AWRAD Regional

“Training on Human Rights.” Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR). 2008.

Dr. Said served as the main trainer in workshop organized by the AOHR for Arab human rights activists from the Arab region with a focus on Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The workshop took place in Beirut, 2008.

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Algeria, December 2010 – June 2011, Senior Researcher, SIDA and Penal Reform International, Evaluation of PRI's Regional Juvenile Justice Programme (2006-2010), in Five Arab Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Yemen.

UNFPA, Senior Consultant, Family Planning and Protection Committee and UNFPA, Reproductive Health and Gender Empowerment, Algeria 2002.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

“Nationwide Surveys of the Egyptian and Tunisian Adult Populations.” University of Toronto. 2014-On-going.

AWRAD is currently engaged in a public opinion polling project across Egypt and Tunisia intended to explore and measure the social distribution and political significance of democratic attitudes and intolerance in the region and identify the main individual-level and contextual-level factors underlying the recent Arab revolutions and their aftermath. The poll targets 1,570 individuals in each country and is representative of all demographic factors. Questions measure socioeconomic demographics, participation in events surrounding the revolutions, attitudes towards different types of political rule and practices and change over time in personal security. Once the data has been collected and analyzed, analytical reports will be published in scholarly journals.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

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2004-2005, UNFPA – New York & Cairo Demographic Center – A number of Missions to Egypt, Senior Consultant, an Evaluation Research on the Status of Egypt in Relation to MDGS, Population, Gender, and the Role of Civil Society.

2002-2004, Education Action – UK, with TEAM Consulting – Cairo, Senior Research Supervisor & Senior Trainer, a 3-month Training Young Women on Gender – Based Research Methods (Needs Assessments, Evaluation Research, Focus Groups, etc.).

December 2010 – June 2011, Senior Researcher, SIDA and Penal Reform International, Evaluation of PRI's Regional Juvenile Justice Programme (2006-2010), in Five Arab Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Yemen.

2004-2009, Egypt - National Planning Center – Ministry of Planning, Senior Trainer on Human Development, Research and Planning.

 Refugee Research Project.” (Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan). The US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), Williams & Associates. 2008.

To fulfil this project AWRAD has completed field research in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan to assess the living conditions and needs of Palestinian refugees in these 3 states. The project’s data collection strategy was defined by survey research, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Over 3,000 refugees, inside and outside of refugee camps were interviewed in the three states. The central themes addressed throughout the assessment were living conditions, human relations, and political recommendations to address, and ideally resolve, outstanding issues. At the conclusion of the project, AWRAD issued a series of conclusions designed to guide the programming and focus of stakeholders.

“Refugee Research Project.” (Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan). The US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), Williams & Associates. 2008.

To fulfil this project AWRAD has completed field research in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan to assess the living conditions and needs of Palestinian refugees in these 3 states. The project’s data collection strategy was defined by survey research, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Over 3,000 refugees, inside and outside of refugee camps were interviewed in the three states. The central themes addressed throughout the assessment were living conditions, human relations, and political recommendations to address, and ideally resolve, outstanding issues. At the conclusion of the project, AWRAD issued a series of conclusions designed to guide the programming and focus of stakeholders.

“Training on Human Rights.” Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR). 2008.

Dr. Said served as the main trainer in workshop organized by the AOHR for Arab human rights activists from the Arab region with a focus on Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The workshop took place in Beirut, 2008.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

“Women’s Participation in the Social, Economic and Political Context in the Arab World.” (Covering Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen). Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI). 2013-2014.

For this assignment AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires and conducted 8 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.

“Building the Capacity of Libyan Researchers.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2012-2013.

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.

“Developing the Capacity of Benghazi University.” EU and Crown Agents. 2012-2013.

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.

“Mapping and Participatory Needs Assessment of Civil Society in Libya.” AWRAD. 2012.

AWRAD completed a CSO mapping study on evolving Libyan civil society in November 2012. The study was carried out by the AWRAD Team in Libya and Palestine employing a participatory approach. The data was collected through a survey of CSOs in the various regions of the country. Data and analysis were also carried out through six (6) focus groups and in-depth interviews. A full mapping report and a directory of 100 CSOs are now available.  AWRAD organized a national validation workshop to discuss the preliminary results of the mapping. Two additional focus groups with CSOs, youth organizations, and government officials were also conducted during November 2012. The study is supported by the Foundation for the Future.

“Libyan Perspectives on Governance: Focus Group Findings.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2012.

In November 2012, AWRAD carried out 10 focus groups in 5 municipalities in Libya to support IRI’s efforts to engage youth, CSOs, and other officials in more extensive dialogue during the process of political transition in Libya. Specifically, AWRAD conducted two sets of focus groups in five municipalities in Libya to probe the opinion of the Libyan adult constituency on public policy issues and the role of government in their daily life.

“Involvement in Libyan Elections.” International Republican Institute (IRI), Libyan Election Commission. 2011.

A delegation of AWRAD staff met with the President the Libyan Election Commission, Mr. Nuri Al Abbar and other Commission representatives. The AWRAD team provided insights on the experiences of other commissions in the regions and provided a comparative perspective on the conduct of elections. It was also agreed that AWRAD would monitor the Libyan parliamentary election through its Regional Coordinator, Dr. Walid Salhi.

Developing the Capacity of Libyan Research Centers
The AWRAD team was asked by the newly established Libya Center for Strategic and Futuristic Studies to assist in developing its capacity. The members of the Board of Trustees and a team of senior researchers attended a strategic planning session that was facilitated by Dr. Nader Said and Dr. Walid Salhi of AWRAD. The session will be followed by the long term involvement of AWRAD in developing the research capacity of the center. As a follow-up, a three-day strategic planning session will be organized next month to help the center refine its vision, role, objectives, and methods.

Meetings with Libyan Academics and Community Leaders
In both Tripoli and Musrata, the AWRAD team, Dr. Nader Said and Dr. Walid Salhi, met with academics representing a number of universities and academic institutions. The team also met with community and political party leaders in both Tripoli and Musrata. The meetings focused on the role of academics, academic institutions and community, and political leaders in the promotion of development and democracy in Libya.

“Regional Focus Groups: Morocco.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2015-Ongoing.

AWRAD was recently contracted to conduct 24 focus groups in Morocco focusing on citizen perceptions and priorities related to political, economic and everyday issues. AWRAD will be responsible for developing all survey guidelines and training facilitators and transcribers for the focus groups. The groups themselves will be conducted in a mixture of urban and rural locales across three districts and target a variety of different ages. At the close of the project, AWRAD will submit transcriptions of each focus group, along with a complete dataset of all results. Most importantly, AWRAD will submit a final report documenting the most significant findings for IRI’s evaluation and incorporation into future work.

“Party Empowerment Initiative Morocco: Results of a Survey and Focus Groups.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2007-2010.

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.  

“Arab Polling and the Future of Polling in Morocco.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2008.

Dr. Said was invited, by IRI and in coordination with prominent Moroccan political parties, to give a lecture entitled Polling in the Arab World and the Prospects of Polling in Morocco in Morocco on (23 September 2008). Over 150 prominent political and civil society leaders participated in the lecture. Youth and women’s organizations participated with great interest. The lecture was followed by a traditional Moroccan Iftar and a Q&A period. The discussions illustrated the deep desire to promote sound and responsible polling in the country.

“Training on Human Rights.” Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR). 2008.

Dr. Said served as the main trainer in workshop organized by the AOHR for Arab human rights activists from the Arab region with a focus on Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The workshop took place in Beirut, 2008.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

Training of Young Social Researchers: AWRAD, with IRI, organized a three-day training workshop to train young social researchers in the field of focus groups. The training program consisted of in-class room activities and field training. The team of researchers were tasked with carrying out two real focus groups anddrawing lessons from the experience. Dr. Nader Said – Foqahaa, was there to train, evaluate and guide. Lessons learnt from the field experience were discussed with trainees. Eighteen young social researchers participatedhalf of them women.

Youth Political Empowerment program: AWRAD worked with young leaders to enhance their role in the major political parties in Morocco. The program included a large number of trainings and meetings with decision-makers in the parties.

“Training and Facilitation with Omani NGOs: Building Partnerships and Coalitions” Tawasol, Internatioanl Republican Institute (IRI). 2009.

AWRAD provided training and facilitation expertise to promote the role of civil society organizations in Oman. The focus was on building “think tanks”, advocacy skills and the utilization of public opinion polling. The training took place between October 28 and November 2, 2009. It was carried out in coordination with Tawasol and IRI.

“Training on Research and Analytical Writing.” International, Republican Institute (IRI), Parliament of Oman. 2006-2008.

AWRAD carried out 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. The training was in cooperation with IRI and the Parliament, and took place over the period 6-12 December 2006. The second round of training took place during 2008 at the request of the President of the Shura Majles.

Government-Civil Society Partnerships in Providing Social Services: This specialized training brought together the senior staff of the Ministry of Social Development and the leaders of relevant NGOs. The training came as a response to a request of the Ministry and was supported by UNFPA.

Additional significant work was carried out in the region particularly in Jordan, Egypt, Qatar and Lebanon. Over the past 5 years, AWRAD has worked with the a substantial number of international institutions including USAID, MEPI/IRI, World Bank, EU, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNIFEM, MEPI, JICA, and DEFID. AWRAD has also worked closely with governments in the region including in Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In addition, a great deal of its focus has been on working with civil society organizations in Palestine and the region. AWRAD has access to, and excellent relations with, a number of regional networks including the Arab NGOs Network for Development and the Network for Democrats in the Arab World of which AWRAD is a member. Since 1999, AWRAD’s President carried out capacity building and training in the fields of Scientific Research, Strategic Planning, Data Acquisition and Analysis, Analytical and Report Writing, with missions to Qatar, Pakistan, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Morocco, and many other countries. AWRAD’s President was also a team member for the preparation of a number of Arab human development reports with UNDP.

“Arab Perceptions of Women Leaders in Media, Civil and Political Avenues.” Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI) – Jordan. 2014-2015

For this assignment, AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires across 3 countries (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen). The aim of this project, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was to provide an improved understanding of public perceptions towards women. The questionnaire contained both country-specific questions asking about women and country-specific media outlets, country-specific civil society organizations, and country-specific political parties and institutions. The questionnaire also asked a large set of unified questions to develop a regional understanding of public perceptions of women leaders and women leadership activity.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

Arab Perceptions of Women Leaders in Media, Civil and Political Avenues.” Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI) – Jordan. 2014-On-going.

For this assignment, AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires across 3 countries (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen). The aim of this project, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was to provide an improved understanding of public perceptions towards women. The questionnaire contained both country-specific questions asking about women and country-specific media outlets, country-specific civil society organizations, and country-specific political parties and institutions. The questionnaire also asked a large set of unified questions to develop a regional understanding of public perceptions of women leaders and women leadership activity.

“Nationwide Surveys of the Egyptian and Tunisian Adult Populations.” University of Toronto. 2014-On-going.

AWRAD is currently engaged in a public opinion polling project across Egypt and Tunisia intended to explore and measure the social distribution and political significance of democratic attitudes and intolerance in the region and identify the main individual-level and contextual-level factors underlying the recent Arab revolutions and their aftermath. The poll targets 1,570 individuals in each country and is representative of all demographic factors. Questions measure socioeconomic demographics, participation in events surrounding the revolutions, attitudes towards different types of political rule and practices and change over time in personal security. Once the data has been collected and analyzed, analytical reports will be published in scholarly journals.

“Women’s Participation in the Social, Economic and Political Context in the Arab World.” (Covering Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen). Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI). 2013-2014.

For this assignment AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires and conducted 8 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.

“Observer Delegation to the 2011 Election.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2011.

AWRAD’s long-term relation with IRI led to the invitation of AWRAD’s President to be a member in IRI’s observer delegation to Tunisia. The mission allowed for a plethora of meetings with political leaders from most Tunisian political groups.

“Official Palestinian Delegation to the Arab Women Organization’s Conference.” Arab Women Organization. 2008-2009

AWRAD was asked by the First lady of Palestine – Amina Abbas – to prepare the two major presentations to the conference in Tunisia during its sessions in Tunisia (2008 & 2009). AWRAD, through its President, was represented in the two conferences and provided all the research and reporting to the delegation.

“Training on Human Rights.” Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR). 2008.

Dr. Said served as the main trainer in workshop organized by the AOHR for Arab human rights activists from the Arab region with a focus on Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The workshop took place in Beirut, 2008.

“Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making)” Center for Arab Women for Research and Training (CAWTAR). 2003-2007.

AWRAD has cooperated with CAWTAR on a number of occasions most notably, in the preparation of the Arab Women Report (Women and Decision Making). Three AWRAD researchers led the endeavor. They coordinated the regional work in six countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Various research and training work with CAWTAR has entailed eight visits to Tunisia since 2003.

“The Linkage between Public Opinion Polling Research and Decision Making.” International Republican Institute (IRI). 2005.

This 3-day workshop took place in May 2005 and brought together experts from the region, political leaders and parliamentarians. The workshop aimed at raising the awareness of decision makers in Tunisia about the utility of opinion polling in decision making and planning. Dr. Said was one of the key trainers, speakers and facilitators.

“Arab Perceptions of Women Leaders in Media, Civil and Political Avenues.” Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI) – Jordan. 2014-On-going.

For this assignment, AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires across 3 countries (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen). The aim of this project, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was to provide an improved understanding of public perceptions towards women. The questionnaire contained both country-specific questions asking about women and country-specific media outlets, country-specific civil society organizations, and country-specific political parties and institutions. The questionnaire also asked a large set of unified questions to develop a regional understanding of public perceptions of women leaders and women leadership activity.

“Women’s Participation in the Social, Economic and Political Context in the Arab World.” (Covering Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen). Arab Women Leadership Institute (AWLI). 2013-2014.

For this assignment AWRAD distributed 6,000 questionnaires and conducted 8 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.

“Building the Capacity of Yemen Polling Center (YPC).” Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). 2007.

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.

Assessment of the Juvenile Justice System in Yemen: This study was supported by the EU and PRI, where a field visit took place to the various regions of Yemen. Meetings, interviews, focus groups and field visits were utilized to enrich the study.