the reason CCESD exists. We were founded by practitioners who ran these programs ourselves, and we design for the person still standing there after the funding period closes.

Every rupee entrusted to CCESD is tracked and reported with the same rigor we would expect of our own money. If you share our belief that lasting change is built locally and proven by evidence rather than promises — I would welcome the chance to build that future with you.

Faiza Haseeb
Executive Director, CCESD
About CCESD

A new institution, built by practitioners who already know what works.

CCESD was incorporated on 3 June 2024 under the Companies Act XIX of 2017 with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and has been operating on a voluntary basis since January 2023 — making us, by design, a young organization. What isn't young is our team: our leadership brings over 20 years of combined, individual experience managing donor-funded programs alongside international agencies. We founded CCESD to give that experience a permanent, locally-rooted home — among the very few women-led development organizations founded in Mansehra.

Vision

An inclusive, equitable, skilled, and resilient society where every individual — especially women, girls, and marginalized communities — has access to quality education, sustainable livelihoods, digital opportunities, and fundamental human rights.

Mission

To empower communities through education, skills development, civic engagement, gender equality, safeguarding, and sustainable development initiatives that create long-term social and economic opportunity.

IntegrityTransparency and ethical conduct in every activity
InclusionEqual opportunity regardless of gender, ability, or status
Human DignityProtecting the rights and wellbeing of every individual
Gender EquityFair access to opportunity and leadership for all genders
InnovationTechnology-driven, creative solutions to real problems
Community OwnershipLocal participation drives sustainable outcomes
SafeguardingZero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, or harm
AccountabilityAnswerable to communities, donors, and regulators alike
Registering AuthoritySECP, Pakistan
Executive DirectorFaiza Haseeb
Director, ProgramsArjumand Shaheen
AlignmentUN SDGs & National Priorities
Our Expertise

What our founding team already knows how to do.

CCESD may be a new institution, but the people behind it aren't new to this work. Here is the breadth of technical expertise our leadership brings to every program design.

20+Years Combined Experience
12Technical Sectors
16Institutional Partners Worked Alongside
4Program Models Ready to Launch

Education & Learning

Curriculum-aligned remedial and catch-up learning design, teacher training, and out-of-school-children reintegration.

Gender Equality & GESI

Gender-transformative program design, women's economic empowerment, and social inclusion frameworks.

Child Protection & Safeguarding

PSEAH policy design, safeguarding systems, and complaint/feedback mechanisms built to donor standard.

WASH & Public Health

Community health promotion, WASH infrastructure planning, and public health awareness campaigns.

Humanitarian Response

Emergency needs assessment, recovery programming, and disaster risk reduction in crisis-affected districts.

MEAL

Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems built to satisfy institutional donor audits.

Digital Skills Development

Digital literacy curricula and technology-access programming for youth and women's economic empowerment.

Livelihoods & Agriculture

Enterprise development committees, market linkages, financial literacy, and rural livelihoods programming.

Climate Change & Resilience

Climate resilience proposal design and community-based adaptation programming, including our Cool Mansehra initiative.

Governance & Human Rights

Social accountability mechanisms, civic engagement, and rights-based programming design.

Research & Policy Advocacy

Baseline studies, policy briefs, and evidence-based advocacy grounded in field-verified data.

Senior Citizen & Elderly Welfare

Dignity-centered elder care models, social protection, and community-based support systems for the aging population.

Program Models & Initiatives

What we're ready to build — with the right partner.

These are not completed projects — they are program models our founding team has designed, costed, and is ready to deploy the moment a partner joins us. Your funding wouldn't join an established pipeline; it would launch it.

Ready to Launch

Capacity Building & Civic Engagement

A structured model for training, awareness campaigns, and participatory engagement designed to build leadership, social cohesion, and community-driven solutions at the grassroots level — designed by a team with direct field experience delivering it.

Ready to Launch

Women Enterprise Development Committees

A costed model to establish WEDCs across District Mansehra — platforms giving women entrepreneurs access to skills training, business development services, financial literacy, and market linkages.

Ready to Launch

Volunteer Mentoring & Youth Development

A structured mentoring model for young women and girls in schools and communities, focused on leadership, life skills, civic responsibility, and community service.

Ready to Launch

Senior Citizen & Elderly Welfare

A dedicated model addressing the healthcare, social protection, and dignity needs of elderly community members — an underserved population in our target districts, paired with our women's livelihoods proposal currently in development.

Thematic Coverage

Thirteen sectors our team is equipped to work across

Education & Out-of-School Children Vocational & Skills Development Gender Equality & Women's Empowerment Child Protection & Safeguarding Civic Engagement & Peacebuilding Climate Change & Environmental Resilience WASH & Community Health Digital Literacy & Technology Access Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment Governance, Human Rights & Social Accountability Humanitarian Response & DRR Research, Learning & Policy Advocacy Senior Citizen & Elderly Welfare
In Development — Current Funding Pipeline
Cool Mansehra
Climate resilience initiative for District Mansehra
Proposal Stage
You Go Girl — D4WEE
Korea knowledge-exchange initiative for young women across Punjab & KP, UN Women / KOICA
CFP Submission
Women's Livelihoods & Elderly Welfare
Community-based economic empowerment & elder care
Seeking Donor
Why Fund a New Organization

A ground-floor partnership, not a legacy bureaucracy.

Being new is not a gap in our story — it's the offer. Here's what that means for a founding partner.

01

Your funding shapes the institution

There's no existing portfolio to fit into. A founding grant helps set priorities, design systems, and define what CCESD becomes — influence a later funder simply won't have.

02

Experienced hands, first-time overhead

Our leadership has managed donor funds inside USAID, FCDO, UNICEF, and GIZ-funded programs for over 20 years combined. You get that judgment without inheriting a decade of institutional legacy costs.

03

Full visibility from day one

As our first institutional donor, you'd see every rupee, every decision, and every result from the ground up — under a MEAL framework built before we needed one, not retrofitted after.

Track Record & Partnerships

Built on relationships that predate the organization.

CCESD's leadership has designed and managed donor-funded programming alongside the following institutions across their careers — the network CCESD draws on today.

USAIDFCDOUNESCOUN-IOMUNICEF UNODCGIZNational Endowment for DemocracyBritish Council USIPHollings CenterGeneva CallKnK Japan Save the ChildrenAdam Smith InternationalHuman Appeal International

Who we're built to serve

Women and girls
Out-of-school children
Youth (male & female)
Persons with disabilities
Children with disabilities
Transgender persons
Religious minorities
Rural & remote communities
Orphans & vulnerable children
Community-based organizations
Teachers & institutions
Local government bodies
MEAL Commitment

Every CCESD initiative operates under a dedicated Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) framework — with defined complaints and feedback mechanisms, safeguarding protocols, and community-verified reporting built in from design, not added afterward.

Governance & Leadership

Clear separation of governance and management.

CCESD is a women-led organization: our Chairperson and Executive Director are women driving strategic direction, with an experienced and diverse Board of Directors and an independent Advisory Board of scholars and sector specialists ensuring fiduciary accountability and programmatic effectiveness.

Women-Led OrganizationGender-Responsive GovernanceSDG 5 Champions
7.1   Leadership
Shabina Gulzar Abbasi
Chairperson, Board of Directors, CCESD
Shabina Gulzar Abbasi

Development practitioner with 17+ years across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, specializing in gender equality (SDG 5), education (SDG 4), and WASH programming. Held senior roles including Provincial Lead, Aawaz II (British Council); Team Leader, WEPP (Cowater International/Global Affairs Canada); and Provincial Coordinator, KESP (Adam Smith International/DFID). Lifetime Honorary Member, KP Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW). Master in Women and Gender Studies, Master in English Literature.

Faiza Haseeb
Executive Director, CCESD
Faiza Haseeb

Development professional, researcher, and social activist whose portfolio spans NED, USAID (DAI), USIP, British Council, UNESCO, IOM, FCDO, and KnK Japan. Published author on peace education; represented Pakistan in the U.S. State Department's SUSI Scholars Program (2022). MS Development Studies (COMSATS), MBA Banking & Finance.

7.2   Board of Directors
Arjumand Shaheen
Director Programs, CCESD
Arjumand Shaheen

19+ years designing and managing education, safeguarding, GESI, WASH and DRR programming with Save the Children, Adam Smith International, Human Appeal International, and British Council ILMpact consortium partners. MA International Relations (Hazara University), B.Ed. (AIOU).

Abdul Haseeb
In Memoriam · Founder
Abdul Haseeb
Founder, CCESD

A TVET specialist with 40+ years in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's technical education system, culminating as Principal, Government Technical & Vocational Training Centre, Mansehra. Facilitated 28+ national and international trainings with ILO, GTZ, and CIDA.

With deepest gratitude — CCESD stands today on the foundation Abdul Haseeb laid as our founder. His vision and quiet dedication continue to guide everything we build.

7.3   Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Qibla Ayaz
Advisory Board Member
Prof. Dr. Qibla Ayaz

Former Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology of Pakistan (2017–2024); former Vice-Chancellor, University of Peshawar and Islamia College University. Tamgha-e-Imtiaz recipient and author of five books.

Syed Mumtaz Ahmad Shah
Advisory Board Member · President, MCCI
Syed Mumtaz Ahmad Shah

President, Mansehra Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Convener, FPCCI Standing Committee on Skill Development for KP. Registered Professional Engineer (PEC) and Human Rights Monitor, HRCP.

Prof. Dr. Shakir Ullah
Advisory Board Member
Prof. Dr. Shakir Ullah

Professor & Chairman, Department of Archaeology, and Dean, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Hazara University. HEC-approved PhD supervisor with three decades of heritage research spanning the UK, USA, China, Oman, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

Palwasha Ikram
Advisory Board Member
Palwasha Ikram

Social development professional with 20 years of experience in education, health, and community development across KP, Punjab, AJK, and GB. Held senior roles with SRSP, Adam Smith International, UNDP, GIZ, British Council, and Coffey International. Specializes in project management, M&E, gender mainstreaming, and capacity building; has led training engagements in Sri Lanka and Nepal. MSc Human Development (University of Peshawar); Diploma in Climate Change.

Institutional Policy Framework
HR PolicyFinance & Procurement PSEAHCode of Conduct Anti-Fraud & Anti-CorruptionSafeguarding Complaints & FeedbackData Protection Risk ManagementMEAL Policy Gender & InclusionBoard Governance
Get In Touch

Start a conversation about partnership.

Head Office
Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Liaison Office
Unit #14, Block-1D, Quaid-e-Azam Avenue,
Rehmat Plaza, D-Chowk, Islamabad
Direct Contact
+92 997 540784
info.ccesd@gmail.com
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