Our Projects | GCT Consulting & Training

2017

Project

Transport Service Feasibility Study for the Application of Emergency Policy UNDER the Project of “Supporting the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) with the implementation of the Education Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)” (the current strategic plan from 2014-2019

In 2013, The MoEHE started the preparation of its latest EDSP (2014-2019), “A Learning Nation” and launched it in March 2014. The EDSP III is aligned to national planning processes and the National Development Plan (2014-2016) of the PA. The government is currently working on the National Policy Agenda for 2017-2022 and the MoEHE is adapting the EDSP III to align with it as well.The Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) is a basket funding mechanism supporting the Ministry of Education in implementing and achieving the objectives of the EDSP III . The overall goal / vision of EDSP III is “A results-based and student-centered education system that provides 21st century relevant education services at all levels with high quality and full equity considering individual needs and being at the heart of the political, economic, and social development in and for Palestine”. The general purpose of this consulting service is to support the MoEHE in the timely implementation of the current EDSP III (2014 – 2019) focusing initially on 9 Priority Support Areas, devoted to the main reform tracks in EDSP III, all of them covering respective operational responsibilities of the MoEHE. Within the frame work of this consulting service there was a need identify the best practice for providing safe access to school students in fragile and marginalized areas (Jerusalem, “Area C”, and Hebron) in order to deter dropouts and lost class hours due to the volatile environment they live in. Therefore the assignment main objective was to conduct a feasibility study that shall recommend an education in emergency policy on safe access for school students in fragile/remote areas. The study shall recommend the most efficient and effective methods for mitigating the challenges of safe access within an environment of education in emergency. This includes efficient and effective transport service provision that could also serve as a solution for school buildings in remote/marginalized areasTo this end, MOEHE contracted PLANCO/ General Consulting and Training GCT/GOPA to implement this assignment in professional and objective manner that guarantee the achievement of its objectives.

Funded under the JFA between Germany, Finland, Ire-land, Norway and Belgium. In partnership with PLANCO – Lead Consultant, and GOPA; for the benifit of Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE)

West Bank

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2018

Project

Rural Development Project in the Jordan Valley Region (Study tour Turkey)

The AFD has decided to fund a project targeting communities in Area C of the Jordan Valley.The general objective of this project is building the resilience of Palestinian communities in Area C. This is defined as the ability of palestinian communities to cope with a host of socioeconomic and political shocks that threaten their assets, way of life, and their continued presence on their land.Within the framework of the project activities which is included in enhancing Capacity Building for both the Ministry of Local Government and the LGU’s for planning and Development in order to support the Palestinian communities in Area C, the RDO project aimed to organize a study tour and conduct successful experiences for sharing knowledge and project management by reviewing project management methodologies and experiences in the public sector in Turkey.Training and Study Tour Objectives:Provide required exposure to international experiences on integrated rural development and poverty reduction.Provide hands on experience with rural development project management best practices, including site visits to ongoing relevant projects.Get insights on experience of both recipients and implementers of rural development projects, through site visits, meetings and in class lecture.

Funded by French Development Agency (AFD) for the benefit of Ministry of Local Government (MoLG)

Istanbul

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2017

Project

Social and Baseline Survey and PRA/FGD on Jalazon and Old Askar Refugee Camps.

“Refugee Camp Improvement Project- PALCIP” is a three -year project funded by GoJ, and implemented by JICA in cooperation with DoRA since Jan 2017. This project came as a result of DoRA’s request from GOJ to provide assistance for improving its capacity and the relevant community groups necessary for camp improvement, which was subsequently appraised and adopted by GOJ. That request was raised due to the difficult living and socio-economic situation that are facing the refugees’ camps inside Palestine, along with limited service provided by UNRWA, which caused the creation of substantial gap between the provided services and the demand of the refugees both in terms of quantity and quality. Moreover, the demand for other developmental needs remain mostly unmet and are left to the limited efforts of Popular Committees of the camps as well as ad-hoc support from international communities. Based on the foregoing, a social and baseline survey and PRA are needed to ensure that development/improvement projects are directed towards meeting the different needs of refugees inside the camps.To this end, JET has contracted GCT to implement this assignment according to their requirements and expectations. The main objectives of this assignment were as follows:Collecting necessary basic information about the two target camps and the baseline data for the indicators described in the PDM by Conducting Social and baseline survey;Discussing and identifying the existing problems in the camps, their needs and various available resources which can be utilized for handling these problems by conducting PRA and FGDs with camps residents.

Funded by JICA, implemented by JICA Expert Team (JET) in cooperation with Department of Refugee Affairs (DoRA).

West Bank – Ramallah, Nablus

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2017

Project

Needs Assessment, Capacity Development and Coaching on Community Initiatives Development and Implementation for Youth in Aqabat Jabr Camp.

In August 2014 the Department of Refugee Affairs (DoRA) of the Palestinian Liberation Organization requested that the Government of Japan (GoJ) provide assistance for the Project with the objective of improving the capacity of DoRA and the relevant community groups necessary for camp improvement, which was subsequently appraised and adopted by GOJ. Based on the above request, the “Refugee Camp Improvement Project” was commenced in January 2017. This project is implemented by a group of Japanese experts/specialist in cooperation with Palestinian experts who's named JICA Expert Team (JET).The project is focused on Aqabat Jaber Camp in Jericho, as a pilot camp. Under the different projects’ activities, it is planned to conduct a training for youth in the camp who are their age’s between15-30. The main objectives of this training assignment are as follows:Strengthening the life skills of the trainees;Strengthening the abilities of the trainees through the training course and group activity;Developing future leaders to improve Aqabat Jabr Refugee Camp.To this end, JET has contracted GCT to undertake this assignment in line with its requirements and expectations.

Funded by JICA, implemented by JICA Expert Team (JET) in cooperation with Department of Refugee Affairs (DoRA).

West Bank – Jericho.

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2017

Project

Organizational Development Review of Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC).

NPA international strategy and Partnership policy focuses on people organization and participation to promote a just distribution of power and resources. It works mainly with civil society organizations in different countries overall the world, and cooperates with people’s own initiatives and agendas. In Palestine, NPA is currently working in partnership with 8 Palestinian civil society organizations in West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of its long-term development program funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). One of these organizations, is the UPWC. The cooperation between NPA and UPWC started in 2011 and continued. In 2016, a four years partnership agreement 2016-2019 was signed.To this end, NPA has contracted GCT to undertake this assignment in line with its requirements and expectations.The main objective of this assignment was aimed mainly at assessing and improving the organizational capacities of UPWC, as well as NPA partnership approach by reviewing how it practiced. This review will cover the UPWC’s branches in WB and GS.More specifically, this assignment is aimed mainly to:Assess how and to what extent UPWC has changed from 2011 to 2017 in terms of policies and strategies and what was the role of NPA to support UPWC to mobilize people for rights;Identify and evaluate the relationship and mechanisms for representation, influence and decision making between UPWC branches and the women’s Committees in WB and GS;Evaluate current and future trends UPWC have with networks and alliances;Improve UPWC’s Organizational Development through providing clear recommendations based on the review findings and final results.

Funded Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA); for the benefit of Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC).

West Bank and Gaza Strip

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2017

Project

Result-Oriented-Framework for the 2017-2020 European Joint Strategy in support to Palestine.

ECORYS is an international company providing research, consultancy and management services. It specializes in economic, social and spatial development and aim to deliver real benefit to society through the work we do. We are one of the oldest researches and consulting companies in Europe. They have proudly celebrated our 85th anniversary in the summer of 2014.During the '90s, ECORYS expertise proved important with regards to the growth of the EU and reformation processes in countries in Middle and Eastern Europe. To be able to cope with globalization and in order to stay competitive, NEI developed into a pan-European company. Offices were established in Brussels and Moscow.It is worth to mention that the Global objectives to contribute to:Enhance policy dialogueImprove EU development cooperation programming and project design.However, the specific objective to this assignment was to enhance monitoring of the European Joint Strategy in support to Palestine.

ECORYS Nederland B.V, funded by EU

West Bank- East Jerusalem, and Ramallah

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2017

Project

Impact Assessment of “Public Libraries in Palestine and Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon: “A gateway for empowering local communities” Project.

Taawon is an independent non-profit organization established in 1983. It strives to make a distinguished contribution toward furthering the progress of the Palestinians, preserving their heritage and identity, supporting their living culture and building civil society in the different working areas: The West Bank including Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the 1948 Areas, and the Palestinian communities in Lebanon. Taawon works closely with local, grassroots organizations to address the specific needs of the Palestinian refugees living in difficult circumstances throughout our areas of operation. It supports the implementation of a range of initiatives under seven specific programs: Education, Culture, Youth Empowerment, Community Development (including relief), Orphan support, Old cities rehabilitation and the Palestinian museum.One of its development project in cultural sector the “Public Libraries in Palestine and Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon: A gateway for empowering local communities” which was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented in Palestine (West Bank Including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip) and Lebanon in the period between October 2014 to December 2017 (3 years).This project was aimed mainly to empower Palestinian individuals and social groups through capacitated public libraries that are vibrant and equipped with needed digital and human resources both in Palestine and in Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon. The project specifically counteracted the isolation and marginalization of Palestinian citizens as well as refugees in Palestine and Lebanon through enhancing access to information, technology and community based initiatives.With approaching the end of project, Taawon seeked to evaluate the impact/s achieved under this project. The main objective of this impact assessment was to evaluate the impact of the project and define the strengths and weaknesses to build on for future cultural projects planning concerning libraries, and define lessons learnt to improve quality of work as well as serving as a guide for the overall advancement of Taawon work for future follow up on similar interventions.To this end, Taawon has contracted GCT to undertake this assignment in line with its requirements and expectations.

Taawon (Welfare Association).

West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, and Lebanon

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2017

Project

External Evaluation and Strategic Plan Formation to The Jerusalem Legal Aid \& Human Rights Center (JLAC).

The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) is one of the key and major players in the fields of Human rights and legal aid. JLAC’s mission is to combat all forms of human rights violations regardless of perpetrating authority, through; facilitating access to justice, lobbying and advocacy, mobilizing social capital, and high professionalism. JLAC is providing its services now through 4 main offices in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus and Salfeet. With the end of JLAC’s current Strategic Plan (2013-2017), it seeks to undertake an external evaluation of its operations and programming, in order to inform the development of a new strategy for JLAC’s work, address shortcomings, identified during the evaluation process, and build on existing strengths. The general objective of this assignment was to evaluate JLAC’s programming and wider institutional role of service delivery, as well as measure the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, structures, internal environment and sustainability towards the formation of new Strategic Plan (2018- 2022) which considers the identified strengths and shortcomings.More specifically, the assignment was aimed to:Measure extent to which the programming objectives align with the needs of the beneficiaries and donor strategies;Assess programmatic achievements (i.e. expected vs. obtained results);Measure manner of economic viability employed in achieving objectives Evaluate extent to which programming contributes to the attainment of overall development goals Examine to which degree the programming yields lasting positive changes continuing past the intervention;Identify gaps, challenges and obstacles, institutional/programmatic strengths and weaknesses;Examine reporting accuracy to what extend it reflects successes and weaknesses;Conclude lessons learnt and draw recommendations for institutional/programmatic improvements.To this end, JLAC has contracted GCT to undertake this assignment in line with its requirements and expectations.

The Jerusalem Legal Aid \& Human Rights Center (JLAC)

West Bank

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2017

Project

Local Venue Support Services and Event Management of TAIEX Workshop on the Set-Up of a Police and Customs Cooperation Centre in Jericho.

IBF International Consulting provides logistical support for seminars, workshops and other training events in East and Southeast Europe as well as in the European Neighborhood countries benefiting from the EU-financed TAIEX project. TAIEX stands for (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange), which is an instrument providing short-term technical assistance to the EU pre-accession process in the field of approximation, application and enforcement of the EU community acquis and related issues. TAIEX is demand driven and draws heavily on EU Member States’ administrations and institutions to make experts available for its activities. These include workshops, expert missions and study visits. The main objective of the workshop was to improve cooperation between Customs and Police acting under the Palestinian General Administration for Borders Crossing by sharing EU standards and best practice so as to reinforce its capacities to prevent and fight against border crimes and fraud.Based on the foregoing, IBF has contracted GCT to provide LVS services and manage the workshop during its duration in Jericho.The key responsibilities of the LVS expert is to coordinate all elements in the organization of the event such as technical support, coordination of journalists, speakers coordination, cooperation with TAIEX representatives from Belgium, venue organization with all the various requests, and coordination of all the participants and registration.

IBF International Consulting, in Cooperation with The General Administration for Borders Crossing (GABC).

West Bank – Jericho

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2017

Project

Endline Survey /Study for “Improved Access to Markets for Female and Male Small Scale Farmers in the West Bank “Project.

Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries in order to find practical and innovative ways for protecting people from poverty.One of Oxfam’s development interventions in the OPT is a three-year pro-poor market development Program entitled “Improved Access to Markets for Female and Male Fresh Fruits and Vegetable (FFV) Small Scale Producers in the West Bank”. This project merges two existing projects in the West Bank which are a) Access to markets project and b) Its overall objective is to enhance productivity of women and men farmers and improve relations with the market and service providers, thus contributing to better connect the supply side with the demand side. This will be achieved by facilitating a process which should enhance the capacities and abilities of key actors to play their role along the selected Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (FFV) value chains.Specifically, the main objectives of the assignment are to: Document pre-intervention levels of the project indicators as defined in the log frame;Document pre-intervention levels of the project assumption and risks as identified in the log frame;Review and sharpen Program performance indicators through an evidence- based, participatory research and facilitation process, based on the baseline findings;Provide a broad assessment of the Program’s relevance and outline the project M&E steer on the basis of analysis of baseline data;Provide Recommendations for improvement of project log frame and MEAL system;Provide Recommendations for possible strategies / actions for greater impact.The final results of this baseline study will serve as the pre-intervention status description against which the follow-up assessments (Midterm, and End - line survey) will be compared during and after the end of project’s operation years.

Oxfam GB, Occupied Palestinian Territory

West Bank

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2017

Project

Market Penetration Study Europe

The Palestinian Market Development Program (PMDP), is funded by UK Department for International Development (DFID) and European Union (EU) in-cooperation with the Ministry of National Economy and .implemented by DAI Europe over a period of five years in the OPT, with offices both in Ramallah and Gaza.The program has been designed to improve market systems and improve the competitiveness of the Palestinian private sector. PMDP aims to improve private sector competitiveness through technical assistance and matching grants. Additionally, PMDP will work on strengthening trade and investment linkages as well as linkages with the Palestinian Diaspora to play an active role in economic development in the OPTs.Program key outputs:Output 1: Improved Private Sector Skills and Innovation - Provide matching grants and technical assistance to firms or consortia – under a competitive process, which specifically help firms to innovate and develop their Products/services, improve processes and enter into new markets.Output 2: Address Market System Failures in Specific Sectors - Undertake market analysis and facilitation to address market system failures by identifying how specific market systems operate, Identifying what factors drive underperformance, and facilitate improved performance and value chain integration and sharing of knowledge and best practice.Output 3: Strengthening Trade and Investment Linkages with International Markets - Provide technical assistance to key market institutions to encourage and support foreign and local investment in Palestine. The objective of this assignment is to conduct a business development study in order to allocate European consulting firms/ training institutions willing to cooperate with GCT. B2B meetings will be organized.

PMDP implemented by DAI Europe in cooperation with of the Ministry of Economy

West Bank

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2017

Project

Feasibility Study for Establishment of a Recreational City in Bethlehem Governorate.

The MDP is a multi-phase national program which is implemented by the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF). Its first phase was spanned over a three years period from 2010 to 2013 targeting all 134 municipalities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and has provided municipalities with a combination of technical assistance and annual performance-based grants for priority sub-projects to improve municipal finance and municipal planning. The second phase of MDP (Phase II) is planned to support municipalities - over the short-term- in improving their municipal management practices for better municipal transparency and service delivery. It is designed to address the core issues in municipal service delivery, including: poor management practices that compound an already severe budgetary crisis, lack of local budgets for capital investments, and low revenue generation. Accordingly, it will emphasize on mechanisms to improve service delivery, citizen engagement, revenue generation and municipal responsiveness.Within the frame work of windows 4 of MDP and as a delegated implementation agency, MDLF was intended to use part of the Grant to hire a consulting firm to perform Feasibility Study for Establishment of Multi-Story Shopping Mall in City of Ramallah.The overall objective of this assignments was to collect and analyze information to provide insight into market demand and available opportunities on Shopping Malls Sector in Palestinian Territories, in addition to inform the respective municipality with a better understanding of this sector, as well as identify the viability of the Mall by studying and documenting the available opportunities, and the lessons learned from similar projects at the national and international level.

Al-Hajjeh Real Estate and Investment

West Bank- Bethlehem

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