Contents of the study report. List of abbreviations 2. Executive Summary 3. Premises and justifications for the proposed NICHE project 6

Transcription

1 Needs study in capacity building for improved Food Security and Labour Market responsiveness by Higher and Vocational education in the Palestinian Territories Report of a NICHE mission in the PalestinianTerritories (PT) from 2 to 10 May 2014 by Diederik van Groen, SYNERGIE Consultancy, Alkmaar, the Netherlands, and Thameen Hijawi, F&A Consultant for the NRO, Ramallah, PT. Ramallah/Alkmaar, 20 May 2014 Contents of the study report page List of abbreviations 2 Executive Summary 3 Premises and justifications for the proposed NICHE project Who is involved? Four groups of key actors What is going on? Who does what? Some current development models Main features for the proposed NICHE development project 12 Annex 1 Terms of Reference of the study mission 14 Annex 2 Consulted documents 17 Annex 3 Chronology of resource persons and some conversation topics 18 Annex 4 Proposed NICHE format: goals, outcomes and indicators 24

2 Abbreviations CMU CSO Consortium Management Unit Civil Society Organisations dunum (agricultural) land unit of 1,000 m 2 F&A FS HE K2B MoA MoHE MoL NARC NCP NICHE NRO PAAC QIF RD ToT TVET Food and Agriculture sector; also: Food and Agribusiness companies /sector Food Security Higher Education Knowledge to Business (or University to private sector Company Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Higher Education Ministry of Labour National Agricultural Research Centre (under the MoA) NICHE Country Programme (for the PalestinianTerritories) Netherlands Initiative for Capacity building in Higher Education Netherlands Regional Office (in Ramallah) Palestinian Academic Agriculture Consortium Quality Investment Fund Rural Development Training of Trainers Technical and Vocational Education and Training 2

3 Executive summary In the light of the purpose and orientations of this short study, presented in its ToR (Annex 1), the mission formulated and focussed on three working key questions: - Who are the main players in professional higher education (HE and TVET systems) for the food and agricultural (F&A), private enterprise sector and the rural development (RD)?sector, as contributors to Food Security (FS) - What s going on and who is doing what in developing HE and TVET to bridge identified gaps with labour market needs in these sectors? - What (and how) could a NICHE project contribute to structural improvement of the responsiveness by HE and TVET to knowledge and skill needs in the private sector and who can play a (lead) role / take a responsibility in this project? Besides documented information, gathered before and in the course of the study (Annex 2), the study is based on 40+ individual consultations and conversations and identified roughly four categories of stakeholders and actors in the academic education and training sectors, in the private sector involved in F&A as well as RD sector (Annexe 3); these stakeholders are: - HE & TVET implementers such as Universities /Agricultural Faculties and Departments, Colleges, and Training Centres - HE & TVET regulators, supporters and funders (various Ministries, Specialised NGOs/CSOs and many Donor and Development Agencies both international (such as FAO, ILO, UNESCO) and bi-lateral (some both funder and implementer) - F&A Value Chains operators / companies such as A&F producers, industrialists, businessmen, exporters, certification agencies, farmers associations, Faire Trade Association, rural community organisations - F&A Value Chains development supporters such as Palestine Standards Institute; Palestine Trade and Export Centre, Palestine Union of Food Industries. The study not only confirms the existence of the originally identified gaps and challenges in the NCP and mission ToR, but also found agreement amongst many stakeholders on the basic causes as well as on needs and subsequent challenges to improve the quality of the (national) educational systems involved, both formal and informal. Indeed both categories, educators and employers, agree on two main gaps concerning the education system: - The gap between education outcomes and employability (in terms of market demand) of graduates and trainees by potential employers - The gap between theoretical (sometimes inappropriate) knowledge and often serious absence of practical professional skills of graduates (BSc and MSc alike) Obviously, there are several root causes as well as implications of this not-so-new, on-going and even evolving problem in the education system concerned, which are to be found in two opposite trends and pace of evolution: (1) Relative rapid evolutions in markets, technologies and knowledge & skills needs in F&A business involved food value chains, from farm to fork, from commercial farm production to export of processed and fresh food. The Palestine food industries are evolving rapidly with help from international business partners and some donors alike. Moreover, F&A industries become increasingly self-organising (potential competitors are member in the same Industrial Association or business association), thus enhancing many forms of communication and cooperation. Because business is profitable in many cases, there is expansion (when consumer markets allow) and some innovation while new service oriented businesses are getting to the market. Even if most of these dynamics mostly exist without direct involvement of academic knowledge and services from Universities and Colleges, many business leaders expressed interest in cooperation with relevant education and training stakeholders. (2) Slow evolution, if not stagnation, in (old) educational systems, erratic curriculum and course contents development, too little use of available modern education technology and methods for both learning and teaching practices. Traditional organisation and management of Faculties and Departments, running education programmes containing too little practical lessons for students and too little research by teacher-researchers, which cannot keep up with 3

4 economic realities and rapid knowledge evolutions, where there are no established mechanisms to stay informed, to collect and analyse feed-back and to learn and update courses. Rather old course titles and lots of theoretical contents do not attract the imagination of young people and challenge them to build a future in F&A. Contrary to the F&A industry, the higher education industry in these domains is not really innovative and manifestly has a weak, sometimes disappointed, relationship with the current and potential employers of their male and female students/graduates. The study also found that, on both sides of the education-employment spectre, there is not only awareness, experience and knowledge about these (and other) gaps and related issues, but also interest and willingness to address these by means of the most needed interventions for sustained capacity development: (1) purposeful communication, (2) result oriented cooperation, and (3) innovation which is relevant for all parties involved (say the creation of win-win cooperation). Of course, this study acknowledges also that the contextual and location-specific analysis at stakeholder s level (Universities and companies alike) varies from case to case, while the general situation is not black and white or doom and gloom only; re. the two trends mentioned above. For instance, some personalised academic-enterprise relations do exist and these may be the bourgeoning buds of new inter-sector cooperative branches and flowers in the F&A and RD sectors involved. Companies in various modernising food value chains are discovering their innovation needs for their products, processes, etc, without which they cannot thrive and develop their businesses. By implication, Universities, in their role and presumed core business of knowledge and skills provider to these companies, need to innovate their own business (say educational products and processes), too, if they want to deliver the male or female graduate, who has the basic knowledge, skills and attitude to work in innovative environments, being employed or self-employed. In order to address the main gaps and subsequent challenges in the sectors mentioned, the study proposes a NICHE project with a series of one general and three specific goals, leading to measurable outcomes at three identified levels of cooperation (see below). The two key concepts of this project are, not surprisingly: multi stakeholder result oriented cooperation and sustainable innovation dynamics at both sides of the education biz F&A biz cooperation spectre, say both K2B and B2K. Indeed, the general long-term objective of the recommended NICHE project is to build structural labour market responsiveness through capacity for sustainable innovation processes in the organisation, management, contents and methodologies in professional Higher Education in the sectors of Food and Agriculture and Rural Development in five Palestinian Universities. This is to be achieved through three specific goals to be achieved at three levels of cooperation: 1. University F&A companies and RD organisations, say respectively K2B v.v. and K2CSO v.v., a cooperation focussing on client driven demands for innovation and R&D, as well as internship programmes 2. University University, say K2K cooperation focussing on an agenda of exchange programmes, coordination of curriculum development and specialisations, etc, amongst the participating Palestinian Universities and their (foreign) partners 3. Internal University cooperation, say, for good governance, leadership, management of education and research focussing on a capacity programme of efficient educational resource management, curriculum and course innovation, (learning systems, teaching systems, contents, etc) 4

5 Based on the study s preliminary insights about the current capacities and programmes in the four Universities and Colleges 1 and in some NGO/Donor initiatives concerned, as well as of earlier experiences and a few current initiatives of K2K cooperation, consensus was found on three facts namely that: (1) all can greatly benefit from capacity building initiatives, (2) every partner has nominal potentials and good opportunities to do so, and (3) not one single University/Department has sufficient cooperation capacity/experience and thus should be a NICHE project holder. In the light of successful cooperative experiences in the F&A (e.g. Palestine Food Industries Union) and RD sectors (e.g. Palestine Fair Trade Association), the study therefore recommends the creation of a strong cooperative academic structure, the Palestinian Academic Agriculture Consortium, PACC, welcoming all Universities concerned with F&A and RD higher education and training. Such a PAAC will set up a secretariat on behalf of the partnering consortium members, the Consortium Management Unit. This CMU will have a mandate with sufficient managerial and administrative autonomy to implement, together with the tender-winning partners from The Netherlands, the NICHE project, and even to attract other cooperation initiatives with local and foreign investors in HE & TVET development 2. One partnering University in the academic consortium by preliminary consensus this is the Al Quds University - will be the formal lead ( pen holder ), formal Consortium representative as well as the contracting agency for NICHE. The creation of a PAAC and its CMU not only is a conditional step in granting a NICHE project but also a condition for successful implementation of cooperative initiatives; as such it could be considered as a first project result. 1 The fifth potential partner in this NICHE project could/should be the Department of Agriculture in Al Ahzar University in Gaza, which we were unable to include in the short West Bank based study. 2 During this short study, at least three stakeholders in category HE & TVET supporters and funders have clearly expressed their interest in the above idea. 5

6 Premises and justification of the proposed project - In general terms, (a) Rural Development (RD) for better incomes, increased Food Security (FS) and sustainable livelihoods, (b) Food & Agribusiness Development (F&A)for better (food) products and higher profitability as well as (c) Labour Market Development for more employment, decent work, and liveable incomes, have overlaps and reciprocal interests that are enhanced by processes of innovation in various domains concerned, including capacities in professional education and training - In Palestine RD and F&A, in a significant part of the rural households and communities, FS as well as food sovereignty is dependent on land security and water security, two highly politicised components. In Palestine RD and F&A Development, access to and management of land, soil fertility and water are fundamental life issues and should be(come) top priority in research, higher education and professional training in F&A supply and value chains - In these RD and F&A sectors, the Niche Country Programme (NCP) identifies a series of labour market gaps between and the professional competence needs of the various actors (say, employers) and the quality (appropriateness) of the HE sector products, say the various types of graduates. - These responsiveness gaps are not only caused by a lack of structural cooperation amongst stakeholders of these sectors, say between Universities and Food companies, but also by lack of cooperation inside and among Universities themselves as well as various aspects of University governance such as weak course and curriculum development systems, too much theoretical and too little practical education, etc. - These gaps represent the capacity needs which constitute the foundation of the core business of the NICHE project: transforming these gaps and needs into capacity building activities by the Institutions of HE concerned. These activities require a high level of cooperation amongst the many actors and stakeholders involved in professional higher education. - Cooperative action by stakeholders can only be enhanced and sustained when all parties contribute effectively to activities which (are expected to) produce useful results for all - An F&A value chain development approach serves as basic model for effective cooperation between stakeholders in the F&A business and the Higher Education system in Agriculture and related domains - R&D in F&A farming and production processes, products, marketing etc, leads to innovations which are a key source for business development in F&A companies, rural communities, as well as for capacity building and innovation in higher professional education and training; - Private sector driven multi-stakeholder R&D is conceived as a flexible instrument and source of learning for all participants involved, each at his/her own level, interest and use; in farmers terms: each party can plough back his/her R&D learning and outcomes into his/her own business - In the light of earlier experiences and outcomes of donor driven projects in Academic Institutions in the Palestinian Territories, the premise this NICHE project is not that a better relevance and responsiveness of HE to private sector needs will be created by linking the private sector to the HE system but rather the other way around first, i.e. that the HE system should be linked to the private sector needs and only when this produces successful results, then meaningful and responsive capacity building in HE can take place by ploughing back and feeding back the lessons learned into courses and programmes, (contents, methods) academic management, etc. - The design and gradual development of a structural and coherent Internship/Apprenticeship system is expected to complement the practical education of students as well as private sector involvement and contribution to the relevance education 6

7 1.0 Who is involved? Four categories of key players Amongst the many players and stakeholders in Higher Education (HE) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) involved in Food & Agriculture as well as Rural Development sectors in The Palestinian Territories, we identified roughly four categories which are concerned with the previously identified gaps and challenges in the responsiveness of the academic and educational sector towards the knowledge and skills needs in private sector companies. These four groups are: - (1) HE & TVET implementers : Universities, Colleges, Training Centre) - (2) Education and Training regulators, supporters and funders: various Ministries, Specialised NGOs (some both implementer and funder), international (FAO, UNESCO) and bi-lateral Development Agencies (most financier and implementer) - (3) F&A Value Chains operators: producers, processors, industrialists, businessmen, exporters, certification agencies, Faire Trade Association, farmers associations, rural community organisations - (4) F&A Value Chains supporters such as: Palestine Standards Institute; Palestine Trade and export Centre, Palestine Food Industries Union 1.1 Five Universities are implementing academic education and professional training programmes in F&A and Rural Development related fields at Diploma, BSc and MSc levels According to the count by the Ministry of Higher Education, MoHE, a total of 1,115 students are enrolled in the various F&A related professional and higher education studies, as being offered by five Universities in Palestine Territories. It acknowledges that in general, offered MSc programmes are few and weak. These five institutions involved are: - Al Quds University, East Jerusalem; one of the biggest Universities in the country (a total of 13,000 students in all Faculties/sciences) In Agriculture (and related) courses, the University runs: - BSc programmes (230 students) 1. Biology 2. Food Processing & Food engineering - MSc programmes 1. Sustainable Rural Development (outside campus course with 300 students of whom many are employed e.g. in NGOs/CSOs) 2. Biotechnology The University intends to experiment a dual study approach curriculum composed of half academic and half TVET inspired practicals and internships), designed by and in cooperation with the German bi-lateral cooperation, GIZ (see also Ch. 2.0) involving private sector companies in the TVET part of the curriculum - An Najah National University, in Tulkarm (campus for Agric and Veterinary Departments) and Nablus (other Faculties) This University runs a model farm and a dairy processing unit for practical training of students ; the following HE and professional training programmes (approx 200 students): - BSc Programmes 1. Plant production and protection 2. Animal production and animal health 3. Nutrition and food processing 4. Veterinary Medicine - MSc. Programmes: 1. Plant production 2. Animal production QIF activity in An Najah University: Quality Improvement Fund (re 2.0), a 3 year programme managed by the MoHE and funded by World Bank. An Najah University received an approval for a project with a budget of US$ 250,000 to develop a (new) curriculum in Nutrition and Food Processing sector, which foresees partnership with private sector companies 7

8 - Khadoury College of Agricultural Sciences & Technologies, Tulkarm (sharing the same campus with An Najah University, above) This Governmental institution operates two programmes (total of 95 students): 1. Two years Diploma in Protected Agriculture Technology 2B.Sc. in Environment and Sustainable Agriculture. Khadoury is in the process of accreditation with the MoHE of one new course: 1. BSc in Horticulture and Agricultural Extension Furthermore it is preparing 3 more courses in respectively: 1. BSc in Agriculture and Natural Resources 2. MSc in Agricultural Biotechnology 3. MSc in Climatic Changes and Food Security. - Hebron University, Hebron The University used to run 5 Departments in Agriculture but closed down Dept of Soil and Irrigation (BSc) and has currently no students anymore in its MSc courses resp. in Natural Resource & Sustainable Management, and in Plant Protection. At the last graduation, 70 BSc students graduated in: 1. Plant production & plant protection 2. Animal production and protection 3. Nutrition and food processing technology - Al Ahzar University, Gaza (not visited); according to MoHE, approx 300 students in Agriculture; no details available at the time of reporting. In the opinion of NRO, this University could join the NICHE project in a later stage. 1.2 Education & Training coordinating and supporting actors and stakeholders Most actors in this category belong to both the communities of national development NGOs and international development agencies and, very important, funders of various TVET-like education and training related programmes and initiatives at all levels and in many professions, vocations and economic sectors. Here we mention some important actors some of which we find back in chapter 2.0 what is going on? - Ministry of Higher Education besides its regular mission as administrator and regulator in Higher Education, e.g. in the accreditation procedures and appraisals of proposals and requests for new courses in BSc and MSc, the Ministry is also responsible for the implementation of the World Bank funded Quality Investment Fund, QIF - Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Ministry of Labour (MoL), with support of various international donor agencies, are responsible for various TVET- oriented programmes in agriculture as well as leadership in cooperatives - Bilateral cooperation agencies, including German International Cooperation (GIZ), KfW Development Bank, Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC), French Consulate - International development agencies with interest and mandates in professional education and training in the PT : ILO, UNESCO, FAO - International NGOs, especially Qatar Charity - National NGOs, especially Union of Agricultural Working Committees, UAWC, a consortium of fours NGOs), the Agricultural Development Association, PARC, - USAID is investing directly in business development and industrial quality systems (see MAK and PSI resp. in 1.3 and 1.4) and indirectly through their well known model subcontracting (American NGO) parties, such as MIDEAST (privileged partner of the Min of Educ) 1.3 Food & Agriculture and Rural Development value chain actors The following information (paragraphs 1.3 and 1.4) is based only on the F&A business leaders who were contacted and visited in their quality of employers in A&F biz and who showed interest in the object of this short study. Some of them have (mixed) experiences with cooperation with individual teachers of the identified Universities; all agree that there is a real need to work together in order to improve the quality of young graduates to be employed. - Valley Trade Company (Jericho); produces and exports high quality dates (Medjool variety) and is expanding its plantations (100,000 dunum); is setting up its own dates research centre, 8

9 including on preservation of traditional varieties; is interested in cooperation on a number of R&D topics with knowledgeable academia and students - Al Jebrini for Food Industries (Hebron); one of the leading dairy companies in PT; also produces on own farm part of the milk that is daily processed; offers great potential for cooperation along the entire value chain, from stable to table - Sinokrot Global Group (Ramallah); Company producing and exporting a wide variety of food products under a wide variety of labels; except for occasional excursions, zero-connectivity with the academic institutions; is prepared to try cooperation for integral innovation - Canaan Faire Trade Company (Jenin); produces, markets and exports a wide range of authentic food products, especially olive oils and almonds; both Faire Trade and Organic labels and certifications; very close cooperation with organised producers and communities ( see 1.4 Palestine Fair Trade Association); is preparing own market driven applied research centre on organic, authentic crops and foods; prepared to cooperate with academia and students - Anabtawi Group (Nablus); produces and markets various foods under different labels including exports to Europe; has some experience with internships of students and is interested in other forms of cooperation such as in R&D initiatives - M.A.K. International (Ramallah); Certification company with accreditations for three international certifying bodies; core services are certification and training including certification preparation agents; interested in contributing to courses in food processing and quality control systems - Harvest Export (Ramallah); exports agricultural products, especially from Gaza, where according to the company s experience, farmers associations are much better prepared to produce export quality than on the West Bank; is interested in an TVET course on quality control for farmers 1.4 (Food) Business Support Organisations Private sector development goes hand in hand with business support organisations (potential employers, themselves) offering various services to members and even non-members. Some important F&A value chain supporters, are: - Palestinian Food Industries Union (PFIU) ; a self-organised private sector organisation with a membership in more than 10 types of food industries ( meat processing; dairy; vegetable oils; fruit and vegetable products; bakery products; chocolate and sugar products..); the Union claims the food industry employs a total of some 15,000 workers - Palestinian Fair Trade Association, (PFTA) ; a 2 nd tier organisation of some 43 village based farmers cooperatives covering more than dunum in the North of the West Bank; with the access to international Organic and faire Trade Markets through Canaan Faire Trade (re. 1.3) the 2,000+ male and female membership is involved in on-going training on quality standards and development of farm management, production systems and post-harvest handling of traditional food products such as olives, almonds, herbs - Palestinian Trade Centre, (Paltrade) ; a private, 200 member Trade Promotion Organisation, with professional services for various industrial sectors including F&A (fresh and processed); employs 19 certified trade advisors and offers various packages to existing and new exporters; is involved in B2B trade missions, participation of members in international exhibitions, etc. cooperates with EU and Int. Trade Centre - Palestine Standards Institute (PSI); semi-governmental body (since 1997); is involved in the development of National Standards in many sectors and industries; developed 3,350 standards, including 400 in food (including e.g. packaging); links up with international systems such as ISO, Codex, Arab Standards, Halal.. and adapt local (Palestinian) legal frameworks for implementation of international conventions such as EU Directives and Regulations. Also runs the calibration service for industries, laboratories, commerce Is involved in the new quality control training course in the Centre of Excellence (re. model in 2.0) 9

10 2.0 What is going on, who does what? Some current development models In general, the formal professional education trajectories, including those concerned with, Agriculture and Food Processing are as follows; at each level there is a potential option for in-stream and for out-stream to the labour market (employment and self-employment) : a) Secondary school College level (Diploma/ Certificate) ; b) Secondary school University under-graduation (BSc.); c) University BSc MSc at University, d) Open University, other part-time courses for on the job training; e) BSc professional upgrading courses by academic institutions and NGOs f) TVET styled education is applied in trajectory a) ;both formal and informal models g) TVET in (ad hoc) programmes with direct in stream of candidates (adult education, increasing employability of unemployed as well as skills and knowledge upgrading of employed personnel. For a much more detailed presentation of the Palestinian educational system, we refer to the Summary of the Strategic Education Development Plan by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Besides the regular programmes offered in Universities, Colleges, and other actors in professional education for the F&A and RD sectors, as reported in the previous chapter 1.0, there are many projects, programmes and organisations that are proposing, developing and implementing a specific model in TVET or HE, as well as investing in quality and capacity of these educational systems. In this report we call them models and give them names for the sole purpose of differentiation and not for giving exclusive credit to that particular actor; many other actors may be involved in the application and funding of the model. Not all models are applied in F&A or RD, but may inspire future programmes. - Basket Fund model A big number of foreign donors (bilateral, multi-lateral) pledge yearly for budget support to the Ministry of Education (primary and secondary schools). TVET is now one of the formal budget items in this national Budget; KfW is chairing the donor group. - QIF model General Quality Improvement Fund, a 3 year programme for investment in the quality of HE, ran by the Ministry of Higher Education with World Bank funding - FAO ToT model ToT for competence building within junior fieldworkers and farm schools (primary and secondary education) - Centre of Excellence/ TVET model KfW funded project with two modules on food safety and food processing: 1 year skills training for employees in the food industry; a two-year new curriculum on food processing in the Al Aroob College, for students and teachers; focus on dairy and food processing - Dual study approach GIZ elaborated educational reform in academic programme (BSc) in Al Quds University/ Faculty of Engineering: curriculum of half academic and half skills development (TVET approach) including 1 year internship in company; needs very good relations with the private sector - UNESCO model UNESCO developed the Med-Net programme focussing youth development, notably some life skills that have been mentioned in the education and training gap of students: critical thinking, creativity, etc; - CANAAN Faire Trade model Development of a profitable, integrated community & farmers association and cooperatives in organic olive-based value chain, with a series of niche products with Organic and Faire Trade Certification for export markets; various VET training needs are catered for aiming farmers, producers and community associations, women and other target groups 10

11 - ILO model TVET programme ( ) in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour; besides many industrial sectors, also involves the Agricultural Cooperatives sector, on Cooperative leadership training - TAQAT model A Qatar Charity funded and ran TVET-like programme in combination with incubator/credit facility to start post training small business and self employment. In this case, the objective is to implement the training ( brains generator ) in the Gaza strip, while the business incubator ( employment accelerator ) will be in Doha, Qatar. - PARC model Newly Graduated Agronomists Training Program: The program has been started since the year 1994,, funded by several donors such as Netherlands and the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Luxemburg and is implemented by PARC (re 1.2). The program is targeting the newly graduated agronomists from different universities with an intensive nine-month training program which completes the theory with the practice in the field - Water model The water programme at Birzeit University: The Institute of Environmental and Water Studies (IEWS) was established in 2001 as a result of outstanding cooperation between Birzeit University (BZU) and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (former IHE-Delft) in the Netherlands to offer and contribute to the capacity building of the Palestinian water and environmental sectors by providing knowledge, advisory services, graduate education (Master level), research and continuous education through short-term training in water and environment and related issues. In addition, IEWS participates in solving crucial water and environmental problems within Palestine and the neighbouring countries through research projects, consulting services and joint regional activities. - MICAD A graduate program offered by Bethlehem University that aims at preparing excellent leaders and professionals who are committed to sustainable development in Palestine. The international program involves a number of Universities in Europe and Latin America and works with visiting professor from this network and elsewhere. N.B: the first 3 years the program were fully funded by EU and after wards the program fully cover its costs from the students fees only. 11

12 3.0 Main features for the proposed NICHE development project On project goals and ambitions: The project aims to enhance structural capacity for innovation processes in the organisation, management, contents and methodologies in professional education in the sectors of Food and Agriculture, to start with a selection of high value crops and food products - To reach this goal the project will experiment and put in place sustainable and replicable forms and mechanisms of cooperation at three levels: 1) between stakeholders in a selection of academic institutions for higher and professional education, interested companies in agriculture, food and agribusiness working in high value crops and products, as well as interested organisations in rural innovation, with focus on Applied research/r&d and internship programmes 2) between leaders and stakeholders in the participating academic institutions (Deans. Heads of Departments, Course leaders ), with a focus on integration of Applied research/r&d experience and outcomes into curriculum development, the coordination of emerging specialisations, etc. 3) between members of management, scientific staff, etc. at each of the participating institutions, with a focus on challenges in (internal) management, organisation and sustainable mechanisms for innovation of their education programmes (contents, delivery methods and learning methods, etc) On project strategy and model: - Innovation through cooperation in multi-stakeholder applied research teams that work on real company (client) driven R&D topics operating in selected high value crops - Per research topic or contract, small teams from (local) client companies, interested academia (teachers and their students), and possibly other client parties including sponsors, specialised development agencies and CSO - Applied research results and cooperation experience aims at and leads to innovation in - products, processes, and business at company level - inputs for curriculum and course development at University/Faculty/Department level through learning by teachers - practical skills and new learning by students - Developing and testing this multi-stakeholder R&D model and monitoring its outcomes on a few technologies/ crops/ food products in the first stage of the project; adaptations and replication at a wider scale at the following stage(s) - For reasons of both strategic and pragmatic action for impact, concentration on a selection of high value crops in the first stage of the project; preliminary section is on some fresh, conditioned and processed food products for domestic and export markets, organic and conventional production systems, and key technologies in the main challenges of Palestinian F&A development: water, soil fertility and access to markets - F&A parties and RD parties take the lead (initiative) in formulating ideas for their R&D agenda and sound off their idea with interested researchers and teachers and formulate a proposal, R&D convention and budget that will be assessed by a research committee organised by the CMU of the PAAC (see under) - According to the cost-sharing rules to be applied, the CMU sponsors the R&D activity, monitors its implementation and evaluates the outcomes with the partners involved. 12

13 On project core activities (list of suggestions liable to amendments): - Consolidating the Palestine Academic Agriculture Consortium and setting up its CMU (Consortium Management Unit) for the implementation and administration of the NICHE project - Designing and preparing the multi-stakeholder R&D cycle in project participants workshops : regulations, documents, R&D proposal formats, monitoring system, training workshops, etc - Analysing a selection of existing programmes and courses related to R&D initiatives - Feed-back meetings with participating entrepreneurs, farmers, - University Leaders workshops on systems of inter-university cooperation; perspectives of Department and Course specialisation; Education management innovation; development of Internship programmes with companies and development services, NGOs; Improvement of employability of women - Curriculum development and innovation activities and young teachers training - Visiting professors, experts, consultants from Dutch consortium partners; exchanges of students and exposure of Palestine teachers and students - Organizing public relations and promotion events, employment bazaars to present virtues of graduates, offered courses, other services such as R&D, to attract enrolling of more clever students and potential employers as well as clients for the R&D service. On project structure, organisation and compliance with the NICHE mechanisms: - In the light of the gaps analysis and subsequent capacity needs justifying the NICHE project, including the development of strong and sustainable cooperative structures and mechanisms, at this first stage, none of the four potentially participating Universities can be designed as sole project holder. - Therefore, the interested Palestinian education parties will form an academic agriculture consortium in F&A and RD with a dedicated management unit, say the Consortium Management Unit (CMU) for the implementation of the NICHE Capacity Building project and attracting other investors in higher education and professional training; - This Palestine Academic Agricultural Consortium (PAAC) and its CMU, for the time being a working committee, will constitute the partner structure of the tender winning institution(s) to implement their NICHE request. Meanwhile, that request will be the first result of University cooperation in the proposed PAAC and to be lead by one of the participating Universities (preliminary consensus is that East Jerusalem based Al Quds University plays this role,), which also acts as the contracting partner on behalf of the PAAC. - An Advisory Board to the PAAC and its CMU should be created in which both academic education implementers and non-academic education supporters and funders can cooperate and support the NICHE project implementation 13

14 Annex 1 Terms of Reference NICHE - Terms of Reference for a study on food security for capacity development in Higher and Technical Education in the Palestinian Territories Consultant: Thameen Hijawi (10 days) and Diederik van Groen (12 days, including travel). In the period: 1 April 31 May Introduction For more than half a century, the Dutch government has supported the sustainable strengthening of institutional capacity for post-secondary education and training in developing countries. The Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education (NICHE) programme is one of its support instruments. The NICHE programme is a grant programme administered by the Netherlands organisation for international cooperation in higher education (Nuffic) on behalf of the Dutch government. Up-to-date information about the programme, procedures, projects and formats can be found on Nuffic s website at NICHE is implemented in up to 15 bilateral partner countries through projects in which requesting organisations in NICHE countries collaborate with Dutch provider organisations (and consortium members). NICHE focuses on post-secondary education including vocational education which is in support of Dutch policy priorities for development cooperation: food security, water, security and the rule of law, and women s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In addition, NICHE may support projects that help to strengthen higher education and technical vocational education and training (TVET) systems in partner countries. NICHE objective Programme objective: the NICHE programme contributes to sustainable strengthening of higher education and TVET capacity in partner countries, thus contributing to economic development and the reduction of poverty. Outcome (country level): higher education and TVET in NICHE countries respond to the development needs of the country, are gender sensitive, and contribute to the Dutch policy priorities. Eligible Organisations Support can be given to a variety of organisations in NICHE countries, including organisations for Higher education and TVET, ministries, national commissions, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as long as they are instrumental for capacity development in higher education and TVET. The Palestinian Territories - The MASP The Palestinian Territories is one of the bilateral partner countries where NICHE will be implemented from 2014 onwards. The Multi Annual Strategic Plan (MASP) of the Netherlands Representative Office (NRO) in Ramallah is leading in the choice of policy priorities in which NICHE could cooperate. As a consequence, the NRO has decided to focus the NICHE cooperation on the sectors food security/agriculture (FS) and security & the rule of law (S&RL), so as to ensure synergy between the EKN MASP and the NICHE interventions. 2. Needs identification 14

15 Demand is identified as much as possible on the basis of the MASP and on other policy analyses and plans that already exist in the countries concerned.. The Palestinian National Development Plan (PNDP) is expected to be presented in the first half of A large part of the sector strategies that form the basis of the PNDP were also delayed. The draft Sector Strategy for Agriculture was presented at the end of March 2014 and needs to be taken into consideration for this study. The Nuffic NICHE identification mission that took place in February 2014 concluded the following with regard to possible NICHE cooperation in the policy priority area of food security. 1) There are huge challenges in the food security/agriculture sector (see also the MASP). When it comes to the agricultural training and (higher) education component, less than 1% of students are taking courses in agriculture related fields, which is far below levels anticipated when looking at the agriculture sector contribution to the Palestinian GDP or its share in the labour market. Problems concentrate on attracting students to study in the field of agriculture, establishing relations with the private sector, rendering curricula relevant to the needs of the private sector, introducing agriculture related value chain approach in the curricula, introducing innovative teaching methodology, student centered learning approaches, strengthening the skills and knowledge of professors and teachers, etc. 2) There is hardly any outside support to upgrade the sector. There is a need to make agricultural education and training attractive, by rebranding and by introducing the private sector into the agricultural education and training strategy reform. A clear link between the private sector and its opportunities is expected to render agricultural education more relevant and attractive. Joint efforts are needed here. In order to design a NICHE intervention strategy in the food security area, it has been decided to conduct a study, including labour market needs. Synergy between the MASP objectives with a clear focus on those areas in which NRO is active (e.g. value chain approach in horticulture, including certification, standards, post-harvest and marketing issues: see MASP) and the NICHE intervention strategy needs to be ensured. 3. Specific Terms of reference The consultants are hired to conduct a capacity development and labour market needs study in the food security area, formulating specific themes and indicating organisations in the field of higher education which could benefit from NICHE support in the Palestinian Territories. For the policy priority of food security, the following questions should be answered: what are the problems and challenges facing the food security/agricultural area, regarding training and higher education capacity development issues? which are the most important capacity gaps or shortages in agricultural education that hinder the performance of the food security sector, taking into account the labour market needs (especially in the agrifood sector) and gender dimensions. which sector policies and programmes of government, NGO s and donors are in place that address the identified problems and challenges? which of the (higher) education institutions and universities should be targeted for capacity development, and how can they be aligned and/or specialise d? what are the proposed interventions for the rebranding of the agricultural education sector and to attract students? which national institutions (also the Ministry of Agriculture) could play a role in strengthening the agricultural education capacity and what would be their role? How to make agricultural education more market oriented? In addition the consultants shall: Advise on potential capacity development gaps/niches in food security and advise on an implementation plan for NICHE, including the formulation of a general outcome and 15

16 specific outcomes for food security in which the synergy between MASP objectives and NICHE interventions is ensured. Guide the selected institutions through the profile document and formulate outcomes at organisational level with indicators (see the formats of the NICHE profile and project outline) 4. Implementation The consultants collect and review all available relevant documentation and other data that are relevant to analyse the situation in the food security sector and the capacity needs. In addition, the consultants shall meet with relevant stakeholders in the food security / agriculture sector. Documents to be consulted include, amongst others, the draft NICHE Cou ntry Programme, the NRO MASP, the NRO programmes and projects on food security, the (draft) Agriculture sector strategy, Higher Education Policy Papers, gender policy papers and other relevant policy documents, studies etc. 5. Expected output The consultants will produce a sector and labour market needs assessment report which provides documented answers to all of the above questions in the specific Terms of Reference, a list of consulted documents and of consulted resource persons. The report is to be written in the English language and be submitted to Nuffic by before the end of May Duration of the assignment The assignment will take place between 1 April 2014 and should be completed befor e 30 May The consultants are contracted for a maximum of 22 days (10 and 12 days each) to complete the assignment. 7. Authorisation Ramallah, 10 April 2014 Annexes: 1. NICHE brochure 2. Debriefing of the Nuffic/DSO-OO mission to the Palestinian Territories 3. Draft NICHE Country Programme 4. MASP 5. Format NICHE project outline and NICHE profile 16

17 Annex 2 List of consulted documents. ( for more e-sources, see also Annex: Chronology and list of consulted resource persons) Terms of Reference for a Study on Food security for Capacity development in Higher and technical Education in the Palestinian Territories; draft and final versions; Nuffic, The Hague NICHE Country programme (NCP) of NICHE in Palestinian territories; draft; February 2014, Nuffic, The Hague Towards Two States; Multi-Annual Strategic Plan for the Palestinian Territory (MASP) ; NRO in the PT, Ramallah, Palestine Summary of Agriculture Sector Strategy Resilience and Development, ; Ministry of Agriculture, Ramallah, Palestine Summary of the Education Development Strategic Plan , Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ramallah Various documents ; and NICHE project formats Study on the establishment of a Technical College at the Al Quds University, East Jerusalem, GIZ, 14 February 2014; Initiative for the Palestinian Economy; Agriculture, Office of the Quartet Representative, 2014(?) Al Maqdisi programme; Call for proposals in research and Higher Education 2014, French Consulate, 2014 Catalysts of Rural Transformation through Productive and Decent Work; The Palestinian Fair Trade Association, Occupied Palestinian Territory, February 2013, ILO ( or contact rural@ilo.org) Canaan Fair Trade Impact Study , Christa Bruhn, December 2012 MICAD 8, Masters in International Cooperation and Development, eighth cohort , Bethlehem University, Palestine Leadership & Teacher Development Programme, Feb 2014, Amideast/USAID, Palestine 17

18 Annex 3: Chronology of mission activities and list of consulted resource persons with selected conversation topics Note: all consultations and mission activities in the PT have been carried out together with Mr. Thameen Hijawi, NRO consultant on Agriculture and Food Security Tuesday 22 April 2014: The Hague Mrs. Carin Vijfhuizen, Senior Programme Administrator, Nuffic, The Hague - Briefing on NICHE, the NCP of the Palestine Territories (PT), this mission and discussion of ToR of the mission and some NICHE formats Period 23 April 1 May 2014: SYNERGIE office, Alkmaar Dr. Thameen Hijawi, Food Security Consultant for NRO, PT - Preparations of mission programme and logistics by Skype and phone conversations, s Friday 2 May 2014: after early morning arrival in Ramallah; Mrs. Brigitta Tazelaar, Head of Mission, Netherlands Representative Office in the Palestinian Territories, (NRO); Mrs. Karin Sijpkens, Assistant Policy Officer, NRO Ramallah - Kick-off meeting on goals and expected results of this mission; follow-up trajectory by NUFFIC: next steps after this mission; debriefing next week Dr. Azzam Saleh, FAO, Head of Programme in PT, Ramallah - FAO programmes and activities in TVET for agriculture and human resource development in public sector (MoA, Nat. Agric. Research); needs in both Agricultural and Rural development (food security) for quality H.E; Saturday 3 May 2014: Jenin and Tulkarm areas; afternoon Ramallah Dr Suleiman Al Khalil, Dean Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Dr Hiba Al Fares, Head Department Plant production, An Najah National University, Tulkarm; - Oldest University in the country (since 1932) with various undergraduate and graduate programmes offered in 4 Departments (total 550 students), resp: Plant production, Animal production, Food processing and Veterinary medicine; ; is experimenting mechanisms of feed-back and curriculum development for employability of graduates; claims cooperation with academia and agribusiness sectors in the country; product innovation as a drive for economic activity, employability and educational reforms; readiness to cooperate with private enterprises and other potential employers as well as other Universities Mr. Nasser Abufarha, Director of Can aan Fair trade, Berqin, Jenin - Organic and Faire trade as a multimillion business model for export (olive oils/products, almonds etc) based on product innovation and production by farmers community cooperatives, organised in the Palestine Faire Trade Association (PFTA) of which he is co-founder: ; is now initiating the creation of a market driven applied research and professional training (MSc) centre for organic and faire trade product innovation and replication of same business model; need for food processing and producers development skills Dr. Ahmed Majdalani, Minister of Labour, PA, Ramallah; - On-going TVET programmes in 19 technical fields and economic sectors, except Agricultural Sector, but still including the Cooperative sector that involves farmermembers; technical and financial cooperation with GIZ and KfW; suggests to talk to his colleague, the Minister of Higher Education (is already planned); Mr. Mazen T. Sinokrot, Chairman and CEO, Sinokrot Global Group, Ramallah - Multimillion company in agriculture, food, serices with over 500 employees has currently, zero-connectivity between academia and private enterprise, except for some excursions; serious gaps between market requirements and programmes in higher education; need for mix of technical and business management skills and better teaching and learning methods; readiness to cooperation with education institutions in integral innovation approach; Mr. SaleemYousef Abughazaleh, General Director, Al Reef for Investment and Agricultural Marketing, a private holding of Palestinian Agricultural relief Committees ( PARC), /Faire Trade Department, Ramallah - Long-standing NGO (since 1983) which established in 2008 a fully certified Fair Trade Company for export of long shelf-life traditional food products; ; 18

19 food and agribusiness sector, including his company have increasing needs for qualified staff in all kinds of Certifications, all along the value chain, from farm to consumer, of which present Faculty programmes are not even aware of; readiness to collaborate in joint efforts to improve education to real market needs Sunday 4 May 2014: Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem Dr. Mohamed Awad, Senior Project Manager Project Management Unit (PMU); Mrs Do a Zayed, Project Manager Seed Bank, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Hebron. - Organisational cooperation framework in agricultural and rural development: PMU as a consortium of four NGOs with UAWC as Lead organisation; expertise in water management, capacity building and TVET in rural organisations (incl. agric. cooperatives), mapping and GIS database, land rehabilitation; ; possibilities for linking higher education with TVET through participation in activities carried out by UAWC at community rural level (an agricultural working committee being an interest group (informal or formal) Dr. Jibreini Jihad, General Manager, Jibreini Husam, Financial Manager of Al-Jebrini for Food Industries, Hebron employee dairy company with > l milk/day processing capacity ; familiar with international cooperation (Dutch bi-lateral as well as B2B) and always in need for qualified personnel in various fields of the milk value chain, from high standard hygienic milk to manufacturing, marketing and sales of cheese, yoghurt and many other products to domestic and export markets; ready to cooperate in bridging the existing gap between what the market needs and what the Universities offer ; Dr. Talat Aburajab-Tamimi, Head of Department Plant Production - Plant Protection, Hebron University, Hebron - University with 500 students; ran BSc programmes in 5 Departments but currently 70 students in 3 Depts only, resp: courses in Plant production, Animal production and Food processing technology; stopped BSc course in soil and irrigation (!) due to lack of students; currently no new students in 2 MSc courses on resp. Natural resource management and Plant protection; ; because traditional employers (MoA and NGOs) are not employing many new graduates, focus is on self-employment, especially in food processing); last curriculum revue was 5 years ago (curriculum committee per Department) Dr Fadi S. Kattan, Dean of Business, Bethlehem University, Bethlehem. - How to put a new (MSc) course in the market; the MICAD experience: developing a 2 year, part-time multidisciplinary Masters Course in International Cooperation and Development for professionals in various fields and organisations, through International cooperation with various European academic and other international institutions; ; the course (since 2005) became self-financing after three years; curriculum mix of academic and technical/practical work; mix of learning and teaching methods, including workshops; curriculum revues and innovation through various feed-back mechanisms and scientific committee; stresses the key role of networking as innovation mechanism Dr Hanna Abdel Nour, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem - Biggest University (approx. 13,000 students) also offering BSc courses in Biology (150 students) and Food processing & food engineering (80 students) as well as an outside campus MSc programme in Rural Development enrolling 300 students, many employed in NGOs; understands the shortcomings of the higher education in terms of employability in the private sector; is currently working on a German inspired dual study approach (combined academic and TVET curriculum) including a one year placement in the private sector; is experimenting with K+B committees on curriculum design, in a bid to improve curriculum relevance through structural connectivity of the academia with the private sector; stresses the need for international exchanges of students and teaching staff Monday 5 May 2014: in Ramallah Dr. Fahoum Shalabi, Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Ramallah - Student statistics differ; Ministry counts (2014) on the one hand a total of 1,115 students in Agriculture Faculties of four Universities, with weak MSc component and no PhD. and, 19

20 on the other hand, a not so strong private sector where 85 % of the companies has less than 10 employees; agrees on the need to innovate HE with more practical training and learning adapted to market needs: a head and hands approach ; thinks that Universities should actively promote their studies and not sit and wait for students to enrol; would not mind to host the K+B teams as proposed in QIF (Quality improvement fund), and thus creating a version of the KGB concept. Mr. Osama Abu Ali, Export Promotion Manager, Palestine Trade Centre PALTRADE Ramallah - Paltrade is a membership based private association with various export promotion departments, offering various service packages to its contributing 200 members as well as to non-members (at a different rate); ; recently trained and employed 19 certified trade advisors; elaborated 10 sector export strategies in collaboration with the various sector industrial and business associations concerned and in cooperation with EU and Int. Trade Centre ; some academia have been involved in this process; Eng. Abdullah Lahlouh, Deputy Minister; dr. Mohammed Abu-Eid, Director General of National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Ramallah - No alignment with industry/labour market and no specialities in HE; more need for practical skills rather than theoretical knowledge in the curriculum; why 5 faculties doing more or less the same thing?; need to integrate applied research into the programmes, more solution finding skills; NARC has infrastructure that is under-used including 5 experimental stations in the country; future NICHE programme should include cooperation modalities between Agricultural Faculties and NARC Mr. Haidar Hajjeh, General Director, Palestine Standards Institution (PSI), Ramallah - PSI (since 1997) is a Semi Governmental Institution with a Board composed of public and private sector stakeholders (e.g. vice-chair by Palestine Industries Federation); developed so far standards including 400 food related standards; ; PSI is the certifying body and developed the Palestinian Quality mark in line with international standards; does control on geographic identification (GI); training courses for producers, PSI inspectors and private Certification preparation agents; MoU with An Najah University library on online accessibility to Standards info; new training programme for a Centre of Excellence of Quality Control; organised a workshop on safety regulations in dairy food chain with 90 participants Dr. Said Assaf, Chief of Party, Leadership and Teacher Development, AMIDEAST, Ramallah - Training Needs Assessment as a key tool for course and curriculum development, oriented to specific categories of professions (in service training!); ; other development instrument: analysis of the existing curriculum on contents and methods through feed-back from students (participants); experiential learning as a key learning methodology; enhancing continued competence development of teaching staff Mr. Khalil Shiha, General Director; Mr. Izzat Zeidan, Programs and Projects Director, Agricultural Development Association (PARC), Ramallah - Since 1992, PARC (NGO) over students in a 9 months TVET programme for newly graduated students in Agriculture, in three different locations in the country; curriculum aims at enhancing practical professional skills and life skills; current 2014 programme has 50 participants in 3 training centres ; 85% find work after training (especially men), including in food industry; now more focus on options for selfemployment, especially for women; ; World bank finances the Quality Improvement Fund (QIF) in HE, by creating cooperation between Universities NGO Private sector including the Federation of Food Industries; this linkage model may inspire NICHE; suggestions for new (MSc) programmes: post-harvest technologies; agribusiness development Tuesday 6 May 2014: Ramallah Mr. Frank Determan, Senior Project Manager Education and Sustainable Economic Development, KfW Development Bank; Dr Andreas Koenig, Head of Programme and Mrs Lea Grote, Programme Coordinator Promotion of TVET and labour Market, GIZ, Ramallah - KfW provides budget support to Min of Education together with a number of other donors: Basket Fund; TVET is one of seven budget lines of the yearly budget proposal by the Ministry; GIZ is working with Al Quds University on a curriculum development approach that is demand driven and did feasibility on a dual studies approach (see report); food processing TVET programme is being developed at the Al Arub secondary school, and 20