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2010

Project

Capacity Building, Technical Support, and Law Review for Property Tax Department in Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The Ministry of Finance (MoF)within the framework of PACE project was working to improve its internal capacity to increase revenue collection through a set of improvement interventions in the policy, as well as in reviewing, upgrading and management of the tax system. The main objective of this assignment was to support and provide short term technical assistance to the Property Tax Department in MOF in building its capacities, identifying the improvement areas and organising a work plan activities toward achieving the overall objective. The range of issues that have been addressed included the overall tax rates and the unclear or incomplete tax codes that often require interpretation.For that purpose , PACE has contracted GCT to undertake this assignment in a professional manner and to provide the required support to PTD to help the aforementioned objectives to come true.

Funded By USAID; Property Tax Department- Ministry of Finance - Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement Project (PACE), Managed by Chemonics International.

Ramallah -West Bank

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2010

Project

Capacity Building, Technical Support, and Law Review for Income Tax Department in Ministry of Finance (MOF)

The Income Tax Department (ITD) at the Ministry of Finance within the framework of PACE project was undergoing an inclusive restructuring with an objective to improve performance and enhance the collection mechanisms and systems, toward the unification of tax system as outlined in the Palestinian Government Plan for 2011-2013. This entailed, but not limited to the modification and updating the Income Tax law, law explanation to staff members and taxpayers, building the legal and organizational infrastructure necessary for the enforcement of this law, development and implementation of operating procedures manuals, creation of new needed legal departments, review and modification of the organizational structure and job descriptions to fit the new functions and services.To this end, PACE contracted GCT to implement this assignment in a professional manner to achieve the overall objective which was to assess the legal and regulatory needs of Income Tax Department and provide efficient recommendations for further improvements and development interventions.

Funded By USAID; Income Tax Department- Ministry of Finance - Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement Project (PACE), Managed by Chemonics International.

Ramallah -West Bank

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2009

Project

Capacity Building of Centers of Excellence (COE) at Five Palestinian Ministries (MOT, MOF, MOPWH, MOI and MOTIT).

The Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement project is a three-year, $20 million project funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was aimed to improve the living standards of Palestinian people by strengthening Palestinian National Authority ministries and other public sector institutions . Its main objectives were to improve the capacity of public ministries and institutions to govern effectively, provide basic services and security for citizens and to develop and implement critical policy changes and reforms. PACE has contracted GCT to provide assistance in implementing the Centers of Excellence methodology to support its medium-term interventions. The first part of COE methodology used a workshop and facilitation model to orient internal ministries teams to the “Culture of Excellence” and prepare them to conduct a self-assessment of their ministries in order to identify areas for internally-driven reform, as well as build broad support for these reform efforts on all levels of the organization. The intended Culture of Excellence was focused and covered the following main areas: Leadership, People, Knowledge, Processes and Finance. In addition to the foundation of the teamwork, building the communications and culture of change management among team member in alignment with the value of Centers of Excellence programs.

Funded By USAID; The Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement project (PACE) Managed by Chemonics International.

West Bank -Ramallah

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2009

Project

Evaluation of Social Safety Nets Program (Food Aid and Cash Assistance Program), Support to the Special Hardship Case (SHC) -Program Reform.

The relief and social services) social safety-net program (is the only program that caters to the needs of the most vulnerable Palestine refugees by delivering food aid and cash subsidies on a regular basis. The overall goal of this program was to alleviate poverty amongst Palestine refugee families in UNRWA’s fields of operation with priority focus on the poorest of the poor "object poor". The social safety-net was delivered food from 58 fixed and 126 mobile distribution points, and around 275,000 Palestine refugees from over 73,000 families benefited from this program.The main objectives of this program were to provide basic food supplies and cash subsidies to the most vulnerable Palestine refugees considered to be caught in a cycle of abject poverty, provide selective cash assistance such as one-off cash grants or basic household items in the instance of fire, flood, sudden death of a family breadwinner or other family emergency, and ensure that Palestine refugee families have adequate shelter.This evaluation study aimed to analyze the support of 2007/2008/2009 years to SHC program according to the main criteria of EC evaluation standards (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability), and in light of the recommendations made by the previous evaluation conducted in 2005. The e overall objective of this evaluation was to contribute to the improvement of future EC-funded- UNRWA programs dedicated to support SHC through providing a set of efficient recommendations.For that purpose, UNRWA has contracted GCT as a subcontractor to provide eligible local and international experts to carry out this mission in collaboration with its staff.

Funded by European Commission (EC); UNRWA,

Ramallah, Jerusalem- West Bank, and Gaza strip. Amman- Jordan

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2009

Project

Evaluation and Review the Work of Palestinian Counselling Center According to the Five-year Strategic Plan 2005 – 2009.

Palestinian counselling centre (PCC) was founded by a group of psychologists, social workers and educators in 1983, to work with all members of Palestinian society who are at risk of political, social, economic and psychological harm or violence in order to improve and develop the concept of mental health services in Palestine. The center offers comprehensive services  in the field of positive mental health to all marginalized groups in the Palestinian society of children, youth and women, individuals suffering from mental disorders, social, educational, psychiatric patients chronically, through a set of treatment - prevention and building programs, lobbying campaigns and advocacy.In order to continue the progress and development, this evaluation study was came to evaluate and review the work of Palestinian Counseling Center according to the five-year strategic plan 2005 – 2009.The overall objective of this study was to provide decision makers in PCC with information and analysis that describes to what extent they have succeeded in managing the implementation of the strategic plan efficiently and effectively, in addition to provide final findings and development recommendations to the center which can help in formulation the strategic plan for the next five years (2010-2015).The specific objectives of this study were to :Identify the suitability of objectives of the center to the needs of Palestinian community mental health services, and the suitability of the national and sectoral plans in the field of mental health;Measure the efficiency in the selection of available sources for the implementation of activities.Measure the effectiveness and the impacts on the targeted groups, as well as the extent of access to the expected results according to what were anticipated in the logical framework.Measure the impact of the plan on the targeted groups and the surrounding community of the services provided at the level of the sector or region.Measure the potential to continue to benefit from the services provided after the funding ends.Conduct an assessment of each department in the centre and provide recommendations.To this end PCC has contracted GCT to implement this evaluation study in professional and objective manner.

Palestinian Counseling Centre.

West Bank (Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus, Azzun).

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2008

Project

Appraisal of the Proposal for Norway to Support Palestinian Monitoring Group.

The Government of Norway and the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) intend to sign a new agreement regarding assistance to the Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG), in this context Norway had been requested to make available financial grant to the Negotiations Affairs Department for the period July 2008 to January 2010. Under this request, NAD submitted project proposal to the government of Norway, which may be funded by a grant.The Norwegian Mission (Jerusalem office) has contracted GCT to implement an appraisal study for the submitted proposal by NAD , which aimed at considering whether the information provided in the submitted project proposal to the Government of Norway on July 2008 is sufficient, to assess the proposed project, identify any additional information needed, provide recommendations for potential improvements that might contribute to improved the program design as well as to make a recommendation for whether Norwegian support should be provided to reach an agreement on the potential co- operation.The specific objectives of this assignment were to :Review the outputs and outcomes to be achieved by the project against the original objectives.Compare the implementation procedures to the original plan. Identify to extent the relevant stakeholders are engaged as part of PMG’s work.Determine the quality of services provided by PMG.Draw any lessons learned from PMG’s work to date, and any resultant recommendations that could be incorporated into future plans.

Norwegian Mission, (Jerusalem office).

West Bank

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2007

Project

Quality Control Audit \& Market Research.

This project was divided into two key phases; the first one was the diagnosis which focused on describing the actual situation of the targeted offices/ focal points, thus to present the final findings and provide recommendations for further development and changing needs. The second phase was revolved around conducting a number of follow up visits to evaluate the occurred changes and development in the targeted offices.The specific objective of this project was to implement Quality Control Audit Program on behalf of Western Union (Dubai regional office) in Palestinian cities, specifically the sales points in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The audit program included unplanned shopping visits to 90 western union agents’ locations, branding and merchandising centers in all targeted locations in West Bank and Gaza strip. It was started in May 2007 and completed in Nov 2007 by covering all targeted offices and focal points in banks, exchange houses and others.

Western Union, (Dubai Regional office).

West Bank and Gaza Strip

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2006

Project

Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Sustain Health Care Services in Jenin, Tubas and Hebron Areas.

The Emergency Assistance to Sustain Health Care Services project is an emergency relief project implemented by Care International West Bank &Gaza, funded by European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO). It aimed mainly to provide an adequate level of health care coverage and good quality basic health care in remote villages in West Bank and selected communities in Gaza Strip. As a part of this project, emergency assistance health care services was implemented in Jenin, Tubas and Hebron areas by CARE WB&G in partnership with Ministry of Health (MoH), Palestine Medical Relief Society (PMRS), and Health Work Committees (HWC). The main goal of these services were to contribute to improvement of the wellbeing of Palestinians in vulnerable communities in Jenin, Tubas and Hebron districts, through providing basic health services to vulnerable communities in these districts by increasing the coverage of primary health care services and training of health staff. With approaching the end of the project, Care In was planned to conduct an evaluation to overall aspects of project interventions, for that purpose it has contracted GCT to implement this assignment.The main objective of this evaluation assignment was to evaluate the outcomes of Emergency Assistance to Sustain Health Care Services Project on the targeted communities in Jenin, Tubas, and Hebron areas as well as on project‘s staff by highlighting the following main points:The progress of project activities ( progress VS work plans), difficulties which has faced implementation, and lessons learnt.The project’s main areas of success and failure.Recommendations for further improvements in implementation effectiveness , performance and avoid problems in future projects.Project’s relevance ,effectiveness , effeciency, impact and sustainability.Description of Actual Services Provided by GCT staff:Evaluation the progress in achieving project activities according to the approved work plans; the difficulties which had faced the implementation, drawing lessons learnt and highlighting the main areas of success and failure.Measuring the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, as well as identifying its impact and sustainability;Development of final evaluation report that been enhanced with comprehensive conclusions to help in improving the implementation effectiveness and avoid problems in coming projects.

Funded by European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department; (ECHO). Care International.

West Bank (Jenin, Tubas and Hebron).

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2006

Project

Evaluation of Integrated Water and Environmental Resources Management Program in the Rural Areas of Palestine.

Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG) is the largest Palestinian NGO working to improve access to water and sanitation services, and to monitor pollution and climate change in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It started to implement the Integrated water and environmental resources management Program (A Multi-Donors Program) in April 2002 in the West Bank & Gaza strip which has ended in December 2005. The main objectives of this core program were to:Enhance social justice through enabling equal opportunities and fair competition for resource allocation for all communities; Increase Palestinian resistance against Israeli measures in water sector by reducing dependency on external sources, especially in emergencies; Eliminate environmental degradation and ensure resource sustainability by development of new water /wastewater projects, and enhancing the management efficiency of such projects;Empower the public by encouraging their participation in local water management through sharing information, capacity building, promoting conservation techniques and practices.Delineate gender aspects of water related issues through ensuring proper representation of women in different levels of water planning and management; and Improve the technical and administrative performance of PHG to ensure its work sustainability.After the program completion, PHG was planned to conduct an evaluation study to assess its impact and the results achieved. To this end PHG has contracted GCT to implement this assignment in an objective manner. The main goal was to assess the program’s impact during its life time (2002-2005), in order to help and support PHG to build on the final findings and in better defining results -based program during the implementation of next core program.

Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG) - A Multi-Donors Program

West Bank and Gaza Strip

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2005

Project

Final Evaluation of Local Rural Development Program (LRDP) In Jenin Area.

The Local Rural Development Program (LRDP) was launched in 1994 and jointly implemented by UNDP and Palestinian Ministry of Local Government (MoLG). It was aimed mainly to: Support the local authorities and MoLG to improve the supply of sustained infrastructure and services according to the identified priorities of the local population;Promote decentralization and institutional strengthening by addressing the lack of rural infrastructure and services in rural areas;Bridge urban – rural gaps, by providing resources, opportunities and the necessary technical support;Create a joint services council in Jenin district, promote/enhance its skills and capacities through a number of capacity building activities and income-generating joint projects; Implement development and infrastructure projects.After the end of program, The Representative of Ireland in cooperation with UNDP was planned to conduct a comprehensive evaluation in objective manner.The main objectives of this evaluation were to assess the relevance and appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness, potential sustainability and impact of the Irish funded activities on the selected Cluster (Jenin District) in palestine, as well as to judge the merits and disadvantages of LRDP model relative to alternative options for local government system development. . For that purpose, UNDP has contracted GCT to implement the required assignment.

UNDP, Ireland Development Cooperation, Representative of Ireland to Palestinian Authority.

West Bank -Jenin

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2005

Project

A Baseline survey in the West Bank to measure the impact of MEDA programs.

The Agricultural Development Association (PARC) is a leading Palestinian non-profit, non-governmental organization involved in rural development and women's empowerment. It works to provides advice, awareness support, services, and special consultancies for individuals, groups, and institutions involved in similar domains. The main objectives of MEDA program (MED2003) were to improve of the stakeholder participatory sustainable water management at farm level through MEDA cooperation with Jordan & Palestine, and fill the gap between the demand for the various uses and the supply of water, by developing irrigation technique in the area and better water management of available resources in order to respond to the growing demand on food and keep the important role of the agriculture sector in the Palestinian economy.The main objective of this baseline survey was to be as an aiding phase to ease achieving and emphasizing the purpose of MEDA program of strengthens the interactive stakeholder capacity in irrigation and water management; by understanding the concepts of implementation of efficient water demand management, supporting the achievement of general expected results of the whole project in increasing the visibility of MEDA and socio economic benefits of regional cooperation, as well as having an idea about the transition toward sustainable irrigation water management between different communities.In this context, MEDA has contracted GCT to implement this survey, which was developed to measure the impact of MEDA program to the farmer in West Bank (Jenin, Jericho, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya) , and assess the irrigation water that comes from either springs (Jordan valley) or from ground water wells (Northern of West Bank), in order to be used as a data base in designing future interventions.

Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC), Funded by European Aid (MEDA).

Gaza Strip

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2005

Project

A Baseline survey in Gaza Strip to measure the impact of MEDA programs.

The Agricultural Development Association (PARC) is a leading Palestinian non-profit, non-governmental organization involved in rural development and women's empowerment. It works to provides advice, awareness support, services, and special consultancies for individuals, groups, and institutions involved in similar domains. The main objectives of MEDA program (MED2003) were to improve of the stakeholder participatory sustainable water management at farm level through MEDA cooperation with Jordan & Palestine, and fill the gap between the demand for the various uses and the supply of water, by developing irrigation technique in the area and better water management of available resources in order to respond to the growing demand on food and keep the important role of the agriculture sector in the Palestinian economy.The main objective of this baseline survey was to be as an aiding phase to ease achieving and emphasizing the purpose of MEDA program of strengthens the interactive stakeholder capacity in irrigation and water management; by understanding the concepts of implementation of efficient water demand management, supporting the achievement of general expected results of the whole project in increasing the visibility of MEDA and socio economic benefits of regional cooperation, as well as having an idea about the transition toward sustainable irrigation water management between different communities.In this context, MEDA has contracted GCT to implement this survey, which was developed to measure the impact of MEDA program to the farmer in Gaza Strip (six localities from south to north of Gaza) and assess the irrigation water that comes from either springs (Jordan valley) or from ground water wells (Northern of Gaza Strip), in order to be used as a data base in designing future interventions.

Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC), Funded by European Aid (MEDA).

West Bank

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