Federal Government, in its agenda of Civil Service Reform (CSR), has laid down much emphasis on the training of employees (both ex-cadre and non-cadre) at par with their cadre counterparts so that in an era where knowledge and innovations are going to drive economic growth Pakistan is able to meet emerging global challenges. Almost all preliminary recommendations of Institutional Reforms Cell (IRC) that came into existence as a result of Cabinet decision on 28th August, 2018 suggest that necessary professional training of employees of various federal ministries and their allied entities is inevitable for bringing an overall good governance in the country. There is no denial to the fact that human capital and skill development; modernization of the public sector and development of a knowledge economy are all important drivers for growth. The time-to-time recommendations of Task Force on Civil Service Reform (CSR) highlight this importance and give specific emphasis to them in order to revitalize the economy by laying strong foundation stones of human development and good governance. Improving quality of training programs for civil servants and the public sector is on the top of the agenda of incumbent government. The role of Information Service Academy (ISA) in the capacity building especially the training of newly recruited officers of Information Group (through CSS) as well in-service officers of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has been duly recognized across multiple echelons of the Government of Pakistan. Therefore, the project is in line with the objectives government’s agenda of Civil Service Reform holistically and more specifically is in accordance with the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Information Service Academy was established on December 01, 1981 with the objective to providing Specialized Training to the newly entrants in Information Group after qualifying CSS examination, in the fields of information, media, mass communication, office management, governance and public policy formulation and to organize courses for capacity building for in-service officers of the Information Group in media-related fields. Later, the Academy also initiated short courses for the officers of Information Group prior to their foreign postings. Quite recently, it also launched training program for hitherto neglected ex-cadre officers of different attached departments / organizations of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting along with Domain Specific Training for the officers of Information Group undertaking their Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC) in National Institute of Management (NIM). The Academy also provides media consultative services to the federal government and also conducts research on Media-related topics.

During previous four decades ISA has served as training institute having fundamental infrastructure required for junior and senior cadres. The ISA (through its PSDP Project) has also established a Digital and Social Media Simulation Lab to impart practical training to the trainees on the latest and cutting-edge technological means of communication.