Palestinian International Business Forum - NIR

General question: Results related to the intended outcome 2014Question: Summarise results related to the intended outcome (this information will be sent to Open Aid)Answer: Results achieved during year 2 is reported below as per outcome objective. PIBF's goal is to support the Palestinian private sector's sustainability by providing possibilities and abilities to enterprises and institutions. The project has 4 expected outcomes; 1) PIBF reduce conflict impact on palestinian private sector through organisation of strategic partnerships with relevant actors. 2) Targeted private sector institutions are better able to serve their constituents in relation to accessing international sources of knowledge, trade and investment. 3) Palestinian businesses in PIBF networks are better able to access sources of international knowledge, trade and investment. 4) Targeted key actors have increased awareness and act to improve the economic policies affecting the Palestinian private sector's ability to operate. During year 2, the following results have been achieved: Outcome 1 This outcome is geared towards the PIBF platform, and improved partnerships between the Palestinian and international private sector. Under this outcome the main results so far are related to the sustainability of the platform. Therefore, focus has been on raising awareness of the plaform, trying to get buy-in from senior officials both in the public and private sector. It is however difficult to assess the how well the project is progressing under this outcome. Therefore, and agreed during the annual meeting (22nd October, 2014) new targets and indicators needs to be developed in order to better capture this during the final year of implementation. Below three of the main achievments under this outcome is presented: - PIBF has during year two generated 15 strategic international partnerships, including EBRD, European and Swedish actors that are seen as potential generators of opportunities for Palestinian private sector over time. - PIBF has maintained and built strategic channels in Palestine and Israel, for buy in and support of for enabling influence; 7 Palestinian, 10 Israeli - PIBF has strengthened the strategic cooperation with the anchor organisations. Outcome 2 and 3 The focus of outcome 2 and 3 are to strengthen PSIs and SMEs in accessing international sources of knowledge, trade and investments through strategic partnerships with international organizations, trainings, networking platforms etc. During year 2, the project identified 3 women co-ops in area C who specialize in semi-processed food. PIBF designed a training program that allowed a total of 50 women advance their knowledge within the field of basic accounting, pricing, strategic planning, imporved production line, improved leadership, market access, networking and marketing. As for results related to PSIs, the project identified 3 cross sectoral industries; consumer packaged goods, standards and exports, and the financial sector. Activities were undertaken resulted in i) packaging will become part of the educational program. ii) 2 partnerships were created to facilitate exports to Sweden. iii) Basel regulations workshops better prepared local banks to implement these internationally recognized standards. In additon to this, during year two the project formed partnership with a number of associations and businesses within the tourism sector. The following results can be mentioned in relation to this intervention i) enhanced information for travellers to Palestine. ii) Palestine promoted as a travel destination. Outcome 4 This outcome focuses on economic reform and the capacity of the private sector and PSI to improve the business climate through access to information, knowledge and channels to key actors. The project is trying to achieve this through channels between European and Palestinian markets. In order to strengthen this, PIBF is also working on strengthening the ability of key Palestinian actors to utilize these channels. The progress during year 2 in this outcome is quite weak due to the war in Gaza and some activities has been postponed to year 3. Overall, it is still difficult to assess progress towards the overarching goal of the project during the second year. Results are reported on an activity level and needs some improvement. Comments will be sent to the partners to adjust this. These comments were sent to the partner after the annual meeting (22nd October, 2014). The second and final draft of the annual report is better. Sida can however still see romm for imporvement in for the final report.