Projects

The deteriorating situation in Gaza means increasingly difficult conditions for the population, a majority of whom are already dependent on assistance to survive and who are now running out of coping strategies. In addition, newly vulnerable groups are emerging who in normal times would be productive members of society – fishers, farmers, merchants, new graduates and even government employees. The Palestinian National Cash Transfer Programme (PNCTP) and other assistance programmes are bridging the poverty gap to some extent, but are not adequate to meet increasing demand. This study looks into responsiviness and the effectiveness of the PNCTP and other programmes and explores options for extending their reach in supporting vulnerable families in Gaza.

Check the full report that has been done by AWRAD team here 

AWRAD was contracted by the US Consulate General in Jerusalem to serve as an expert gender consultant. AWRAD is responsible for increasing understanding of how gender issues among Palestinians relate to Mission strategic goals, improving capacity for addressing gaps in Palestinian women’s participation in public life, strengthening the Missions Women’s Empowerment Working Group (WEWG) and helping achieving the strategic goals of providing women with a platform for leadership. To accomplish these goals, AWRAD and its researchers have authored monthly briefing memos on gender-related trends in Palestine, visiting grantee organizations and providing updates on progress, holding training programs for consulate staff and holding training of trainers (ToT) programs. The project includes engagement with Consulate employees, women’s organization across Palestine, individual women serving in leadership roles and beneficiaries of grants by the Consulate.

AWRAD is currently partnered with GOPA Worldwide Consultants and the Institute of Development Studies in London (IDS) to design and assist MoSA in its service delivery to vulnerable populations. The assessment entails a thorough monitoring and evaluation of MoSA service provision, in addition to non-governmental actors on the federal and local level, with the aim of determining comparative advantages. In pursuit of this goal, AWRAD and its partners have developed a series of indicators designed to evaluate impact, scope, sustainability, and other factors related to service delivery mechanisms. An essential part of this project is detailed knowledge of the concerns and circumstances of women, youth, and the disabled as it relates to service delivery. At the end of this project, AWRAD, with its partners, will present a detailed report, derived from its mixed-methods approach, which identifies comparative advantages and provides feasible recommendations for policy and programming reform.

AWRAD worked with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide guidance and consulting experience in the development of indices and indicators related to social development. This consultancy was designed to inform the larger National Transformation Program recently launched. In the course of the project, AWRAD established indicators in the education, health, human development and poverty alleviation sectors. These were designed to benchmark and track efforts related to social equality, empowerment of marginalized groups, such as women and children, and improve quality of life. Currently, the indicators are being employed and tested within the Kingdom.

In cooperation with the PCBS, Human Dynamics, European Union Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (EUPOL COPPS), UNDP, and the PCP, AWRAD analyzed the results of a public perception survey of PCP performance in Palestine. The development of the survey and the analysis of its results were highly informed by the extensive consultative process among all stakeholders. The survey included assessments of perceptions on: safety, general perceptions of PCP, PCP service delivery, contacts and complaints, gender and juvenile, service delivery development. The analytical report included specific recommendations for the PCP to improve certain areas of their work. AWRAD also prepared and conducted a two-day training for the police officers on the importance and use of public opinion surveys. One workshop targeted the senior officers and the other targeted the junior officers.

 AWRAD was contracted by DAI/EGP to conduct a gender audit to promote organizational learning at the General Personnel Council (GPC) on how to effectively mainstream gender in its work. Simultaneously, AWRAD also worked with the GPC to plan and develop their Gender Strategy, a document on how to practically incorporate gender into its policies, programs, budget and structure.  This was accomplished through on-the job training.  AWRAD developed and conducted a gender sensitization training workshop for senior staff at the MoPWH to help guide their two-year plan of action, and two-day training for staff of the MTIT to raise awareness for the development of the Ministry’s first Gender Unit.  Working with the EGP team, AWRAD provided technical input and recommendations for the design of a Model Gender Unit, which could be introduced to partner institutions.

For this assignment AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires and conducted eight focus groups across three countries in the Arab World: Libya, Tunisia and Yemen. The aim of this project, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was to address prevailing social and political norms related to women’s involvement in a wide range of sectors. After completing fieldwork in all three Arab states, AWRAD’s office team developed three PowerPoint presentations and a 100-page report for AWLI. The report highlighted the critical findings on women’s involvement in the economic and political sectors, as well as social perceptions, attitudes and restrictions related to their involvement. Particularly significant to AWRAD’s proposal, the final analytical report and PowerPoint presentations were designed to help influence policy on women’s inclusion throughout the Arab World by providing data on priorities and programming needs.

This was a broad project aiming to empower youth across Palestine and connect them with their local communities. Youth from all 16 governorates in the West Bank and Gaza were recruited to participate in training programs offering instruction in survey research and polling techniques, as well as participate in activities to brainstorm for engagement initiatives. At the conclusion of the training, the youth served as field researchers in two public opinion polls in the West Bank and Gaza. They also helped organize a variety of activities for members of their community to brighten their lives and strengthen the social fabric. These activities included organizing Iftar dinners, visiting children in hospitals, organizing activities for the elderly and bringing dates and other sweets to Palestinians stuck at checkpoints.

AWRAD completed an EU-funded three-phase training of 40 young Libyan researchers. The training focused on qualitative and quantitative research methods, survey research, polling, interviewing skills, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. The first phase of the training focused on building the core and capacity of a research team. The second phase focused on focus groups, field research and organization, interviewing and communication skills and research under adversity. The third, and final, phase focused on qualitative and quantitative methods.

The AWRAD team assisted Benghazi University in developing its research capacity. AWRAD provided training in questionnaire development, research design, methodology development, sampling, data entry and analysis.  In addition, AWRAD trained the core team of researchers and field teams in the fields of survey research, data collection and analysis of its first survey on the Constitution.

This project was a training of 25 Palestinian journalists from the most prominent news outlets. AWRAD  provided  training for the two-day workshop on the science of polling and the role of media in covering polling results. Trainees included chief editors, editors, reporters, correspondents and columnists from Palestine TV, Voice of Palestine, Wafa, Ma’an, Wattan, Al Arabiya, Government Media Center (the Prime Minister’s office), a Fatah spokesperson and media officials, Reuters, the Media Officer at the Ministry of Finance, Al Quds Newspaper, Al Hayyat al Jadida Newspaper, Birzeit University’s Media Center, Nisaa’ FM and other radio stations. Eight of the participants were female and 13 were male. The training topics focused on the following: the history of polling in Palestine; the relation between polling, democracy and policy making; the science of polling; the most frequent errors committed by the media in presenting polling results; how the media covers polling; and some of the best ways of presenting polling results in written, spoken, visual and new media.

AWRAD was contracted to assist in the provision of data and analysis   for the benefit of Moroccan political parties. Prior to this assignment, a needs assessment had concluded that these parties were underprepared in outreach and planning strategies that would be better informed by the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. The project adopted a three-phase approach. The first phase was immediate exploration of the needs of the parties, accomplished through meetings with leading figures. The second phase included meetings, workshops, focus groups and report writing. The third phase was defined by the distribution of surveys among party members to determine their needs, priorities and evaluations of party-related issues.  

AWRAD and its staff played a major role in the establishment and continued capacity building of the YPC. AWRD was contracted by MEPI to help build the capacity of the YPC though designing their research systems and field work protocols including sampling and interviewing. AWRAD also trained about 40 field researchers of the YPC staff. This work was done during a number of visits to the country.

AWRAD conducted a one-week training program for the staff of the Omani Parliament in the fields of research and analytical writing.  A training manual was prepared in conjunction with the training.