Governance and Policy Reform

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Capacity Building for PSR Teams in the Public Sector Development Administration (PSDA)

The purpose of this project is to continue and finalize the DFID funded PSR work that was performed by PWC(UK) with Al Jidara as their partner, after DFID ended its engagement in Jordan.

The main objective of the work is to  support the PSDA Minister, Secretary General and senior officials to exercise their PSR leadership and management roles effectively.

Public Sector Reform/ Restructuring of Prime Ministry

Restructuring of the Prime Ministry in order to meet its current ambitious vision for efficiency and focus on strategic decision making with policy focus.

Specific tasks undertaken included recruiting key staff for the newly setup Government Performance Directorate. Work also included restructuring the Council of Ministers secretariat and developing new sets of procedures and templates, and a guidebook to govern the submittal, evaluation and approval of policy documents submitted to the CoM.

Public Sector Reform for Service Delivery

Provided capacity building, training design, and implementation, which aimed at strengthening the public service’s capabilities in delivering services across the Kingdom. Specific areas of service delivery that were enhanced included beneficiary surveys, service costing analyses, medium term budgeting, output measurement approaches, and stakeholder communication programs, with a focus on the Ministry of Education.

AMIR 2.0 Program

Achievement of Market Friendly Initiatives and Results Program (AMIR 2.0).

AMIR 1.0 Program

Access to Microfinance & Improved Implementation of Policy Reform Program (AMIR 1.0)

ATASP Program

Aqaba Technical Assistance Project (ATASP)

EJADA Program

Euro-Jordanian Action for the Development of Enterprise (EJADA).

Analysis of Economic and Commercial Policies

Researched and analyzed Jordan's economic and commercial policies in the context of the Stanford Research Institute’s Commercial Policy Matrix.

Analysis of SMEs Growth Constraints

Identified critical issues constraining the growth of the small and medium size (SMEs) businesses in Jordan.

Municipal Licensing Business Process Reengineering

Provided technical assistance to measurably reduce compliance and administration costs for selected business processes at two pilot municipalities in Jordan. The effort entailed mapping out existing municipal licensing and permitting processes covering professional licenses, construction related permits, and health certificates; recommending reengineering solutions; and implementing the reengineered business processes. The effort also included conducting a baseline study and assessing impact of the recommended manual simplification of processes. Moreover, the effort entailed assessing the e-Readiness of the two municipalities as well as recommending pilot processes for electronic enabling.

Organization of a Trade Policy Unit at MoIT

Identified the trade and investment economic data that a “trade policy unit” at the Jordanian Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) should collect for effective trade policy analysis. Also identified existing sources of the trade and investment data that are collected by the government, the methods used to collect, analyze and present the data, and provided a critical review of its quality and sufficiency for trade economic analysis.

Centers of Excellence (COE) Criteria Redevelopment

Surveyed organizations that participated in the first round of the King Abdullah Award for Government Performance and Transparency and used the results to upgrade the Centers of Excellence Criteria.

Investor Roadmap Update and Implementation

Updated the investor roadmap to incorporate several of the qualitative improvements to the previous Investor Roadmap diagnostic and implementation methodology, including all of the regulatory interactions previously addressed and also several important areas that are particularly significant for Jordan today. This report clarified for investors and regulators all of the steps, costs, timeframes and documents required to startup and operate a firm. It also highlighted the problems facing investors arising from administrative constraints and made concrete recommendations to guide change, in light of several meetings and focus groups with local investors and government officials.

Design, Development & Implementation of an MIS System

Provided technical assistance to the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Investor Services and MIS Directorates to support their effort to develop an electronic Enterprise Registration and Permitting System.

Trade & Investment Needs Assessment

Initiated trade and investment information needs assessment, in light of the requirements of a proposed Jordan Authority for Economic Development (JAED) and the Economic Studies Directorate at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Cost Analysis

Analyzed recurrent cost financing of the municipal water and sewerage sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the developed options for water and sewerage tariff reform.

Sector Policy Reform Assessment

Assessed the effectiveness and impact of policy reforms supporting the USAID- Jordan Sector Policy Rerform Program.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Accession

Assisted the Government of Jordan in fulfilling the various accession requirements to join the WTO and to ensure compliance.

Structural Adjustment Facility Program

Provided assistance towards the preparation of the Government of Jordan’s Structural Adjustment Facility Program that was backed by the EC and IMF, and worked to consolidate the fiscal process.This included the documentation, review and assessment of all national reforms in the areas of tax revenue (direct and indirect), tax administration and public pensions/ the social security system; in addition to drafting of Financing Proposal, Technical and Administrative Provisions of the Program, the Logical Framework, and a matrix of conditionalities.

BMZ Evaluation of Jordanian- German Technical Cooperation

Analyzed and assessed the Jordanian- German development cooperation in order to develop a vision and a strategy for the future design of the bilateral cooperation program.

Evaluation of Economic Cooperation between the EC and MEDA

Evaluated the economic cooperation programs between the European Commission and the MEDA countries in order to help enhance the effectiveness of the EC as a development and economic partner.

Report on the Role of Women in Economic Development

Represented Jordan at the EU “Regional Forum on the Role of Women in Economic Development: Equal Opportunities between Women and Men within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership”. Prepared and presented a national report about Jordan, addressing and proposing solutions to four main themes: better access for females to the labor market, better access to education and vocational training, better access to financial facilities and the creation and promotion of women’s businesses. Findings were evaluated following a series of workshops, discussed and exchanged with other Mediterranean and European national experts. Conclusions were drafted and presented at the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial conference held under the Belgian Presidency of the EU.

Water and Waste water Tariff Restructuring

Analyzed recurrent cost financing of the municipal water and sewerage sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the developed options for water and sewerage tariff reform.

Policy Assessment

Assessment of the effectiveness and impact of policy reforms supporting the USAID- Jordan Sector Policy Reform Program.

Promotion of Sustainable Economic Growth

Identified policy reforms aimed at liberalizing restrictive trade and investment practices in Jordan.

Economic Policy Reforms Knowledge Survey

In order to enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of policy reform, a survey was conducted to determine the existing level of awareness among over 120 private sector firms, concerning economic policy reforms that have been made and the status of implementation of each reform.

Feasibility of Establishing a Credit Bureau

Researched and surveyed lending constraints to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and the feasibility of establishing a Credit Bureau in conjunction with actuarial services for insurance companies.

Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ ) Labor Study

Reviewed the effectiveness and impact of Jordanian investment incentive schemes. This review specifically targeted labor demand at QIZs as the major indicator of assessment.

Mid- Program Impact Assessment

Measured the impact of the AMIR Program/ USAID to date on the people, economy and Government of Jordan.

Drafting of the Competition Law

Assisted the Jordanian Ministry of Industry and Trade in redrafting the national Competition Law.

Translation of promotional material

Provided English to Arabic translation of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority’s (ASEZA) promotional material, which is to be used throughout the implementation of ASEZA’s proactive marketing plan across the Arab World. The promotional material includes ASEZA Web Site, Business Guide, ASEZ at a Glance video clip, and “Destination Aqaba” brochure.

Jordanian Industrial Estates Market Demand Study

Assessed the demand and supply situation of the Jordanian Industrial Estates in order to propose a development strategy for the Jordanian Industrial Estates Corporation (JIEC) in terms of locations and supply of future planned Industrial Estate facilities.

Assistance and Capacity Building

Provided capacity building, training, investment targeting and promotion, sectoral studies, standardization and documentation of procedures, e-Government, privatization, tax system development, for the three year implementation of the USAID- funded Aqaba Technical Assistance Support Project; aimed at enhancing the capacity of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) to effectively manage the Aqaba Special Economic Zone.

Demand Assessment for an Industrial Park

Conducted a comprehensive market research effort to estimate demand for an industrial estate with a Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ) status in Aqaba, Jordan, and developed physical design guidelines based on the projected demand.

Market Specifics and Services Demand Survey- Northern Jordan

Designed and implemented field work survey activities in Northern Jordan to assist micro-finance institutions' subsidiaries in the development of demand driven loan products by defining the profile of micro enterprises, determining their credit needs and establishing baseline data for future surveys and development of new loan products.

Market Specifics and Services Demand Survey- East Amman

Assisted selected NGOs and commercial banks to develop a demand-driven product and identify borrowers. The survey defined the profile of micro-enterprises in East Amman.

Market Specifics Micro-finance Survey

Conducted a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the micro-finance services needed by present and potential entrepreneurs in Jordan. The survey detailed the demand and supply side issues of available credit facilities (formal) and current practices (informal). The survey was the first of its kind that specifically addressed the different issues related to micro- lending.

Implementation of an MIS System for MFIs in Jordan

Ensured adherence of the beta version of “Banking Beyond 2K” software (developed for the use of micro-finance institutions (MFIs) for micro-finance banking and loan tracking) to the technical specifications for a standard Microfinance software product. Also, identified additional user requirements of the MFIs and defined and managed the implementation of the software.

MFI Policy Constraint Review

Produced a policy paper identifying constraints that inhibited the growth of the microfinance industry in Jordan. The paper included a prioritized action plan designed to minimize the negative impact of these restraints.

Design and Development of Management Structure for a Pharmaceutical Company

Assisted a pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution company in developing and implementing a management structure with policies, procedures and job responsibilities.

Support for a Metal Packaging Company

Assist a metal Packaging company (cylindrical and conical steel drums primarily for bulk food and chemicals) in the implementation of six sigma concept and to measure the effect of applying this approach on the production, reduction in the number of defects, increase in customer satisfaction and growth in profits.

SABEQ Program

Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality (SABEQ) Program.